Read Online Chinese For Dummies by Wendy Abraham - Free Book Online Page B

你好不好 ? (nee how boo how?) ( How are you? [Literally: Are you good or not good? ])
    Wǒ hǎo. 我好 . (waw how.)( I’m okay. ) or Wǒ bùhǎo. 我不好 . (waw boo-how.) ( I’m not okay. )
    Some Chinese verbs, such as xǐhuān 喜欢 ( 喜歡 ) (she-hwan) ( to like/to want ), have two syllables. When Chinese people speak quickly, they may leave out the second syllable in a few bisyllabic verbs and even a few auxiliary verbs the first time they come up in the verb- bù -verb pattern. So instead of saying Tā xǐhuān bùxǐhuān hē jiǔ? 她喜欢不喜欢喝酒 ? ( 她喜歡不喜歡喝酒 ?) (tah she-hwan boo-she-hwan huh jyo?) to mean Does he or she like to drink wine?, someone may say Tā xǐ bùxǐhuān hē jiǔ? 她喜不喜欢喝酒 ? ( 她喜不喜歡喝酒 ?) (tah she boo-she-hwan huh jyoe?).
    Interrogative pronouns
    A third way to ask questions in Chinese is to use interrogative pronouns. The following are pronouns that act as questions in Chinese:
    nǎ 哪 (nah) + classifier ( which )
    nǎr 哪儿 ( 哪 兒 ) (nar) ( where )
    shéi 谁 ( 誰 ) (shay) ( who/whom )
    shéi de 谁 的 ( 誰 的 ) (shay duh) ( whose )
    shénme 什么 ( 甚麼 ) (shummuh) ( what )
    shénme dìfāng 什么地方 ( 甚麼地方 ) (shummah dee-fahng) ( where )
    Don’t confuse nǎ with nǎr. That one extra letter makes the difference between saying which (nǎ) and where (nǎr).
    Figuring out where such interrogative pronouns should go in any given sentence is easy. Just put them wherever the answer would be found. For example
    Question: Nǐ shì shéi? 你是谁 ? ( 你是誰 ?) (nee shir shay?) ( Who are you? )
    Answer: Nǐ shì wǒ péngyǒu. 你是我朋友 . (nee shir waw puhng-yo.) ( You’re my friend. )
    Question: Tāde nǚpéngyǒu zài nǎr? 他的女朋友在哪儿 ? ( 他的女朋友在哪兒 ?) (tah duh nyew-puhng-yo dzye nar?) ( Where is his girlfriend? )
    Answer: Tāde nǔpéngyǒu zài jiālǐ. 他的女朋友在家里 . ( 他的女朋友在家裡 .) (tah-duh nyew-puhng-yo dzye jyah-lee.) ( His girlfriend is at home. )
    A way to ask who or which person without sounding rude or too familiar is to use the term něi wèi 哪位 (nye way) (Literally: which person ). For example, Nǐ yéye shì něi wèi? 你爷爷是哪位 ? ( 你爺爺 是哪位 ?) (nee yeh-yeh shir nay way?) ( Which one is your grandfather? )
    You often find interrogative pronouns at the beginning of sentences if they’re followed by the verb yǒu 有 (yo) ( to exist ), such as Shéi yǒu wǒde bǐ? 谁有我的笔 ? ( 誰有我的筆 ?) (shay yo waw-duh bee?) ( Who has my pen? )
    Â Fun & Games
    Match the Chinese questions with the English translations. (See Appendix D for the correct answer.)
1. Shì bú shì? 是不是 ?
a. Who are you?
2. Nǐ shuō Zhōngwén ma? 你说中文吗 ? ( 你說中文嗎 ?)
b. Isn’t that so?
3. Nǐ shì shéi? 你是谁 ? ( 你是誰 ?)
c. Do you have a laptop?
4. Nà yǒu shénme guānxi? 那有什么关系 ? ( 那有甚麼關係 ?)
d. Who cares?
5. Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu yíge shǒutíshì? 你有没有一个手提式 ? ( 你有沒有一個手提式 ?)
e. Do you speak Chinese?

Chapter 4
    Getting Started with Basic Expressions: Nǐ Hǎo!
    In This Chapter
    Introducing yourself and