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Lesson Introduction
Again, feel free to make your arms ttttttttttttttttttthhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiissssssss big, then point to yourself, and then to China, and then hold up fingers to let them know how long you’ve been in China and how long you’re staying… or, you could listen in to this podcast on how to differentiate between the two in Mandarin Chinese.
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Out of consideration for our Newbie and Elementary users, English translations should be provided with any Chinese (characters or pinyin) written in Newbie and Elementary lesson discussion posts. New lesson idea? Please let us know on our contact page.
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ConnieJanuary 25, 2007
Supplementary vocab for this lesson: 住 (zhù) live (in a place) 你在中国住了多久了？ (Nǐ zài Zhōngguó zhù le duōjiǔ le?) How long have you lived in China? 来 (lái) come 你来了多久了？ (Nǐ lái le duōjiǔ le?) How long have you been here? 可能 (kěnéng) probably; maybe 可能一年。 (Kěnéng yī nián.) Maybe one year. 几天 (jǐ tiān) how many days 几年 (jǐ nián) how many years 几个月 (jǐ ge yuè) how many months
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Bob MrotekJanuary 25, 2007
Just curious. Why does the transcript use the character 呆 dāi and not the character 待 dāi? Doesn’t the character呆 dāi mean "stupid" and the character 待 dāi mean "stay"? Am I missing some fine distinction or something?
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chris clachanJanuary 25, 2007
你们要去多久？ How long will you go for? Is it just my hearing or is there an error here in the expansion sentences, the audio sounds as if it is in the singular rather than the plural?
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ChinesePodJanuary 25, 2007
Bob Mrotek, The character 待 (dāi) would seem to make a lot more sense, meaning "stay/reside in a place," but 呆 (dāi) is actually the character used. If you look it up in a dictionary, you'll see. And yes, 呆 (dāi) does also mean something like "stupid." But that's an adjective, and it's a verb when it means "to stay." Are you imagining the following exchange? Don't worry, that doesn't happen. 你呆了多久了? (Nǐ dāi le duōjiǔ le?) will always be interpreted as "how long have you stayed" rather than "how long have you been stupid." -John
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TomJanuary 25, 2007
It occured to me that since the lessons are designed to be used in any order some newbies might not know what's going on when for example Ken says "let's sing that a couple of times" or when you talk about which tones are being used (without explaining what tones are). Might there be some benefit to creating a lesson #0 that's kinda like the sticky posts in forums where you could give a quick tutorial on how to listen to the podcasts, explain what tones are and just generally lay out all the other rules of the road you know you'd otherwise have to repeat over and over again in new lessons? I know it would be useful for me. (you could stick a pointer to it on the main page)
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ChinesePodJanuary 25, 2007
Tom, Actually, we have done that already. They're called "Intro Lessons." You can find them in the earliest Newbie lessons. -John
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Mark T.January 25, 2007
John, Just wondering, but how *would* you say the sentence "How long have you been stupid?" My guess: 你是呆的了多久了？(nǐ shì dāide le duō jiŭ le?) -Mark T.
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ChinesePodJanuary 25, 2007
Hi Mark T., Maybe I can help you out...Probably they wouldn't say that sentence the same way in Chinese. A more likely way of expressing that lovely thought would be: 你什么时候变得这么笨? (Nǐ shénme shíhou biàn de zhème bèn?) 笨 (bèn) being the slightly more common word used for "stupid" in Chinese. Although we're usually so warm and fuzzy on these posts, it's hard to think of teaching our CPoddies such nasty-sounding sentences, ha ha. ~amber ;)
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Bazza 白锐January 26, 2007
How to say 'about 15 minutes'?
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ChinesePodJanuary 26, 2007
Hello Bazza, There are a few different ways to say that: 大概十五分钟。(Dàgài shíwǔ fēnzhōng.) 大约十五分钟。(Dàyuē shíwǔ fēnzhōng.) 差不多十五分钟。(Chàbuduō shíwǔ fēnzhōng.) 十五分钟左右。(Shíwǔ fēnzhōng zuǒyòu.) ~amber :)
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Stupid or Stay? | Sinosplice: Life in ChinaJanuary 26, 2007
[...] As academic director at ChinesePod, one of the things I deal with is the language questions of the users. Some of the questions are easy, and others are incredibly difficult. One of the types of questions I enjoy answering most are the ones that I had myself a few years back. Here is one such question (from this lesson): [...]
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Bazza 白锐January 26, 2007
Have you voted on the panda cub names? http://news.sina.com.cn/z/pandas2006/index.shtml
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Erica (from USA, North Carolina)January 26, 2007
This is an interesting lesson cause in English you would probably ask 1) How long have you been staying here and then 2) How much longer are you planning on staying. By using the "yao4" in Chinese we know it is into the future but in English we would add to that "How much longer"...How would you say that in Chinese to make it absolutely clear, i.e. How much longer are you planning on staying?
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jenny zhuJanuary 26, 2007
Erica, You could say 你还要呆多久？/ni3 hai2 yao4 dai1 duo1 jiu3?/How much longer are you planning on staying? 还要/hai2 yao4/literally means 'would like more' . It clarifies the question. 傻/sha3 is another word for 'stupid'. It will be the word of choice for 'how long have you been stupid?'/你傻了多久？/ni3 sha3 le duo1 jiu3?" Now, that's something that has never been uttererd in the Chinese language.
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jenny zhuJanuary 26, 2007
澳大利亚日快乐！/ao4 da4 li4 ya4 ri4 kuai4 le4!/Happy Australian Day! (wow, 4th tones all the way!!!!) I don't think you could be more emphatic than that.
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Erica (from USA, North Carolina)January 26, 2007
Wow, talk about service, thanks Jenny! Thinking about it I'm wondering if I would say that at all....does sound kind of rude actually. Sounds a bit like one might be encouraging someone to leave or something. On second thought I rather like the way it is put in the dialogue...simply by using the "yao4"...and knowing that they would get the point and it is true, one never really knows exactly how long one will be staying. I have Chinese friends here who have been here a long time with roots in China of course but also roots here, voting in elections, becoming Chinese-Americans. I try to get them to criticize America but it is slow going and I am having limited success. I also have to be careful what I say about China--don't want to be the rude American. Did you see "Inside China" recently on PBS--it was amazing! So much more openess about problems--got to be a healthy sign.
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Jeffrey BJanuary 26, 2007
What would the grammar pattern be if the person is no longer there, e.g. "How long did you stay in China" (during your last vacation, but is home now)? I thought adding the 了 made is past tense, so 你在中国住了多久了 would mean the person is no longer there. Also, when would you use 呆 vs 住? Thanks.
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Bazza 白锐January 26, 2007
Thanks Amber, I think I'd go with 差不多十五分钟。It sounds the nicest. :) Is the 钟 optional if it's clear from the context you talking about time?
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CharlieJanuary 27, 2007
Jenny Thank you !............. for 澳大利亚日快乐！ Your listeners here enjoy your input to Chinapod.
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jenny zhuJanuary 27, 2007
Jeffery B, The distinction between past perfect and present perfect is not very clear in Chinese grammar. 你在中国住了多久 is the pattern to use in both cases. But adding the 了 at the end (你在中国住了多久乐）would more clearly suggest that the person is still in China. 呆 has a meaning of staying or being around. But it also indicates a level of casualness. Whether to use 呆 or will depend on the context (how casual you want to sound or whether it really is a 'casual' stay.)
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HansiJanuary 27, 2007
What are the (fine) differences between 1. 呆 or 待 dāi 2. 停留 tíngliú 3. 逗留 dòuliú Some examples, please correct me: We stay there for 3 hours. 我們在那兒停留三小時. How long did you stay in China? 你在中國停留了多久? Stay here for a few days. 在此逗留幾天.
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CorneliaJanuary 28, 2007
Hi, I have a question related to the expansion sentences: 我们也许要在中国呆两年。Maybe we'll stay in China for two years. To my feeling there is redundancy: first you have 在 (zài) to indicate that you will be there (exist) in China, then 呆 (dāi) for to stay. Is this "redundancy" always needed? I find it again in 你们要在北京呆多久？How long will you stay in Beijing? 在 (zài) plus 呆 (dāi). What is the general rule? In the dialog there is only 呆 (dāi)... Thanks for clarification, Cornelia
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ChinesePodJanuary 28, 2007
Hi Bazza, Yes, you always will need to use the 钟 (zhōng) when talking about minutes, for clarity. Hansi, 呆 (dāi) is of longer duration, a planned stay 停留 (tíngliú) would more be a stop on a journey, a stop-over; you are staying somewhere for a period of time but it's not your destination 逗留 (dòuliú) means stop, stay or linger; a shorter period of time Your sentences are good, however the first one might need to have the time clarified, as well as a measure word added, for example: If you meant: We have to stay there for 3 hours, it would be: 我們要在那兒停留三个小時. (Wǒmen yào zài nàr tíngliú sān ge xiǎoshí.) Or if you wanted to say "We stayed there for 3 hours", it would be: 我們在那兒停留了三个小時. (Wǒmen zài nàr tíngliú le sān ge xiǎoshí.) Cornelia, The 在 (zài) here is used to denote location. Similar meaning as in English "at" or "in". In the dialogue, the 在 (zài) is not required because there is no location mentioned. Hope that helps! Good questions! ~amber :D
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ChinesePodJanuary 30, 2007
http://webinfo.campus.lmu.de/view_structure_tree.cfm?root=29493&cl=18&mode=gliederung&open=29469,29494,29495,29496,29572,29573,29574,29575,29576,29577,29578,29579
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SteveJanuary 30, 2007
Hi all. As a newie who learned "ke3 neng2" not that long ago as a way to say "maybe", should I be making any distinction at this point between that word and the one used in this lesson ("ye3 xu3")? Thanks! Steve
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ChinesePodJanuary 30, 2007
Hi Steve, Both 可能 (kěnéng) and 也许 (yěxǔ) can be used interchangeably in Chinese the same way you would use "maybe, perhaps" in English. 可能 (kěnéng) has another use as well, meaning "possible"; 不可能 (bù kěnéng) means "impossible". ~amber :)
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SteveJanuary 31, 2007
Thanks Amber!
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JacobFebruary 19, 2007
My Taiwanese wife has never heard of the word 也许 (yěxǔ), is it a frequently used word in China?? Or Taiwan for that matter?
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BazzaFebruary 19, 2007
This is just a test, can anyone actually post as anyone, am I really bazza?
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jenny zhuFebruary 19, 2007
Hi I am Jenny!
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ChinesePodFebruary 19, 2007
Jacob, The word 也许 (yěxǔ) for "maybe" is extremely common. I'm not sure how widely used it is in Taiwan, but it seems hard to believe that a Taiwanese person wouldn't know it. -John
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Bazza 白锐February 20, 2007
That's identity theft. :P
markt says
dialog-only has chipmunk problemMay 13, 2007
n0mm says
Well, being a Newbie, the reply to TOM was very ineresting and caught my eye! Not wanting to miss any Introduction stuff that might be around; I clicked the link for newbie intro etc and got "Page not found', most discouraging? By the way, why do I only get little rectangles where (I'm sure?) characters should be? It only happens in the Comments, the lessons and as far as I can tell so far , everything else displays and prints the characters ?August 18, 2007
amber says
hi n0mm, To change the settings on your computer to display and enter Chinese characters, please go to the 'Help' tab, under 'Technical Questions', and then 'Displaying Chinese Characters.'August 19, 2007
alexco says
How would one say "How long have you been back" or How long have you been back in America(USA)" maybe something like 你在美国多久回来了吗？October 1, 2007
henning says
alexco, I would just say: 你回美国多久了？October 1, 2007
skiniks says
September 9, 2008
I don't like the Expansion section because of the audio. The robotic woman's voice is not clear on both tones and the exact (or even exaggerated) pronunciation of words. Has anyone found a solution for this?
Ken and Jenny both speak naturally and I can tell the difference in words. They should have a natural speaker doing the audio for Expansion and Vocabulary section to avoid confusion.
andrew_c says
September 9, 2008
Have you tried paying attention to the Pinyin? For me, that clears up any doubts about the pronunciation.
cheesypoof says
June 15, 2009
In the supplemental vocab for this lesson why do you need to add "ge" in the phrase Ji3 ge yue4 (how many months), while the phrases ji3 tian1 (how many days) and ji3 nian2 (how many years) do not require the additional word?
changye says
June 15, 2009
Hi cheesypoof
Good observation. I've never thought about that.
The 个 (ge) is necessary to distinguish 几个月 (how many months) from 几月 (what month). On the other hand, "how many years/what year" and "how many days/what date" are translated as "多少年(几年)/哪一年" and "多少天(几天)/哪一天(几号)" respectively in Chinese, so you don't need to add "个" before 年 and 天.
cheesypoof says
June 20, 2009
Changye
Thank you very much for the clarification. I don't know that it completely makes sense yet, but it gives more to think about.
bodawei says
June 20, 2009
@cheesypoof
Further to Changye's explanation (which is probably quite complete), this was explained to me in terms of measure words (MW):
一月 yiyue (January) and 一个月 yigeyue (one month)
but
星期一 xingqiyi (Monday) and 一天 yitian (one day)
天 tian & 年 nian act as MWs and 月 yue does not. Because 天 tian does not function as a MW it needs the 个 ge. This also explains the 几个月， 几天 and 几年 constructions.
As to why 天 tian (年 nian) acts as a MW and 月 yue does not I cannot help. Hope this doesn't confuse the matter further.