Discussion
If you were that kid in school who hated sharing, then we strongly suggest hypnotherapy before attending a meal here. Food, laughs and sometimes even a bottle of the ole’ baijiu are passed out among the present…which is fine, until Mr. Food-in-his-teeth mistakes your glass for his. Perhaps this podcast with a Mandarin Chinese lesson on getting straight whose glass is whose would be appreciated.
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Supplementary vocab for this lesson: 那 (nà) that 那些 (nàxiē) those 这些 (zhèxiē) these 哪个 (nǎge) which one 哪些 (nǎxiē) which ones 谁的 (shuí de) whose 那是谁的杯子？ (Nà shì shéi de bēizi?) Whose cup is that? 哪个杯子是你的？ (Nǎge bēizi shì nǐ de?) Which cup is yours? 你的杯子是哪个？ (Nǐ de bēizi shì nǎge?) Which one is your cup? ~Connie
Is there any way to distinguish between cup, mug and glass in a literary context?
Is it true that all "de's" will be replaced with 的? And no more 地 and 得? I got this from chinese-forums.com
BW... you've *got* to be kidding! The various de's serve different purposes and are here to stay. You won't find that kind of disinformation on this site :)
Who is the pretty little girl in the lesson header? She looks quite prim and proper and ladylike. That is a very happy picture.
Bazza, 杯子 (bēizi) cup 咖啡杯 (kāfēibēi) coffee cup (I think this is as close to "mug" as we can get) 玻璃杯 (bōlibēi) glass (lit. "class cup") -John
brokensword, I've been hearing talk of that ever since I first came to China, but I don't think it's going to happen. It just seems less educated. In any case, you're never going to be wrong for properly distinguishing between the three forms of "de," and knowing the difference can help your understanding of grammar. So I wouldn't give up on "de" yet. -John
那是谁的杯子？ (Nà shì shéi de bēizi?) Whose cup is that? why do u wirte "shéi de " ??? it should be "shui de "
Lois, Both "shéi" and "shuí" are acceptable readings for 谁. "Shéi" is much more often in spoken Mandarin, so we use it more. -John
谢谢 John. What do they called those handleless tea cups that have a lid?
Is Pod useful you bet, I went to pay my telephone bill today and they tell me its 18,000 yuan guess what I say! Thanks as a result of today's lesson I had a laugh with the lady in China Telecom.
Bazza, It's just a kind of 茶杯 (chábēi). Sorry, there doesn't seem to be a specific name for the kind with a lid and without handles. Note that the Chinese 茶杯 (chábēi) includes way more varieties than the English "teacup" does. In Chinese, even a "tea glass" is called a 茶杯 (chábēi). -John
Thank u John. But i think SHUI is more formal.
When I was going to Chinese school, my teachers said that for 谁 shei2 is the formal pronounciation and shui2 is the casual. I don't know about China, but my Malaysian relatives all say shui2.
If u look up in the dictionay, there only shui(2) no shei(2) for 谁 i know a lot of chinese say shei , but it's not correct in mandarin!
Hi Lois, I see that yr above comment is not correct n Cpod 's explanations for "shui2"/"Shei2" i could say they were right to point out that "shei2" often used in spoken Chinese, n i checked already my XINHUA CIDIAN by Beijing Shangwu Yinshu Guan 1985, page 786; SHUI2 (you4 yin1=SHEI2). In fact i 'v been many times to many provinces of China Mainland, Taiwan, "SHEI2" is being used quite often nowaday. Sixaan Truong
Sixaan, Thank u for your comment. I checked it in the dictionary that proves i was wrong! i really appriate your comments above. To be turth, i used to say shei before i get prepartion for the mandarin test . my teacher told us shui is correct. So ....... Anyway, thank you very much.
I see in this lesson when a person asks the question just "Zhe4" 这
But when answering the question "Zhe4ge" 这个
My understanding is the "ge" 个 is a measuring word, so my question is this....what is being measured in the reply that is not being measured in the question?
Thanks in Advance!
Hi vallance
Thanks for your good question. Honestly, I never thought about that before. "这" and "这个" basically have a similar meaning, but exactly speaking, 这个(= 这一个) means "this one". Speaker B used "这个" in the reply "不是，这个不是我的" in order to emphasize "这 (this)". In other words, "这个(this one)不是我的" could possibly imply "但是，那个(that one)是我的". Sorry for my clumsy explanation.
Hi changye
Thanks for taking time to explain that to me. I think I understand what you mean.
So its a shorter way to say "this one"?
Hi vallance
That's right. "这个" is a shortened form of "这一个" (this one). "这个" (zhe4ge) is often pronounced as "zhei4ge" in conversation because the sound "zhei" is also a shortened one of "zhe4yi2ge". The same is true for 那个 (na4ge/nei4ge) and 哪个 (na3ge/nei3ge).
Hi changye
Thanks for the insight. I thought, I had heard it pronounced like that somewhere before. I just assumed it was an accent thing but that makes perfect sense.