Newbie - Turn on the Light, Turn off the Light

IMHO, this is a perfect Newbie lesson. Practical, immediately applicable, but with lots of potential for expansion.

Hi guys, Great lesson as usual. I would have thought that the husband would not only be requested to turn on the light, but also to dispatch the mosquito. I have a question about 1st tones. My Chinese teacher told the class that 1st tones don't change within a sentence, especially at the end. The dialogue fits with what the teacher said, but Jenny uses two different 1st tones when saying 开灯 and 关灯 sometimes. I have a friend whose name is two 1st tones and she says these as a low 1st 1st tone and a higher 2nd one. So I asked the teacher if what she said about the tones was alway true, and she said yes. So is this a regional thing? (老师是北京人) 谢谢！

There's a scary-arm meme going on at ChinesePod... the dorm sleeping-in picture looked like a dead guy, and now at first glance the arm for this picture isn't attached to anything...

i really like the expansion for this one.very practical. =)

hi garry, Yes, first tones do have some variance in pitch, depending on the speaker. The key to first tone is that it is higher and steady. It can vary from speaker to speaker exactly what pitch it is in. I think what causes a variance in sound with these two words you mention: 开灯 (kāidēng) and 关灯 (guāndēng) is the 后鼻音 (hòu bíyīn) 'nasal sound' of the 'eng' sound in Chinese.

I think the first tone is especially tough for men. I remember it feeling very unnatural when I started. I still think it's a bit strange sometimes.

I wish my dog were able to turn on/off a light by herself. Of course she is clever enough to know how to ask for a walk and food very efficiently. 闭灯 (bi4 deng1) turn off a light. 闭电视 (bi4 dian4 shi4) turn off a TV 闭电脑 (bi4 dian4 nao3) turn off a PC

Hey Garry, Tones can often be slightly altered by different words and their respective pronunciations, so you might hear some variations.

Hello, How do say " turn on a candle" and " turn off a candle" Thanks Jack

Hello jackfrombelgium. I believe the verb for lighting a flame/candle is 点 (dian3), as in 点火 (dian3huo3; light a fire) or 点一支蜡烛 (dian3yi1zhi1la4zhu2). Sorry if the tones are wobbly; my Chinese is not so good. Lighting a joss stick is 烧香 (shao1xiang1), literally "burn incense". Cheers, Auntie

P/s: The word for "extinguish" is 灭 (mie4). As in 灭火 (mie4huo3). I think you could get a away with 灭火 to say "put out the candle flame". Amber, help!

Thanks Jenny and Amber, 1st tones are my favourite, they are so nice.

I have lived this experience before. It's good that I can at least say it in Chinese now.

The EXPANSION segment is mostly from the womans point of view and role. LOLOLOLOLOL Check it out!

does anyone have any suggestions for as how to think more in chinese and less in english. I have heard it said that by having your thoughts in a certain language can really help. Any tips?

灭灯 mie4deng1 the same as 关灯 guan1deng1 ?? Jack

Hello again. If I'm not mistaken, it's better to stick with 关灯 (guan1deng1) or 闭灯 (bi4deng4) because these verbs convey a sense of switching or turning something on or off. But 灭 (mie4) seems to convey a more intransitive sense -- s'éteindre rather than éteindre -- hence 火灭了 huo3mie4le5 ("the fire went out") or 我们家里的灯突然灭了 jia1li3de5deng1tu1ran2mie4le5 ("the lights suddenly went out in our house. Hope this leaves you less, rather than more, confused!

有意思，

What about "turn on the heater"? I can't be the only one freezing--my friends from Harbin must be turning on their heaters too.

Hi Hannahlm, there is a pretty useful newbie lesson in the archives on "air conditioning" that includes some heating vocab as well: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/turn-on-the-air-conditioning/discussion All the best, Auntie

你好！ 可以不可以说开启灯吗？ 谢谢你们的合作。

Ed Young. This is a Newbie section. Are you working for the CIA or will you let us in on your Character-eze? Loved everything about this lesson. CPod integration of units sparkles, repitition with variation. Just what I need to learn this very difficult and beautiful (to me) language. I am thrilled. Steve Jobs, Apple CEO declared his mission statement as being thus: "Our goal is to delight our customers." I am indeed delighted with CPod. I give it five stars.

有意思 means 'interesting'.

I found 吹一支蜡烛 to blow a candle! chui1yi1zhi1la4zhu2 Is this current? Jack

Enjoyably succinct, sublimely executed ... ahh, a very nice lesson. Frequently my s.o. will add a 好吧？(hao3 ba) to the end of a suggestion which seems to soften it bit. I believe its a little softer than 号码？ but I'm not sure. She is from 北京 (bei3 jing1) so it might be a regional thing? 再见， 何睿林

In the extended exercises, 门关了吗？(men2 guan1 le ma?) is translated as "Did you close the door?". How does one say "Is the door closed?" 再见， 何睿林

Did I really recommend taking out mosquitoes with a shoulder-launched missile in this lesson? Eek!

Ken, don't worry about it, mate. I'd use nuclear weapons.

hi heruilin, I've altered the expansion translation. It should, in fact, read as you mentioned: 门关了吗？ Mén guān le ma? Is the door closed?

hi Hannahlm, There are two words for heater: 开暖气、开加热器 (Kāi nuǎnqì, kāi jiārèqì)

hi enmihutong, 开启 （kāiqǐ) is a very formal word for 'to open', it's seldom used in spoken Chinese.

hi jackfrombelgium 关灯 (guāndēng) is most commonly used. 灭灯 (mièdēng) is seldom used.

hi again! jackfrombelgium, 点蜡烛 (diǎn làzhú) to light a candle 吹蜡烛 (chuī làzhú) to blow out a candle

Hi Amber, Thanks so much for correcting the expansion text. The expansion area is greatly appreciated and a great adjunct to the dialog ... I painstakingly hand write and work through every expansion sentence. 再见， 何睿林

Hello Well, these new multiple choice question changes have certainly stepped up my lessons. I appreciate having to slow down and take it all in character by character in order deepen my understanding. A quality improvement; thanks!

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/turn-on-the-light-turn-off-the-light/vocabulary

FYI: The vocabulary section shows repeated rows for each word.