Intermediate - Trip to Harbin

Right-Wingnut

John: Hi guys, this is ChinesePod, an Intermediate lesson for you today. I'm John.

Dilu: 大家好，我是Dilu。

John: Today we have another lesson about travelling somewhere in China. This is a pretty famous city. What's the name?

Dilu: Harbin.

John: Harbin. Is that the Chinese?

Dilu: 不是，不是。中文是哈尔滨。哈尔滨。

John: 哈尔滨. That's 1st, 3rd, 1st.

Dilu: 对。哈尔滨。

John: In English when we say this word it sounds like two syllables, but in Chinese you have to say three.

Right-Wingnut

0:32

Dilu: Three. 对。要说三个字：哈-尔-滨。如果你说Harbin，你肯定是外国人。

John: What about Hārbīn?

Dilu: 还是外国人。

John: OK. We're going to listen to what stuff there is to do with 哈-尔-滨.

Dilu: 好。我们来听一下对话。

0:49 - Dialog

Right-Wingnut

Dialog

Right-Wingnut

Dialog

Right-Wingnut

1:56

John: Right in the beginning, there's something interesting worth taking a look at. We have some coworkers, and what are they looking at?

Dilu: 他们在看哈尔滨的照片。

John: Pictures of 哈尔滨. 哈尔滨. They said it a little more specifically than that though, didn't they?

Dilu: 他们有一个同事叫文君。那他们在看文君在哈尔滨拍的照片。

John: The basic structure is 在看...照片.

Dilu: 对。然后在［chengdian］这个句子就是：在看文君在哈尔滨拍的照片。

bababardwan

长一点

Right-Wingnut

Yep, thanks for that.

Right-Wingnut

2:31

John: So there's a string of words that are all modifying 'pictures'.

Dilu: 对。

John: So, 'pictures that 文君 took in 哈尔滨'. So the sentence is very different in English than in Chinese, both within this little phrase and in the whole sentence.

Dilu: 对。中文里面就会在一个名词的前面加很多很多的修饰。

John: Sometimes in Chinese you have this really long modifier coming before one noun, and in English we like to put it after the noun. But its very consistent in Chinese. You can have one adjective in front of a noun or you can have almost a whole sentence thing coming before the noun.

Right-Wingnut

3:04

Dilu: 对。我们再来看一下这个句子：我们在看文君在哈尔滨拍的照片。

John: And remember, when you're looking at pictures, what's the measure work?

Dilu: 张。一张照片。

John: So what is the 第一张?

Dilu: 第一张照片呢是中央大街。中央大街。

John: 中央 is 'central'?

Dilu: 对。两个第一声。中央。

John: And 大街 means 'avenue'.

Right-Wingnut

3:31

Dilu: 对。大街。第四声和第一声。

John: Literally 'big street'. So 中央大街 is a famous street in 哈尔滨.

Dilu: 应该是吧。然后他们说那边的房子很特别。

John: 'The homes are really special'. And what do they say about the style?

Dilu: 因为他们离俄罗斯很近，所以有很多俄罗斯风格的建筑。

John: Hold on, so 俄罗斯 - 2nd, 2nd, 1st - that means 'Russia', eight?

Right-Wingnut

4:03

Dilu: 没错。俄罗斯。

John: So how do you say "they're very close to Russia"?

Dilu: 离俄罗斯很近。离什么什么很近。

John: All right, don't forget this 离 pattern - very useful. 离 is 2nd tone.

Dilu: 对。第二声。因为他们离俄罗斯很近，所以有很多俄罗斯风格的建筑。

John: 俄罗斯风格 - 1st tone, 2nd tone - and that means 'Russian style'.