第六課 LESSON 6

LESSON 6

What’s in this lesson:

- Telling the Time

- Time When

- Decimals & Half

TELLING THE TIME

DIALOGUE t`ui-¨oe

Tˆan: Chh´ian-m¨ng, chit-m´a k´ui-t´iam ？

Lˆim: Chit-m´a n¨ng t´iam (kh`ong) g¨o. hun. L´i ¨u t¨ai-ch`i,

s¨i bˆo？

Tˆan: G´oa n¨ng t´iam ch’ap hun `ai s¨iong kh`o.

Lˆim: L´i k´ui t´iam h¨a kh`o？

Tˆan: S`i t´iam.

Lˆim: A´n-ne, eng-`am ch`ai-k`ian.

- - - - - -

Nˆg: L´i eng-`am beh lˆai g´oan tau ch’iah-p¨ng bˆo？

Tiun: Ph´ain-s`e, g´oa kin-´a-j’it ¨u t¨ai-ch`i, bˆo hoat-t¨o. lˆai.

Nˆg: Bˆo i`au-k´in, bˆin-´a-ch`ai lˆai, h´o bˆo？

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Tiun: H´o. K´ui t´iam khah hong-p¨ian？

Nˆg: L’ak t´iam p`oan, hó bô？

Tiun: Hó.

Nˆg: L´´i ˆe pˆeng-i´u beh lˆai bˆo？

Tiun: Bˆo beh lˆai, i `am-sˆi l´ong `ai s¨iong kh`o.

Nˆg: Ó.！ s¨i ´an-ne `o., ´an-ne, l´an bˆin-´a-`am ch`ai-k`ian.

Tiun: H´o, bˆin-´a-ch`ai ch`ai-k`ian.

- - - - - -

L´i: L´an lˆai-kh`i b´e ch’it-k´oa m’ih-k¨ian, h´o bˆo？

Oˆng: Ph´ain-s`e, g´oa chit-m´a chin bˆo-ˆeng, bˆo sˆi-kan kh`i.

L´i: A´n-ne, l´i tang-sˆi khah ¨u-ˆeng？

Oˆng: ¨ -po.-sˆi khah hong-p¨ian, g´oa ch´ai-kh´i-sˆi l´ong ¨u

E
t¨ai-ch`i `ai ch`o.

L´i: A´n-ne, l´an bˆin-´a ¨e-po. lâi-kh`i, h´o bˆo？

Oˆng: H´o. K´ui t´iam？

L´i: N¨ng t´iam, ´an-ch´oan？

Oˆng: ¨E-s´ai.

L´i: H´o, bˆin-´a ¨e-po. n¨ng t´iam ch`ai-k`ian.

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陳： 請問，現在幾點？
林： 現在兩點零五分。你有事嗎？
陳： 我兩點十分要上課。
林： 你幾點下課？
陳： 四點(鐘)。
林： 那麼，晚上見。

- - - - - -

黃： 你今天晚上要不要來我家吃飯？
張： 不好意思，我今天有事情，沒有辦法來。
黃： 沒有關係。明天來，好不好？
張： 好。幾點比較方便？
黃： 六點半，好嗎？
張： 好。
黃： 你的朋友要來嗎？
張： 不來，他晚上都要上課。
黃： 哦！這樣子。那麼，我們明天晚上見。
張： 好，明天見。

- - - - - -

李： 我們去買一些東西，好不好？
王： 不好意思，我現在很忙，沒有時間去。
李： 那麼，你什麼時候比較有空？
王： 下午比較方便。我早上都有事情要做。
李： 那麼，我們明天下午再去，好不好？
王： 好。幾點？
李： 兩點怎麼樣？
王： 可以。
李： 好，明天下午兩點見。

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ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE DIALOGUE 對話翻譯

Tˆan : Excuse me, what’s the time? (note 2)
Lˆim : It’s 2:05. Do you have business to attend to? (note 3)
Tˆan : I have class at 2:10.
Lˆim : What time do you finish class?
Tˆan : 4 o’clock.
Lˆim : In that case, see you in the evening. (note 1)

- - - - - -

Nˆg: Do you want to come to my home to eat this evening? (see note 9)
Tiun: I’m sorry, today I have some matters to deal with, there’s no way
I can come.
Nˆg: Never mind. How about coming tomorrow?
Tiun: Okay. What time is more convenient?
Nˆg: Is half-past-six okay?
Tiun: Fine.
Nˆg: Is your friend coming?
Tiun: No, he has class in the evenings.
Nˆg: Oh ! It’s like that, is it ! In that case, see you tomorrow evening.
Tiun: Okay, see you tomorrow.

- - - - - -

L´i : How about us going and buying a few things?

Oˆng : I’m sorry, I’m busy at the moment, I’ve got no time to go.
L´i: In that case, when are you more free?
Oˆng : It’s more convenient in the afternoon. I have things needing to be done
in the mornings.
L´i : In that case, how about us going tomorrow afternoon?
Oˆng : Okay. What time?
L´i : How about 2 o’clock?
Oˆng : Okay.
L´i : Okay, see you tomorrow at 2 p.m.

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NEW VOCABULARY sin-j¨i

1. chit-m´a 現 在 (MA) now, at the present time

2. t´iam 點 (鐘) (M) (Measure for hours of the clock)

k´ui t´iam 幾 點 (NU+M) What time is it? What time .. ?

3. hun 分 (M) minute (of time)

4. s¨iong kh`o 上 課 (VO) (of students) to attend class

(of teachers) to conduct class

5. h¨a kh`o 下 課 (VO) (of students) to finish class;

(of teachers) to dismiss class

6. eng-`am 今 晚 (TW) this evening, tonight

`am-sˆi 晚 上 (TW) (in) the evening

bˆin-´a-`am 明 晚 (TW) tomorrow evening

7. lˆai 來 (V) to come (to)

8. chi’ah-p¨ng 吃 飯 (VO) to eat (a meal) (note 8)

p¨ng 飯 (N) (cooked) rice; food; a meal

9. kin-´a-j’it 今 天 (TW) today

10. bˆo hoat-t¨o. 沒 辦 法 (EX) there’s no way that ….

p¨an-hoat 辦 法 (N) a way to handle a problem,

a solution

11. bˆin-´a-ch`ai 明 天 (TW) tomorrow

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bˆin-´a-ch`ai ch`ai-k`ian
明 天 見 (EX) See you tomorrow !

12. khah 比 較 (A) comparatively, relatively

13. p`oan 半 (NU/M) half (a)

14. `o.！ 哦 / 喔 (P) Oh !

15. s¨i ´an-ne (`o.) 這 樣 子 (EX) Oh I see ! It’s like that, is it !

16. lˆai-kh`i 去 (V) to go (and ...) (see note 10)

17. sˆi-kan 時 間 (N) time (as in: time for a meal)

18. tang-sˆˆi 什 麼 時 候 (QW) when? (or s´im-m’ih sˆi)

19. ¨u-ˆeng 有 空 (VO) to have free/spare time

20. ¨e-po. 下 午 (TW) this afternoon; p.m (or h¨a-ngó.)

¨e-po.-sˆˆi (in) the afternoon
bˆin-´a ¨e-po. 明 天 下 午 (TW) tomorrow afternoon

21. ch´ai-kh´i 早 上 (TW) this morning

ch´ai-kh´i-sˆˆi (in) the morning
bˆin-´a ch´ai-kh´i
明 天 早 上 (TW) tomorrow morning (see note 4)

s¨iong-ng´o. 上 午 (TW) forenoon; a.m.

tiong-t`au 中 午 (TW) noon

22. ch`o 做 / 作 (V) to do, to make, to engage in

chh`ong (V) to do (used with Question Words)
(see lesson 10, drill 12)

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23. ´an-ch´oan 怎 麼 樣 (EX) What is (your) opinion?

What do (you) think?

24. ¨e-s´ai 可 以 (EX) O.K.; okay

(AV) may, can (i.e. be permitted to)

25. cha-hng 昨 天 (TW) yesterday

TIME WHEN

S TW A AV V
我 明天 也 要 去
G´oa bˆin-´a-ch`ai i¨a beh kh`i
I tomorrow also want to go

I also want to go tomorrow

In ENGLISH, Time Words which answer the question “When?”

normally follow the main Verb:
I came yesterday. He arrived in the afternoon. Let’s go at 6 p.m.

The exception is when wishing to emphasize the time aspect, when

the Time Words come at the beginning of the sentence:
On Tuesday I’m not at home.

In TAIWANESE, when wishing to state when an action or event

occurs, the Time Words usually come immediately after the Subject:
G´oa kin-´a-j’it beh kh`i, except when desiring to focus on the
Time Word when, as in English, it comes at the beginning of the
sentence: Bˆin-´a-ch`ai g´oa ˆe pˆeng-´iu beh lˆai.

1. Time Words usually come immediately after the Subject.

Repetition Drill
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S TW A AV V purpose
G´oa l’ak t´iam beh ch’iah-p¨ng
G´oan pˆeng-´iu bˆin-´a-ch`ai ¨ia beh hioh-kh`un
Iˆun l¨au-su bˆin-´a-`am beh lˆai g´oan tau ch’iah-p¨ng
I tang-sˆi beh ch`o ?
L´an kin-´a-j’it peh t´iam `ai kh`i s¨iong kh`o
In k´ui t´iam h¨a kh`o ?

我六點要吃飯
我朋友明天也要休息
楊老師明天晚上要來我家吃飯
他什麼時候要做？
我們今天八點要去上課
他們幾點下課？

2. Question & Answer Drill: insert the word supplied in the appropriate place.

Example: Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ (eng-`am chhit t´iam)

你什麼時候有空？ (晚上七點)

Student: G´oa eng-`am chhit t´iam ¨u-ˆeng. (I’m free at 7 p.m.)

我晚上七點有空。

Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ （eng-`am chhit t´iam）

你什麼時候有空？ （晚上七點）

Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ （bˆin-´a ¨e-po.）

你什麼時候有空？ （明天下午）

Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ （ch´ai-kh´i l’ak t´iam）

你什麼時候有空？ （早上六點）

Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ （¨e-po. s`i t´iam）

你什麼時候有空？ （下午四點）

Teacher: L´i s´im-m’ih-sˆi ¨u-ˆeng？ （k´au t´iam p`oan）

你什麼時候有空？ （九點半）

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TELLING THE TIME

S Time When V
n
G´oa sa t´iam j¨i-ch’ap hun s¨iong kh`o
我 三點二十分 上課

I 3:20 have class

I have class at 3:20

hour = t´iam (e.g. 3:00 san t´iam)

minute = hun (e.g. 3:20 san t´iam j¨i-ch’ap hun)
second = b´io

11. hun (minute) is often omitted.

Repetition Drill

chit-m´a NU t´iam NU (hun)

chit-m´a ch’it t´iam
n¨ng t´iam p`oan
peh t´iam kh`ong san hun
k´au t´iam g¨o.-ch’ap-g¨o. hun
ch’ap-it t´iam j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i hun
ch’ap-j¨i t´iam ch’ap-s`i hun
chhit t´iam san-ch’ap hun

現在一點
兩點半
八點零三分
九點五十五分
十一點二十二分
十二點十四分
七點三十分

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DECIMALS t´iam 點

21. ‘point’ is rendered in Taiwanese as t´iam

e.g. 2.2, 1.1, 8.6, 9.7, 22.22

NU t´iam NU
j¨i t´iam j¨i
it t´iam it
peh t´iam l’ak
k´au t´iam chhit
j¨i ch’ap-j¨i t´iam j¨i-j¨i

二點二
一點一
八點六
九點七
二十二點二二

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HALF p`oan 半

p`oan has 3 different uses:

31. p`oan + M + N = half a ...

Repetition Drill

p`oan M N
p`oan kin kin-chio
p`oan j’it
p`oan kong-kin l´iu-teng
p`oan l’iap ph¨ong-k´o
p`oan poe

半斤香蕉
半天
半公斤柳丁
半個蘋果
半杯

32. NU + M + p`oan + N = NU and a half

Repetition Drill

NU M p`oan ê N
.
chhit kho p`oan
n¨ng kin p`oan ê ˆang chh`ai-thˆau
ch’it kong-kin p`oan ê chhang-thˆau

七塊半（錢）
兩斤半的紅蘿蔔
一公斤半的洋蔥

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33. ch’it p`oan without a Measure before or after it = one half

Repetition Drill

S V ch’it p`oan
G´oan b´e ch’it p`oan
I ch’iah ch’it p`oan
G´oa ch`o ch’it p`oan
Chh´ian l´i h¨o. i ch’it p`oan

我們買一半
他吃一半
我做一半
請你給她一半

ACTIVITY 活 動 o’ah-t¨ang
Read off the time on the clocks faces below:

TRANSLATION 翻 譯 hoan-’ek
1. I’m thinking of eating at 9 o’clock.
2. The students finish class at 6 p.m.
3. A: Excuse me, what’s the time? B: It’s 7:06 a.m.
4. When is Teacher Ngo. free? – because he said that he has no time now.
5. Please give me two-and-a-half kin of tomatoes. (note 7)
6. I am going to the market now to buy some apples and oranges.
7. Why are you still so tired?
8. Do you know Teacher Lim? – he is my friend.
9. He is going to my home at 8 o’clock
10. I don’t know why onions are so cheap !
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WORTH NOTING 註 解
Are you continuing to work on perfecting your tones? This will take a lot of
effort for a very long while – two years minimum and a lifetime maximum !
Remember that the beauty of your Taiwanese will depend on you acquiring
good pronunciation and accurate tones.

TRANSLATION OF THE SENTENCE PATTERNS 句 型 翻 譯

1. I’m going to eat at 6 o’clock.
My friend is also going to rest tomorrow.
Teacher Iun is coming to my home for a meal tomorrow evening.
When does he want to do it?
We’ll need to go to class today at 8 o’clock.
What time do they finish class?

11. It’s 1 o’clock

It’s half past two
It’s 8:03 (see note 3)
It’s 9:55
It’s 11:22
It’s 12:14
It’s 7:30

31. Half a kin of bananas.

Half a day.
Half a kilogram of oranges.
Half an apple.
Half a glass/cup (e.g. of water)

32. Seven-and-a-half dollars.

Two-and-a-half kin of carrots.
One-and-a-half kilograms of onions.

33. We’re buying half (of it).

He eats half (of it).
I do half (of it).
Please give her half (of it).

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NOTES 註 解
1. Whereas Time When phrases in English require appropriate prepositions, no
such preposition is need in Taiwanese:
She comes in the afternoon I ¨e-po. lˆai
They eat at 3 o’clock In san t´iam ch’iah-p¨ng

2. “Excuse me, what is the time?” is normally rendered: “Chh´ian-m¨ng,

chit-m´a k´ui t´iam？” Note that Taiwanese requires chit-m´a.

3. When Telling the Time, kh`ong (zero) is inserted up to and including nine
minutes past the hour: n¨ng t´iam kh`ong k´au hun 2:09.

4. Note the different Time Words:

morning afternoon evening

chang ch´ai-kh´i chang ¨e-po. chang-`am
yesterday
昨天早上 昨天下午 昨天晚上
kin-´a ch´ai-kh´i kin-´a e ¨ -po. eng-`am
today
今天早上 今天下午 今天晚上
bˆin-´a ch´ai-kh´i bˆin-´a ¨e–po. bˆin-´a-`am
tomorrow 明天早上 明天下午 明天晚上

5. When asking and giving the time, s¨i (to be) is normally omitted, except in
negative sentences.

6. Note the 3 different uses of p`oan:

a) p`oan + M + N = half a ...
p`oan kin kin-chio = half a kin of bananas
b) NU + M + p`oan + ê + N = ... and a half
n
ch’it kin p`oa ê chhang-thˆau = one and a half kin of onions
c) ch’it p`oan without a Measure before or after it = one half
Chh´ian l´i h¨o. i ch’it p`oan = Please give her half (of it)

7. Direct and Indirect Speech: In Taiwanese, Direct and Indirect Speech are
not distinguished, except for a slight pause after k´ong when preceding a direct
question. Contrast this with English: He said, “I’m not going” (I k´ong g´oa b¨e
kh`i); He said that I wasn’t going (I k´ong g´oa b¨e kh`i).

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There is no equivalent in Taiwanese for the English ‘that’ appearing before

indirect quotations. Knowing the context is therefore important.

8. Meals through the day:

ch´a-t`ng tiong-t`au-t`ng `am-t`ng

早 餐 午 餐 晚 餐
breakfast noon meal evening meal

chi’ah ch´a-t`ng chi’ah tiong-t`au-t`ng chi’ah a

` m-t`ng
or or or
chi’ah ch´ai-khí chi’ah t`au chi’ah `am
to eat breakfast to eat lunch to eat evening meal

9. Note that Taiwanese say g´oan tau (not góa ê tau), in tau (not i ê
tau) and lín tau (not lí ê tau).

10. lˆai-kh`i (to go and ...) is only used with the 1st person singular or plural.
However, lˆai-kh`i is never used in negative sentences, only kh`i.

YOUR OWN NOTES

MORE RULES FOR CHANGING THE TONES

The final syllable of a Time Word or Time phrase does not change tone:
1 7 1 1 2 1
G´oa bˆin-´a-ch`ai beh kh`i l´in tau.

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PRACTICING TONE CHANGES

8 Ɩ 3
ch’ap-it ch’ap-it kho. $11
ch’ap-j¨i ch’ap-j¨i kho. $12
ch’ap-san ch’ap-san kho. $13
ch’ap-s`i ch’ap-s`i kho. $14
ch’ap-g¨o. ch’ap-g¨o. kho. $15
ch’ap-l’ak ch’ap-l’ak kho. $16
ch’ap-chhit ch’ap-chhit kho. $17
ch’ap-peh ch’ap-peh kho. $18
ch’ap-k´au ch’ap-k´au kho. $19

7 Ɩ 3
j¨i-ch’ap j¨i-ch’ap kho. $20
j¨i-ch’ap-it j¨i-ch’ap-it kho. $21
j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i kho. $22
j¨i-ch’ap-san j¨i-ch’ap-san kho. $23
j¨i-ch’ap-s`i j¨i-ch’ap-s`i kho. $24
j¨i-ch’ap-g¨o. j¨i-ch’ap-g¨o. kho. $25
j¨i-ch’ap-l’ak j¨i-ch’ap-l’ak kho. $26
j¨i-ch’ap-chhit j¨i-ch’ap-chhit kho. $27
j¨i-ch’ap-peh j¨i-ch’ap-peh kho. $28
j¨i-ch’ap-k´au j¨i-ch’ap-k´au kho. $29

1 Ɩ 7
san-ch’ap san-ch’ap kho. $30
san-ch’ap-it san-ch’ap-it kho. $31
san-ch’ap-j¨i san-ch’ap-j¨i kho. $32
san-ch’ap-san san-ch’ap-san kho. $33
san-ch’ap-s`i san-ch’ap-s`i kho. $34
san-ch’ap-g¨o. san-ch’ap-g¨o. kho. $35
san-ch’ap-l’ak san-ch’ap-l’ak kho. $36
san-ch’ap-chhit san-ch’ap-chhit kho. $37
san-ch’ap-peh san-ch’ap-peh kho. $38
san-ch’ap-k´au san-ch’ap-k´au kho. $39

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Memorize the Following Characters

一 ch’it/it
1
二 n¨ng/j¨i
2

三 san/sam
3
四 s`i/s`u
4

五 g¨o./ng´o.
5
六 l’ak/li’ok
6

七 chhit/chhit
7
八 peh/pat
8

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一二三四
五六七八
Buy a notebook divided up into squares and practice writing the above characters.

Your teacher will show you the stroke order and radical for each character.
[老師：請告訴學生筆畫的順序以及部首]

Here are a few general pointers. When writing Chinese characters:

1. Write from the upper left-hand corner to the lower right-hand corner [e.g. ̣].
This is an overall principle, embracing the following six, and guides the
writing of all characters not covered by them.

2. Write from left to right [e.g. 八 ]

3. Write from top to bottom [e.g. 三 ]

4. Write from outside to inside [e.g. 四 ]

(Note that the inside is filled in first before the bottom line is added.)

5. Write the horizontal line(s) before writing the other line(s) which cross it.
[e.g. 七 ]

6. Write the slanting stroke to the left before writing the one to the right.
[e.g. 六 ]

7. Write the center stroke before writing its symmetrical ‘wings’ [e.g. 你 l´i ]
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