第三課 LESSON 3

LESSON 3

What’s in this lesson:

- Numbers

- Measures

- Asking & Giving Prices

- Possession

- Auxiliary Verbs

THE POST OFFICE

DIALOGUE t`ui-¨oe

Chh`oa: S´io-ch´ia, g´oa beh b´e ˆiu-ph`io.

S´io-ch´ia: L´i beh b´e g¨oa-ch¨e chˆin ˆe ˆiu-ph`io？

Chh`oa: Sit-l´e, l´i k´ong s´im-m’ih？ G´oa thian bˆo.

S´io-ch´ia: G´oa s¨i m¨ng l´i, l´i beh b´e k´ui kho. ˆe ˆiu-ph`io？

Chh`oa: G´oa beh b´e n¨ng tiun g¨o. kho. ˆe ˆiu-ph`io.

S´io-ch´ia: L´ong-ch´ong ch’ap kho.. L´i ´iau `ai s´im-m’ih？

Chh`oa: ¨m-b´ian, ´an-ne to h´o a, to-s¨ia.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

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LESSON 3 第三課

Tiun: S´io-ch´ia, g´oa beh k`ia-phoe.

Sío-ch´ia: Beh k`ia hˆang-khong-ˆe, s¨i bˆo？

Tiun: S¨i.

S´io-ch´ia: Beh k`oa-h¨o bˆo？

Tiun: Beh, to-s¨ia.

S´io-ch´ia: Ch’ap-s`i kho..

Tiun: Ph´ain-s`e, l´i k´ong ch’ap-s`i kho. ´a-s¨i j¨i-ch’ap-s`i

kho.？

S´io-ch´ia: Ch’ap-s`i kho..

蔡： 小姐，我要買郵票。
小姐： 你要買多少錢的郵票？
蔡： 對不起，你說什麼？我聽不懂。
小姐： 我是問你，你要買幾塊(錢)的郵票？
蔡： 我要買兩張五塊(錢)的郵票。
小姐： 一共十塊(錢)。你還要什麼？
蔡： 不用了，這樣就好了，謝謝。

- - - - - - - - - - -

張： 小姐，我要寄信。
小姐： 要寄航空嗎？
張： 是。
小姐： 要不要掛號？
張： 要，謝謝。
小姐： 十四塊。
張： 不好意思，你說十四塊還是二十四塊？
小姐： 十四塊。

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第三課 LESSON 3

ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE DIALOGUE 對話翻譯

Chh`oa : Miss, I want to buy some stamps.
S´io-ch´ia: What (denomination of) stamps do you want to buy? (note 9)
Chh`oa : I’m sorry, what did you say, I didn’t understand.
S´io-ch´ia: I asked you, what stamps do you want to buy?
(note: s¨i simply adds emphasis)
Chh`oa : I want to buy two $5 stamps.
S´io-ch´ia: Altogether $10. What else do you want?
Chh`oa : Nothing more, that’s all (i.e. that’s enough), thanks. (note 10)

- - - - - - - - -

Tiun : Miss, I want to mail a letter.

S´io-ch´ia: You want to send it airmail, right?
Tiun : Yes.
S´io-ch´ia: Do you want to register it?
Tiun : Yes, thanks.
S´io-ch´ia: $14.
Tiun : I’m sorry, did you say $14 or $24?
S´io-ch´ia: $14.

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LESSON 3 第三課

NEW VOCABULARY sin-j¨i

1. ˆiu-k’iok 郵 局 (PW) post office

2. Chh`oa 蔡 (N) (a Taiwanese family name)

3. beh 要 (AV) want to, going to

4. b´e 買 (V) to buy

b¨e 賣 (V) to sell

5. ˆiu-ph`io 郵 票 (N) postage stamp (M: tiun 張)

6. g¨oa-ch¨e 多!少!! (NU/QW) how much? how many?

(or l¨oa-ch¨e)
7. chˆin 錢!! ! (N) money

g¨oa-ch¨e-chˆin 多!少!錢!(EX) How much money?

(i.e. How much does it cost?)

8. ˆe 的!! ! (P) (Noun & Verb suffix indicating

! ! ! possession or modification)

9. sit-l´e 對 不 起 (EX) Sorry！ I beg your pardon！

10. k´ong 說 / 講 (V) to say, to speak; to say that

11. thian bˆo 聽 不 懂!(EX) don’t understand (when listening)

thian ¨u 聽 得 懂 (EX) understand (when listening)

12. m¨ng 問 (V) to ask (a question), to inquire

(note 7)
13. k´ui ＋ M 幾 +M (NU/QW) how many?
(expecting a low number in reply)

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第三課 LESSON 3

14. kho. 塊 / 元 (M) dollar

15. n¨ng 兩 (NU) 2 (must be followed by a Measure)

(note 2)
ch’it 一 (NU) 1 (must be followed by a Measure)

16. tiun 張 (M) (Measure for stamps & flat objects)

sheet (of) / (Taiwanese family name)

17. l´ong-ch´ong 一 共 (A) altogether, totaling, in total

(note 5)
18. ´iau 還 (A) still, yet (continuing)

19. ¨m-b´ian 不用/不必 (EX) No need !

(AV) no need to

L´i ¨m-b´ian b¨e. You needn’t sell it.

20. k`ia-phoe 寄 信 (VO) to mail letters

k`ia 寄 (V) to mail

phoe 信 (N) letter (mail) (M: tiun 封)

tiun 封 (M) (Measure for letters)

21. hˆang-khong 航 空 (N) airmail

hˆang-khong-phoe 航 空 信 (N) airmail letter

22. k`oa-h¨o 掛 號 (VO) to register (a letter or at the

outpatient department of a
hospital)

k`oa-h¨o-phoe 掛 號 信 (N) registered letter

23. ´a-s¨i 還 是 (MA) or, either (used in questions)

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LESSON 3 第三課

NUMBERS & MEASURES

it / ch’it 一 (NU) 1 (note 2)

j¨i / n¨ng 二 (NU) 2

san 三 (NU) 3

s`i 四 (NU) 4

g¨o. 五 (NU) 5

l’ak 六 (NU) 6

chhit 七 (NU) 7

peh 八 (NU) 8

k´au 九 (NU) 9

ch’ap 十 (NU) 10

pah 百 (NU/M) hundred

kh`ong / lˆeng 零 (NU) zero

p´un 本 (M) volume (of); (Measure for books)

ki 枝 (M) (Measure for writing instruments)

ˆe 個 (M) (general Measure)

chit-ˆe 這 個 (SP+M) this (one)

hit-ˆe 那 個 (SP+M) that (one)

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第三課 LESSON 3

MEASURES (M)
NU M N
n¨ng p´un chheh
兩 本 書
two books

In ENGLISH we have Nouns of Measure:

Depth: a foot of water
Length: a metre of cloth
Weight: a ton of coal
Area: an acre of land
Volume: a pint of beer
In fact, the English language has many Measure words, e.g. a
packet of tea, a suit of clothes, a piece of furniture, a pair of shoes,
a sheet of paper. We don’t say, “I want a paper” (unless, of course,
we mean a newspaper); we say, “I want a sheet or piece of paper.”

However, in TAIWANESE, every Noun has its own Measure word.

It is very important, therefore, to know the appropriate Measure
word for each one.
A Measure word is required whenever a Noun is quantified by a
number, e.g. ch’it p´un chheh (one book), g¨o. ki pit (five pens). But
as Measure words are always used together with a number g¨o. ˆe
lˆang (five people), they cannot stand alone. (An exception to this
rule is ch’it (one) which is occasionally omitted as understood).
However, Measures are not required when the Noun is used
generically to refer to something without regard to specific
quantity, e.g. chheh s¨i l´i-ê (the book(s) is/are yours), G´oa bˆo pit
(I don’t have any pens).

There is one very common Measure word: ˆe. This Measure word,
as well as most others, are not translated in English, e.g. san ˆe
B´i-kok-lˆang (three Americans).
Nouns requiring specific Measures (i.e. apart from ˆe) will be noted
in the vocabulary lists.

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LESSON 3 第三課

1. Repetition Drill

O B J E C T
S V NU M N
G´oa b´e n¨ng tiun ˆiu-ph`io
I k`ia ch’it tiun phoe
L¨au-su h¨o. g´oa g¨o. p´un chheh
Tiun sin-sen chh´ian ch’ap-j¨i ˆe lˆang
In ¨u k´au ki pit
Chh`oa l¨au-su m¨ng ch’it ˆe h’ak-seng

我買兩張郵票
他寄一封信
老師給我五本書
張先生請十二個人
他們有九枝筆
蔡老師問一個學生

2. Transformation Drill: insert the appropriate Number and Measure.

(The teacher writes the Number on the board)

Example: Teacher: G´oa ¨u chheh 我有書。(Teacher writes 2 on the board)

Student: L´i ¨u n¨ng p´un chheh. 你有兩本書。

Teacher: G´oa ¨u chheh. 我有書。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa b´e ˆiu-ph`io. 我買郵票。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa m¨ng h’ak-seng. 我問學生。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa chh´ian lˆang. 我請人。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa k`ia phoe. 我寄信。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa h¨o. l´i pit. 我給你筆。 Student: L´i 你 .….

Teacher: G´oa b¨e poe-´a. 我賣杯子。 Student: L´i 你 .….

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第三課 LESSON 3

MONEY & PRICES

NU M
二十二 塊
j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i kho.
22 dollars

Money expressions follow the NU - M - N pattern.

However, as in English, they are frequently abbreviated, dropping
such words as are easily understood from the context.

11. Repetition Drill

NU kho.
n¨ng kho.
ch’ap-k´au kho.
ch’it kho.
j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i kho.
pah-it kho.
n¨ng pah kho.
g¨o. pah g¨o.

兩塊
十九塊
一塊
二十二塊
一百一十塊
兩百塊
五百五

12. The student reads out the following:

$4 $9 $3 $1 $8 $2 $12 $19 $11
$26 $29 $42 $55 $67 $79 $95 $99 $100

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LESSON 3 第三課

13. Student reads out the following telephone numbers:

(Note: say one kh`ong for each ‘zero’)
04 2321 5081 02 2231 8842 07 3551 0639 08 951 0099
03 431 4455 05 909 9005 07 3272 8875 06 345 6782

TELEPHONE NUMBERS

it j¨i sam s`u ng´o.

l’iok chhit pat k´iu s’ip

POSSESSION ( ˆe 的 )

Possessor ˆe Possessed
G´oa ˆ e l¨au-su
我 的 老師

my teacher

In English, two ways of indicating possession are by the use of a

possessive adjective (my pen) and by adding ’s to the Noun
modifier (the teacher’s book). (see note 9)

In Taiwanese, the particle ˆe is normally g´oa ˆe 我的 = my, mine

used to indicate possession. It is added l´´i ˆe 你的 = your, yours
to the (pro)noun modifier preceding the i ˆe 他的 = his, her, hers, its
Noun which is being modified (i.e. the g´oan ˆe 我們的 = our, ours
‘possessor’ precedes the thing or person l´in ˆe 你們的 = your, yours
‘possessed’), e.g. G´oa ˆe pit (my pen) in ˆe 他們的 = their, theirs

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第三課 LESSON 3

21. Repetition Drill

(Pro)noun Noun V-O

ˆe
modifier Modified
G´oa ˆe poe-´a h¨o. s´iang?
L´i ˆe k`oa-h¨o-phoe (s¨i) n¨ng kho.
I ˆe chheh g¨oa-ch¨e-chˆin ?
Tiun l¨au-su ˆe h’ak-seng s`en s´im-m’ih ?
Iˆu-k’iok ˆe s´io-ch´ia k`io Ngˆo. Siok-tin
Tˆan th`ai-th`ai ˆe mˆia k`io s´im-m’ih?

我的杯子給誰？
你的掛號信(是)兩塊(錢)
他的書多少錢？
張老師的學生姓什麼？
郵局的小姐叫吳淑珍
陳太太的名字叫什麼？

22. Substitution Drill: substitute the words supplied in place of s´iang.

Note that normally only one ˆe appears in a sentence.

Example: Teacher: I s¨i s´iang ˆe th`ai-th`ai? (g´oa ˆe l¨au-su)

她是誰的太太？ (我的老師)

Student: I s¨i g´oan l¨au-su e

ˆ th`ai-th`ai. (note 9)
她是我老師的太太。 (She is my teacher’s wife)

Teacher: I s¨i s´iang ˆe th`ai-th`ai? (g´oa ˆe l¨au-su)!!Student:

她是誰的太太？ (我的老師)

Teacher: I s¨i s´iang ˆe th`ai-th`ai? (Nˆg sin-sen)!! Student:

她是誰的太太？ (黃先生)

Teacher: I s¨i s´iang ˆe th`ai-th`ai? (g´oa ˆe h’ak-seng)! Student:

她是誰的太太？ (我的學生)

Teacher: I s¨i s´iang ˆe th`ai-th`ai? (Lˆim l¨au-su)!! Student:

她是誰的太太？ (林老師)

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LESSON 3 第三課

AUXILIARY VERBS (AV)

S (neg) AV V O
G´oa (bˆo) beh b´e pit
我 (不) 要 買 筆

I (not) want to buy pen(s)

Auxiliary Verbs (e.g. want to, can, like to, will, etc.) are used in the
same way as in English, i.e. immediately preceding the verb they
help: e.g. I want to buy a pen = G´oa beh b´e pit.
In this lesson, we have introduced you to Auxiliary Verb beh (want
to or going to). Auxiliary Verbs are more fully introduced in Lessons
9 & 11.

The sentence order is the same as in English. However, negative

bˆo plus Adverbs all precede the Auxiliary Verb, not the main Verb.

31. Repetition Drill

S A / neg AV V O
Lˆau l¨au-su ¨ia beh m¨ng l´i
Tiun sin-sen beh b´e m’ih-k¨ian
Chh`oa s´io-ch´ia bˆo beh chh´ian g´oa
Ngˆo. th`ai-th`ai ¨ia bˆo beh k`ia phoe

劉老師也要問你
張先生要買東西
蔡小姐不要請我
吳太太也不要寄信

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第三課 LESSON 3

ACTIVITY 活 動 ’oah-ta¨ng
First cut up the postage stamps below. Your teacher will then ask you to hand her
postage stamps, using the pattern:

Chh´ian l´i h¨o. g´oa NU tiun NU kho. ˆe ˆiu-ph`io (see note 9d)
請你給我 NU 張 NU 塊的郵票。

台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣
$1 $1 $2 $4 $5 $5 $5 $10 $10
郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票

台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣 台 灣
$15 $15 $20 $20 $50 $50 $50 $100 $100
郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票 郵 票

Complete the table below before class; then practice it with your teacher.

Having practiced it, your teacher will write numbers on the board and you will
call them out in Taiwanese.

Then, as your teacher calls out numbers, you write them down.

10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99

0 零 十 二 十 三 十
1 一 十 一 二 十 一 三 十 一
2 二 十 二 二 十 二 三 十 二
3 三 十 三 二 十 三 三 十 三
4 四 十 四 二 十 四 四 十 四
5 五 十 五 二 十 五 五 十 五
6 六 十 六 二 十 六 六 十 六
7 七 十 七 二 十 七 七 十 七
8 八 十 八 二 十 八 八 十 八
9 九 十 九 二 十 九 九 十 九

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LESSON 3 第三課

Romanization:

10-19 20-29 30-39 40-49

0 kh`ong ch’ap
1 it ch’ap-it
2 j¨i ch’ap-j¨i j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i
3 san san-ch’ap-san
4 s`i s`i-ch’ap-s`i
.
5 g¨o
6 l’ak
7 chhit
8 peh
9 k´au

50-59 60-69 70-79 80-89 90-99

0
1
2
3
4
5 g¨o.-ch’ap-g¨o.
6 l’ak-ch’ap-l’ak
7 chhit-ch’ap-chhit
8 peh-ch’ap-peh
9 k´au-ch’ap-k´au

TRANSLATION 翻 譯 hoan-’ek
1. She is my student.
2. 50 $2 postage stamps are $100.
3. Excuse me, how much does it cost to send (by) airmail?
4. How many do you want?
5. I asked him how much do two ball-point pens cost?

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第三課 LESSON 3

WORTH NOTING 註 解
Certain words in Taiwanese are commonly omitted as being superfluous,
especially when the meaning is clear to both people in the conversation.
Note the following:
a) Asking & Giving Prices: verbs such as s¨i , b¨e , `ai are usually omitted:
One pen is $2 = ch’it ki pit n¨ng kho..
Three books cost $100 = san p´un chheh ch’it pah kho..

b) ‘a’ and ‘the’ are commonly omitted (unless needed for clarity):
G´oa ¨u pit = I have a pen.
L¨au-su bˆo beh b´e = The teacher doesn’t want to buy it.

c) Personal and Possessive Pronouns are often reduced to one in number when
referring to the same person more than once in the same sentence:
M¨ng i ¨u pit bˆo ？ = Ask her whether she has a pen.

d) The impersonal pronoun ‘it’ is not translated in Taiwanese:

I don’t want it = G´oa bˆo `ai.

TRANSLATION OF THE SENTENCE PATTERNS 句 型 翻 譯

1. I buy 2 postage stamps.
He mails one letter.
The teacher gives me 5 books.
Mr. Tiun invites 12 people.
They have 9 pens.
Teacher Chhoa asks a student.

11. $2
$19
$1
$22
$110 (note 1)
$200
($)550 (notes 1 & 8)

21. To whom do I give my cup?

Your registered letter is/costs $2.
How much is his book?
What is the family name of Teacher Tiun ’s student?
The post office assistant is called Ngo. Siok-tin.
What is Mrs. Tan’s given name?

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LESSON 3 第三課

31. Teacher Lau also wants to ask you (a question).

Mr. Tiun wants to (or is going to) buy some things.
Miss. Chhoa doesn’t want to invite me.
Mrs. Ngo. also doesn’t want to mail any letters.

NOTES 註 解
Numbers:
1. Number expressions are often abbreviated, e.g. 130 ＝ pah san ,
i.e. omitting ch’it and ch’ap. !

2. ch’it and n¨ng: when counting things, e.g. 1 book, 2 students, use ch’it
and n¨ng. So a Measure word must always follow ch’it and n¨ng, although the
Noun can be omitted when understood from the context.
n¨ng ˆe lˆang two people n¨ng p´un chheh two books
.
ch’it kho $1 ch’it pah $100

3. j¨i : when counting numbers, e.g. 12, 22, 2-4-5-2, use j¨i.
j¨i-ch’ap kho. (20) j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i (22) san-pah-j¨i (320). But note
that it is n¨ng pah j¨i-ch’ap-j¨i (222) because pah is a Measure.

Note also that, when using the abbreviated form for numbers , it is always san
pah j¨i and never san pah n¨ng -- because n¨ng can only be used together
with a Measure.

4. it is usually omitted before ch’ap and ‘the teens’ 11-19.

5. Note that l´ong-ch´ong precedes the Verb, whereas in English ‘altogether’

usually follows the Verb:
G´oa l´ong-ch´ong ¨u ch’it pah kho. I have $100 altogether.

6. When acting as a Question Word (how many?), k´ui normally expects a

low number in reply.

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第三課 LESSON 3

7. m¨ng = to inquire of; to ask (questions)

L´i m¨ng i. You ask him (- because he knows the answer)

I m¨ng g´oa beh bˆo？ He asked me whether or not I want it.

G´oa m¨ng i s´iang ¨u pit？ I asked him who has a pen.

Note that m¨ng only takes questions as its Object. Contrast this with chh´ian
which only takes statements as its Object (Lesson 2 Note 3).

chh´ian m¨ng is therefore a polite way of asking a question:

Chh´ian m¨ng, s´iang ¨u chheh？ May I ask, who has a book?

8. When stating numbers which end in a zero, numbers above $100 can be
abbreviated.

9. Possession and modification can be indicated by:

a) a possessive adjective
e.g. my pen g´oa ˆe pit

b) ’s added to the modifier

e.g. the teacher’s cup l¨au-su ˆe poe-´a

c) a possessive pronoun
e.g. the pen is mine pit s¨i g´oa-ˆe

d) of between modifier and modified

e.g. $100 of books ch’it pah kho. ˆe chheh

e) two nouns occurring in sequence

e.g. $4 stamp s`i kho. ˆe ˆiu-ph`io
(see Dialogue for further examples of this one)
Note that, when there is a close personal relationship, Taiwanese often uses
g´oan instead of g´oa-ˆe, e.g. g´oan l¨au-su (my teacher), g´oan th`ai-th`ai
(my wife).

10. The Dialogue contained the sentence “ ´an-ne to h´o a ”. Simply learn
this as a useful phrase when asked if you want to purchase anything more.

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LESSON 3 第三課

g´oa ˆe 我的 = my, mine

l´´i ˆe 你的 = your, yours
i ˆe 他的 = his, her, hers, its
g´oan ˆe 我們的 = our, ours
l´in ˆe 你們的 = your, yours
in ˆe 他們的 = their, theirs

MORE RULES FOR CHANGING THE TONES

The syllable preceding the possessive particle ˆe does not change tone, unless it
is a Personal Pronoun:
7 3 7 3
Lˆim l¨au-su ˆe h’ak-seng.
1 7
G´oa ˆe pit.

Note: The syllable preceding the General Measure ˆe does change tone !

A Measure Word does not change tone when the Noun it refers to is omitted:
3 3 3 3 3 1
.
N¨ng p´un s¨i ch’ap kho . (n¨ng p´un = n¨ng p´un chheh)

The syllable preceding ´a-s¨i or ´a (= or) does not change tone.

(However, sometimes i (he) or l´i (you) will change tone.)
1 3 1 8 1 3 7 8
L´i s¨i B´i-kok-lˆang ´a-s¨i Eng-kok-lˆang？

46