LESSON
NOTES

Absolute
Beginner
S3
#14
Finding
Important
Places
in
China

CONTENTS
Dialogue
-
Chinese
Simplified
English
Pinyin
Traditional
Vocabulary
Sample
sentences

14
Grammar
Cultural
insight

#
CHINESECLASS101.COM ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S3 #14 1
DIALOGUE
-
CHINESE
SIMPLIFIED
1. 洗⼿间在哪⼉？
2. 在后⾯。
3. 我看不⻅。
4. 就在那⼉！后⾯。

ENGLISH
1. A
: Where
is
the
washroom?
2. B
: It's
at
the
back.
3. A
: I
can't
see.
4. B
: Just
over
there!
At
the
back.

PINYIN
1. Xǐshǒujiān
zài
nǎr?
2. Zàihòumian.
3. Wǒ
kànbùjiàn.
4. Jiù
zài
nàr!
Hòumian.

TRADITIONAL
1. 洗⼿間在哪兒？
2. 在後⾯。
3. 我看不⾒。
4. 就在那兒！後⾯。

VOCABULARY

CHINESECLASS101.COM ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S3 #14 2

Simplified Traditional Pinyin English Class
洗⼿间 洗⼿間 xǐshǒujiān washroom noun
厕所 廁所 cèsuǒ toilet noun
超市 超市 chāoshì supermarket noun
药店 藥店 yàodiàn drug
store noun
银⾏ 銀⾏ yínháng bank noun
前⾯ 前⾯ qiánmian in
front proposition
卫⽣间 衛⽣間 wèishēngjiān toilet noun
SAMPLE
SENTENCES
我要去洗⼿间。 我們湖邊的房⼦室內沒有廁所。
Wǒ
yào
qù
xǐshǒujiān. Wǒmen
húbiān
de
fángzi
shìnèi
méiyǒu
cèsuǒ.
I
want
to
go
to
the
washroom. Our
lake
house
does
not
have
an
indoor
toilet.
室內廁所 ⾺桶
shìnèi
cèsuǒ mǎtǒng
indoor
toilet toilet
bowl
厕所在哪⼉? 超市在哪⼉？
Cèsuǒ
zài
nǎr
? Chāoshì
zài
nǎr?
Where
is
the
toilet? Where
is
the
supermarket?
药店在超市后⾯。 银⾏在哪⼉？
Yàodiàn
zài
chāoshìhòumian. Yínháng
zài
nǎr?
The
drug
store
is
behind
the
supermarket. Where
is
the
bank?
你可以到银⾏去转账。 银⾏在前⾯。
Nǐ
kěyǐ
dào
yínháng
qù
zhuǎnzhàng. Yínháng
zài
qiánmian.
You
can
go
to
the
bank
to
transfer
funds. The
bank
is
up
in
ahead.
你在我的前⾯。 卫⽣间在后⾯。
Nǐ
zài
wǒ
de
qiánmiàn. Wèishēngjiān
zàihòumiàn.
You're
in
front
of
me. The
toilet
is
at
the
back.
GRAMMAR
The
Focus
of
This
Lesson
is
在
(zài)Used
as
a
Verb
and
Proposition
Word
洗⼿间在哪⼉？




Xǐshǒujiān
zài
nǎr?


"Where
is
the
washroom?"
CHINESECLASS101.COM ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S3 #14 3
在
(zài)
is
an
interesting
word
in
that
it
can
be
used
both
as
verb
and
proposition
word
in
sentences.
When
used
as
a
verb,
在
(zài)
means,
"to
exist,"
such
as
in
our
dialogue,
洗⼿间在哪⼉？
(xǐshǒujiān
zài
nǎr?)
The
negative
form
of
在
(zài)
as
a
verb
is
the
same
like
most
other
verbs.
We
put
不
(bù)
before
the
verb.
For
Example:
1.
他现在在上海。


Tā
xiànzài
zài
Shànghǎi.
"He
is
in
Shanghai
now."

2.
猫在外⾯。


Māo
zài
wàimian.
"The
cat
is
outside.
"
3.
我妈妈不在家。


Wǒ
māma
bù
zài
jiā.
"My
mom
is
not
home.
"
You
probably
have
noticed
that
in
the
above
sentences,
在
(zài)
is
followed
by
a
location
noun
to
indicate
where
there
subject
is.
In
some
cases,
there
is
no
need
to
have
a
place
following
在
(zài).
When
we
simply
ask
if
someone
is
in,
we
could
say,
XXX在吗？
The
answer
could
be
不在
(bùzài)
or
在
(zài).

This
sentence
is
frequently
used
at
the
start
of
a
phone
conversation.
For
more
advanced
beginners,
you
may
also
have
encountered
在
(zài)
as
a
proposition
word
in
a
sentence.
In
this
case,
在
(zài),
often
leading
a
time
or
place
phrase,
follows
right
after
the
subject
to
indicate
the
time
or
location
of
some
actions
that
take
place.
Note
when
we
translate
these
sentences
into
English,
the
在
(zài)
phrase
is
often
at
the
end
of
the
sentence.
For
Example:
1.
我在家⼯作。


Wǒ
zài
jiā
gōngzuò.
"I
work
at
home."

2.
他在城⾥打⼯。


Tā
zài
chénglǐ
dǎgōng.
"He
works
in
the
city."

3.
我在电影院等你。


Wǒ
zài
diànyǐngyuàn
děng
nǐ.

"
"I
will
wait
for
you
at
the
cinema.
4.
爷爷在去年冬天去世了。


Yéye
zài
qùnián
dōngtiān
qùshì
le.

"Grandpa
passed
away
last
year."

5.
⻋在五分钟前开⾛了。


Chē
zài
wǔ
fēnzhōng
qián
kāi
zǒu
le.
"The
car
has
left
five
minutes
ago."

CULTURAL
INSIGHT
Chinese
Bathrooms


CHINESECLASS101.COM ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S3 #14 4
The
Chinese
claim
to
have
invented
the
toilet
and
toilet
paper
over
two
thousand
years
ago.
However,
for
many
foreigners
the
typical
Chinese
toilet
is
a
place
to
fear
and
dread.
Unfortunately,
many
toilets
in
China
are
not
known
for
their
fragrance
or
cleanliness.
Be
warned
that
rural
toilets
in
particular
may
be
little
more
than
a
hole
in
the
ground
(with
several
other
holes
next
to
them
should
you
get
lonely
in
there).
Many
toilets
require
the
user
to
squat
usually
facing
away
from
the
door.
There
is
sometimes
a
pipe
for
you
to
hold
onto.
Don't
forget
to
bring
your
own
paper
or
purchase
some
from
the
vendors
occasionally
found
just
outside
the
door
to
the
toilet.
Fortunately,
western
style
toilets
are
increasingly
common
in
the
cities
and
can
be
found
in
most
shopping
malls.
If
in
doubt,
head
for
a
Starbucks,
KFC,
McDonald's
or
other
fast
food
restaurants.
That
said,
the
traditional
squat
position
is
said
to
be
much
healthier
than
sitting
on
the
golden
throne
and
may
help
prevent
many
diseases.

CHINESECLASS101.COM ABSOLUTE BEGINNER S3 #14 5