Original Text · Elementary · Lesson 1

Greetings.

VOL. 01 NETCHAI ORIGINAL TEXT
Elementary · Lesson 1

01Vocabulary

01
你(pron.)
nǐ
you
02
好(adj.)
hǎo
good; well
03
您(pron.)
nín
polite form of "you"
04
先生(n.)
xiānsheng
Mr.; sir (honorific for men)
05
早上(n.)
zǎoshang
morning
06
吗(part.)
ma
question particle indicating a yes/no question
07
很(adv.)
hěn
very
08
我(pron.)
wǒ
I; me
09
也(adv.)
yě
also; too; as well
10
工作(v./n.)
gōngzuò
work; to work
11
忙(adj.)
máng
busy
12
不(adv.)
bù
no; not
13
太(adv.)
tài
too; extremely
14
呢(part.)
ne
question particle used at the end of a sentence to prompt a response
15
爸爸(n.)
bàba
father; dad
16
妈妈(n.)
māma
mother; mom
17
身体(n.)
shēntǐ
body; health
18
他们(pron.)
tāmen
they; them
19
都(adv.)
dōu
all; both; every
20
谢谢(v.)
xièxie
thank you

02Proper Nouns

01
何总
hé zǒng
Short for "He Youpeng, General Manager"President He
02
田中
tián zhōng
surname
03
李兰
lǐ lán
personal name
04
张军
zhāng jūn
personal name
05
王力
wáng lì
personal name

03Key Sentences

01
你nǐ好hǎo！
Hello. / Hi.
02
您nín好hǎo！
Hello. (used when addressing elders or superiors)
03
你nǐ早zǎo！
Good morning.
04
您nín早zǎo！
Good morning. (used when addressing elders or superiors)
05
你nǐ好hǎo吗ma？
How are you?
06
很hěn好hǎo。
I'm fine. / Great.
07
我wǒ也yě很hěn好hǎo。
I'm fine too.
08
你nǐ工gōng作zuò忙máng吗ma？
Are you busy with work?
09
不bú太tài忙máng，你nǐ呢ne？
Not too busy. How about you?
10
你nǐ爸bà爸ba妈mā妈ma身shēn体tǐ好hǎo吗ma？
Are your father and mother in good health?
11
他tā们men都dōu很hěn好hǎo。
They are both very well.
12
谢xiè谢xie！
Thank you!

04Dialogue

SCENE 1
hé zǒng何总
你nǐ好hǎo，田tián中zhōng！
tiánzhōng田中
何hé总zǒng，您nín好hǎo！
SCENE 2
lǐ lán李兰
田tián中zhōng先xiān生sheng，您nín早zǎo！
tiánzhōng田中
你nǐ早zǎo，李lǐ兰lán！
SCENE 3
zhāng jūn张军
你nǐ好hǎo吗ma？
wáng lì王力
很hěn好hǎo。你nǐ好hǎo吗ma？
zhāng jūn张军
我wǒ也yě很hěn好hǎo。
wáng lì王力
你nǐ工gōng作zuò忙máng吗ma？
zhāng jūn张军
不bú太tài忙máng，你nǐ呢ne？
wáng lì王力
我wǒ也yě不bú太tài忙máng。
SCENE 4
zhāng jūn张军
李lǐ兰lán，你nǐ好hǎo！
lǐ lán李兰
你nǐ好hǎo！
zhāng jūn张军
你nǐ爸bà爸ba妈mā妈ma身shēn体tǐ好hǎo吗ma？
lǐ lán李兰
他tā们men都dōu很hěn好hǎo。你nǐ爸bà爸ba妈mā妈ma身shēn体tǐ好hǎo吗ma？
zhāng jūn张军
他tā们men也yě都dōu很hěn好hǎo。谢xiè谢xie！

05Grammar

POINT 01

你好！ ⇒ 您好！

Means "hello" and can be used at any time of day. You can replace "你" with other subjects to greet different people.

* Use "您好" when speaking to elders or superiors as a sign of respect.
POINT 02

你早！ ⇒ 您早！

Means "good morning" and is only used in the morning. You can replace "你" with other subjects.

* Use "您早" when speaking to elders or superiors.
POINT 03

Questions with "吗" (1) ⇒ 你好吗？

Adding "吗" to the end of a statement turns it into a yes/no question. "你好吗？" means "How are you?" and expects an affirmative or negative reply. The standard response is a set phrase such as "我很好." It is typically used between acquaintances.

  1. 你nǐ身shēn体tǐ好hǎo吗ma？
  2. 他tā们men好hǎo吗ma？
POINT 04

Questions with "呢" ⇒ 你呢？

Questions using "呢" are sometimes called elliptical questions. In a given context, "呢" is added after a noun or noun phrase. "你呢？" means "And you?" or "What about you?"

  1. 我wǒ身shēn体tǐ很hěn好hǎo，你nǐ呢ne？
  2. 我wǒ很hěn忙máng，你nǐ呢ne？

06Translation

Scene 1.

何总Hello, Tanaka!
田中President He, hello!

Scene 2.

李兰Mr. Tanaka, good morning!
田中Good morning, Li Lan!

Scene 3.

张军How are you?
王力I'm fine. How are you?
张军I'm fine too.
王力Are you busy with work?
张军Not too busy. How about you?
王力I'm not too busy either.

Scene 4.

张军Li Lan, hello!
李兰Hello!
张军Are your father and mother in good health?
李兰They are both very well. Are your father and mother in good health?
张军They are both very well too. Thank you!