Chinese For Dummies (19 page)

Interrogative pronouns

A third way to ask questions in Chinese is to use interrogative pronouns. The following are pronouns that act as questions in Chinese:

nǎ
哪
(nah) + classifier (
which
)

nǎr
哪儿
(
哪
兒
) (nar) (
where
)

shéi
谁
(
誰
) (shay) (
who/whom
)

shéi de
谁
的
(
誰
的
) (shay duh) (
whose
)

shénme
什么
(
甚麼
) (shummuh) (
what
)

shénme dìfāng
什么地方
(
甚麼地方
) (shummah dee-fahng) (
where
)

Don't confuse
nǎ
with
nǎr.
That one extra letter makes the difference between saying
which
(nǎ)
and
where
(nǎr).

Figuring out where such interrogative pronouns should go in any given sentence is easy. Just put them wherever the answer would be found. For example

Question:
Nǐ shì shéi?
你是谁
? (
你是誰
?) (nee shir shay?) (
Who are you?
)

Answer:
Nǐ shì wǒ péngyǒu.
你是我朋友
. (nee shir waw puhng-yo.) (
You're my friend.
)

Question:
Tāde nǚpéngyǒu zài nǎr?
他的女朋友在哪儿
? (
他的女朋友在哪兒
?) (tah duh nyew-puhng-yo dzye nar?) (
Where is his girlfriend?
)

Answer:
Tāde nǔpéngyǒu zài jiālǐ.
他的女朋友在家里
. (
他的女朋友在家裡
.) (tah-duh nyew-puhng-yo dzye jyah-lee.) (
His girlfriend is at home.
)

A way to ask
who
or
which person
without sounding rude or too familiar is to use the term
něi wèi
哪位
(nye way) (Literally:
which person
). For example,
Nǐ yéye shì něi wèi?
你爷爷是哪位
? (
你爺爺
是哪位
?) (nee yeh-yeh shir nay way?) (
Which one is your grandfather?
)

You often find interrogative pronouns at the beginning of sentences if they're followed by the verb
yǒu
有
(yo) (
to exist
), such as
Shéi yǒu wǒde bǐ?
谁有我的笔
? (
誰有我的筆
?) (shay yo waw-duh bee?) (
Who has my pen?
)

 Fun & Games

Match the Chinese questions with the English translations. (See
Appendix D
for the correct answer.)

Chapter 4

Getting Started with Basic Expressions: Nǐ Hǎo!

In This Chapter

Introducing yourself and others

Greeting and chatting with family, friends, and colleagues

Nǐ hǎo!
你好
! (nee how) (
Hello!/How are you?
) Those are probably the two most important words you need to know to start a conversation with your Chinese neighbors, with your Chinese in-laws coming into town, with a Chinese classmate, or with airport personnel upon your arrival in China. When you say them, you take the first step in making new friends and establishing contact with just about anybody.

In this chapter, I show you how to start your new connection off with just the right words. The only other thing you have to do is smile. That's something all people understand, no matter what country they're from.

Making Introductions

Nothing beats making new friends at a
wǎnhuì
晚会
(
晚會
) (wahn-hway) (
party
), a
xīn gōngzuò
新工作
(sheen goong-dzwaw) (
new job
), on the
dìtiě
地铁
(
地鐵
) (dee-tyeh) (
subway
), or just
zài lùshàng
在路上
(dzye loo-shahng) (
on the street
). You may meet someone right after reading this chapter who becomes a good friend for life. This section gives you a head start in making a good first impression. Go ahead and practice these greetings to get ready for anything.

Acquainting yourself

When you make Chinese acquaintances or travel abroad, you soon discover that a little knowledge of even a few key expressions in their native language goes a long way in creating good will between your two cultures. Chinese people in particular are very appreciative of anyone who takes the time to learn their intricate and difficult language, so your efforts will be rewarded many times over.

You have options other than
nǐ hǎo
when you first meet someone, such as
Hěn gāoxìng jiàndào nǐ.
很高兴见到你
(
很高興見到你
) (hun gaow-sheeng jyan-daow nee.) (
Glad to meet you.
) or
Wǒ hěn róngxìng.
我很荣幸
(
我很榮幸
) (waw hun roong-sheeng.) (
I'm honored to meet you.
). Go ahead and tell the person your
míngzi
名字
(meeng-dzuh) (
name
) and take the conversation from there.

Don't know what to say after the first
nǐ hǎo?
Here are a few common opening lines to get you started:

Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
你叫什么名字
? (
你叫甚麼名字
?) (nee jyaow shummuh meeng-dzuh?) (
What's your name?
)

Qǐng ràng wǒ jièshào wǒ zìjǐ.
请让我介绍我自己
. (
請讓我介紹我自己
.) (cheeng rahng waw jyeh-shaow waw dzuh-jee) (
Please let me introduce myself.
)

Wǒ jiào
_____
. Nǐ ne?
我叫
_____.
你呢
?
(waw jyaow _____. nee nuh?) (
My name is _____. What's yours?
)

Wǒ shì Měiguórén.
我是美国人
. (
我是美國人
.) (waw shir may-gwaw-run.) (
I'm an American.
)

Introducing your friends and family

You can help your friends make even more friends if you start introducing them to each other. All you have to do is say
Qǐng ràng wǒ jièshào wǒde péngyǒu, Carl.
请让我介绍我的朋友
, Carl. (
請讓我介紹我的朋友
, Carl.) (cheeng rahng waw jyeh-shaow waw-duh puhng-yo, Carl.) (
Let me introduce my friend, Carl.
) In addition to introducing your
péngyǒu
朋友
(puhng-yo) (
friend
), you can introduce these important people:

bàba
爸爸
(bah-bah) (
father
)

lǎobǎn
老板
(
老闆
) (laow-bahn) (
boss
)

lǎoshī
老师
(
老師
)
(laow-shir) (
teacher
)

māma
妈妈
(
媽媽
)
(mah-mah) (
mother
)