Lesson 3: Apologies and Compliments

道歉和感谢

Learn to use 太, 了, 要 through the topic of apologizing, thanking, and giving compliments.

11 words2 grammar points1 dialogues~12 min

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Vocabulary11 words

帮助bāngzhùVerb

1.to helpthe act of assisting others
2.help; assistancethe noun sense

Examples

我帮助你。

wǒbāngzhùnǐ。

I'll help you.

水平shuǐpíngNoun

level; standarddegree of ability

Examples

他的中文水平很高。

tādezhōngwénshuǐpínghěngāo。

His Chinese level is very high.

我想提高我的水平。

wǒxiǎngtígāowǒdeshuǐpíng。

I want to improve my level.

往wǎngpreposition

toward; in the direction ofsimilar to 'xiang', emphasizing movement toward a direction

Examples

往前走。

wǎngqiánzǒu。

Go forward.

往哪儿走？

wǎngnǎérzǒu？

Which way do we go?

以后yǐhòuNoun

afterward; later; from now onrefers to a time in the future, from a certain point onward

Examples

以后我们再联系。

yǐhòuwǒmenzàiliánxì。

Let's keep in touch from now on.

对不起duìbuqǐPhrase

sorry

Examples

对不起, 我迟到了。

duìbuqǐ,wǒchídàole.

Sorry, I am late.

高兴gāoxìngAdjective

1.happy; gladExpresses a joyful state.
2.pleasedLight in tone, common in everyday conversation.

Examples

我很高兴。

wǒhěngāoxìng。

I am very happy.

见到你很高兴！

jiàndàonǐhěngāoxìng！

Nice to meet you!

今天jīntiānNoun

today

Examples

今天很热。

jīntiānhěnrè。

It is very hot today.

我们今天上课。

wǒmenjīntiānshàngkè。

We have class today.

没关系méiguānxiPhrase

it's all right, never mindUsed to respond to an apology.

Examples

—对不起! —没关系。

—duìbuqǐ!—méiguānxi.

— Sorry! — It's all right.

送sòngVerb

1.to give, to present (a gift)
2.to see someone off
3.to send, to deliver (mail, goods)

Examples

我送你一本书。

wǒsòngnǐyìběnshū。

I'll give you a book.

我去送他。

wǒqùsòngtā。

I'm going to see him off.

休息xiūxiVerb

to rest

Examples

我休息一下。

wǒxiūxiyíxià。

I'll rest for a while.

聪明cōngmingAdjective

intelligentpraise for intelligence

Examples

他很聪明。

tāhěncōngming。

He is very intelligent.

聪明的孩子。

cōngmingdeháizi。

An intelligent child.

Grammar

Too... (emphasizing degree)

S + 太 + 形容词 + 了

This structure is used to emphasize, praise, or complain about the degree of an adjective. It usually comes with '了' at the end of the sentence.

你的中文水平太高了！

nǐdezhōngwénshuǐpíngtàigāole！

Your Chinese is so good!

今天太高兴了。

jīntiāntàigāoxìngle。

Today is so much fun.

About to / planning to do something

主语 + 要 + 动词

'要' goes before the main verb to express an intention, a plan in the near future, or a change about to happen.

我现在要休息一下。

wǒxiànzàiyàoxiūxiyíxià。

I'm going to rest for a bit now.

明天我要送他一个礼物。

míngtiānwǒyàosòngtāyígèlǐwù。

Tomorrow I'm going to give him a gift.

Dialogues

Apologies and Compliments

Two friends, Linh and Nam, in the library.

Linh

对不起，Nam，我来晚了。

duìbùqǐ，Nam，wǒláiwǎnle。

Sorry, Nam, I'm late.

Nam

没关系。你帮助我太多了，今天还送我书。

méiguānxì。nǐbāngzhùwǒtàiduōle，jīntiānháisòngwǒshū。

It's okay. You've helped me so much, and today you even gave me a book.

Linh

你的中文水平太高了！真聪明！

nǐdezhōngwénshuǐpíngtàigāole！zhēncōngming！

Your Chinese is so good! You're really smart!

Nam

谢谢。以后你要多休息，别太累。

xièxiè。yǐhòunǐyàoduōxiūxi，biétàilèi。

Thank you. From now on you should rest more, don't get too tired.

Linh

好的。我们从这儿往教室走吧。

hǎode。wǒmencóngzhèérwǎngjiàoshìzǒuba。

Okay. Let's walk toward the classroom from here.

Nam

太高兴了！走吧！

tàigāoxìngle！zǒuba！

So happy! Let's go!