VOCABULARY USAGE

1.

比 bǐ

prep. ▸ compared with; compared against

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Tā bǐ wǒ zǎo dào.
  他比我早到。
  He compared-to me arrive early.
  He arrived earlier than me.
• Wǒ de Zhōngwén bǐ liǎng nián qián liúlì.
  我的中文比两年前流利。
  My Chinese compared-to two years ago fluent.
  My Chinese is more fluent than two years ago.

2.

没事儿 méishìr

it’s nothing; it doesn’t matter; that’s all right

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Duìbuqǐ, dānwù nǐ de shíjiān le. A 对不起，耽误你的时间了。
  Sorry, (I) delayed your time.
  Sorry, I took up your time.
  Méishìr. B 没事儿。
  It’s nothing.
  It’s all right.
• Wǒ méishìr, bié dānxīn.
  我没事儿，别担心。
  I’m fine, don’t worry.
  I’m fine, don’t worry.

3.

一定 yídìng

adv. ▸ certainly; by all means; must

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Wǒ míngtiān yídìng zhǔnshí dào!
  我明天一定准时到！
  I tomorrow certainly arrive on time!
  I’ll definitely be on time tomorrow!
• Tā yídìng huì tóngyì de.
  他一定会同意的。
  He certainly will agree.
  He’ll definitely agree.

4.

前面 qiánmiàn

n. ▸ the front (area/part)

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Qiánmiàn yòu dǔchē le.
  前面又堵车了。
  Up front there’s another traffic jam.
  There’s traffic up ahead again.
• Nǐ zuò wǒ qiánmiàn ba!
  你坐我前面吧！
  You sit in front of me, ok?
  Sit in front of me.

5.

后面 hòumiàn

n. ▸ the back (area/part)

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Wǒ jiā hòumiàn jiùshì càishìchǎng.
  我家后面就是菜市场。
  Behind my home is exactly the vegetable market.
  Right behind my place is the wet market.
• Qǐng pái zài wǒ hòumiàn, búyào chāduì.
  请排在我后面，不要插队。
  Please line up behind me, don’t cut in line.
  Please line up behind me. Don’t cut.

6.

网站 wǎngzhàn

n. ▸ website

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Zhè shì xuéxiào de guānfāng wǎngzhàn.
  这是学校的官方网站。
  This is the school’s official website.
  This is the school’s official website.
• Zhège wǎngzhàn zěnme dǎ bu kāi le?
  这个网站怎么打不开了？
  How come this website won’t open?
  Why won’t this website open?

7.

汽车 qìchē

n. ▸ automobile

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Nǐ de qìchē mǎi bǎoxiǎn le ma?
  你的汽车买保险了吗？
  Has your car gotten insurance?
  Did you buy insurance for your car?
• Zhè zhōumò yǒu yí ge qìchēzhǎn.
  这周末有一个汽车展。
  This weekend there is a car exhibition.
  There’s a car show this weekend.

8.

希望 xīwàng

v. ▸ to hope

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Xīwàng nǐ lǐjiě wǒ de juédìng.
  希望你理解我的决定。
  (I) hope you understand my decision.
  I hope you understand my decision.
• Nǐ xīwàng shōudào shénme lǐwù?
  你希望收到什么礼物？
  What gift do you hope to receive?
  What gift do you hope to get?

9.

愿意 yuànyì

v. ▸ to be willing to; to agree to do sth. in line with one’s wish

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Nǐ yuànyì jià gěi wǒ ma?
  A 你愿意嫁给我吗？
  Are you willing to marry me?
  Will you marry me?
  Wǒ yuànyì.
  B 我愿意。
  I’m willing to.
  I will.
• Wǒ bú yuànyì kàndào nǐ nánguò.
  我不愿意看到你难过。
  I’m not willing to see you sad.
  I don’t want to see you sad.

10.

健康 jiànkāng

adj. ▸ healthy

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Jiànkāng de shēnghuó fāngshì hěn zhòngyào.
  健康的生活方式很重要。
  A healthy lifestyle is important.
  A healthy lifestyle is important.
• Zhù nín shēntǐ jiànkāng!
  祝您身体健康！
  Wish you good health.
  Wishing you good health.

11.

药 yào

n. ▸ medicine

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Zhège yào de fùzuòyòng shì shénme?
  这个药的副作用是什么？
  What are the side effects of this medicine?
  What are the side effects of this medicine?
• Yīshēng gěi tā kāi le jǐ zhǒng yào.
  医生给他开了几种药。
  The doctor prescribed several kinds of medicine.
  The doctor prescribed a few different medicines for him.

12.

病 bìng

n. ▸ sickness; illness

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Tā dé le shénme bìng?
  他得了什么病？
  He got what illness?
  What illness does he have?
• Tā shēngbìng le, yào qù yīyuàn kànbìng.
  他生病了，要去医院看病。
  He got sick, needs to go to the hospital.
  He’s sick, so he needs to go to the hospital.

13.

少 shǎo

adj. ▸ few; little; not much; not many

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Wǎngshang, dìtiě shang de rén hěn shǎo.
  晚上，地铁上的人很少。
  At night, there are few people on the subway.
  There aren’t many people on the subway at night.
• Wǒ chī de shǎo, búyòng diǎn tài duō.
  我吃得少，不用点太多。
  I eat little, no need to order too much.
  I don’t eat much, no need to order a lot.

14.

只能 zhǐnéng

can only; have to

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Diàntī huài le, wǒmen zhǐnéng zǒu lóutī.
  电梯坏了，我们只能走楼梯。
  The elevator is broken, we can only take the stairs.
  The elevator’s broken, so we have to take the stairs.
• Wǒ bùgǎn bǎozhèng, zhǐnéng shì yíxià.
  我不敢保证，只能试一下。
  I don’t dare guarantee it, I can only try.
  I can’t promise. I can only try.

15.

湖 hú

n. ▸ lake

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Chūntiān de Xī Hú hěn měi.
  春天的西湖很美。
  West Lake in spring is beautiful.
  West Lake is beautiful in spring.
• Zhè shì yí ge réngōnghú.
  这是一个人工湖。
  This is a man-made lake.
  This is an artificial lake.

16.

快餐 kuàicān

n. ▸ fast food

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Kuàicān chī duō le duì shēntǐ bù hǎo.
  快餐吃多了对身体不好。
  Eating too much fast food is not good for your health.
  Too much fast food isn’t good for your health.
• Kuàicān suīrán bú jiànkāng, dànshì hěn hǎochī.
  快餐虽然不健康，但是很好吃。
  Fast food isn’t healthy, but it’s tasty.
  Fast food isn’t healthy, but it tastes great.

17.

运动 yùndòng

v. ▸ to do sports; to exercise

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Wǒ měitiān dōu yùndòng yí ge xiǎoshí.
  我每天都运动一个小时。
  I exercise one hour every day.
  I exercise for an hour every day.
• Nǐ jīntiān yùndòng le ma?
  你今天运动了吗？
  Have you exercised today?
  Did you work out today?

18.

运动 yùndòng

n. ▸ sports; exercise

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yùndòng?
  你喜欢什么运动？
  What sports do you like?
  What sports do you like?
• Zuò yùndòng zhīqián jìde rèshēn.
  做运动之前记得热身。
  Before exercising, remember to warm up.
  Remember to warm up before you exercise.

19.

上去 shàngqù

v. ▸ to move upwards; to go up

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Kěyǐ cóng zhèlǐ shàngqù ma?
  可以从这里上去吗？
  Can we go up from here?
  Can we go up from here?
• Nǐ shàngqù ba, wǒ zài xiàmiàn děng nǐ.
  你上去吧，我在下面等你。
  You go up, I’ll wait for you downstairs.
  You go up. I’ll wait down here.

20.

上来 shànglái

v. ▸ to move upwards; to come up

EXAMPLE SENTENCES

• Tā cóng yī lóu shànglái le.
  他从一楼上来了。
  He came up from the first floor.
  He came up from the first floor.
• Wǒmen shì zuò lǎnchē shànglái de.
  我们是坐缆车上来的。
  We came up by taking the cable car.
  We came up by cable car.