Level 1 Lesson 19.1 – Where Are You Having Dinner?

Grammar 1: How to Ask Where in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 · HSK 1

There are two ways of how to ask where in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 nǎr/nǎlǐ. If we have to say their difference, 哪儿 is slightly more common in spoken Chinese.

Most commonly, we use 哪儿/哪里 to ask "where is something?" With questions like this, we use the word zài 在 (①v. to be in/on/at + somewhere ②prep. in/on/at + somewhere), following this structure:

Subject + 在 + 哪儿/哪里

For example:

• nǐde nánpéngyou zài nǎr 
  你的男朋友在哪儿？
  where is your boyfriend
• nà jiā cháyè diàn zài nǎlǐ 
  那家茶叶店在哪里？
  where is that "jia" (of) tea-leaf shop

Be careful that the position of nǎr/nǎlǐ 哪儿/哪里 differs depending on which member of sentence it functions as - whether it is the Subject, the Object or some other member.

哪儿/哪里 as the Subject

• nǎr yǒu Píngguǒ shāngdiàn
  哪儿有苹果商店？
  where exist (an) Apple Store

哪儿/哪里 as the Object

• nǐ nǚpéngyou jīntiān qù nǎr
  你女朋友今天去哪儿？
  your girlfriend today go (to) where

哪儿/哪里 as the Attribute

• nǎlǐ de fēijīpiào piányi
  哪里的飞机票便宜？
  where's plane tickets (are) cheap

哪儿/哪里 as the Adverbial

• nǐmen zài nǎlǐ chīfàn
  你们在哪里吃饭？
  where do you guys eat at

Grammar 2: Phrase 哪里哪里 in Chinese · HSK 1

In traditional Chinese culture, being modest is considered a virtue. So instead of "xièxie 谢谢 thank you" as a response to a compliment,  we can say "nǎli nǎli 哪里哪里".

The phrase 哪里哪里 literally means "where-where", basically saying "I don't see where the compliment is coming from." The reason behind it is that traditionally, "refusing" someone's compliment is considered an act of being modest.

For example:

A: nǐde nǚ péngyou tài piàoliang le
      你的女朋友太漂亮了！
      your girlfriend (is) so pretty
B: nǎlǐ nǎlǐ
      哪里哪里！
      where-where

A: nǐde nán péngyou fēicháng shuài
      你的男朋友非常帅！
      your boyfriend  (is) very handsome
B: nǎlǐ nǎlǐ
      哪里哪里！
      where-where

Grammar 3: Pretty, Beautiful and Handsome in Chinese · HSK 1

The most common words for pretty, beautiful and handsome in Chinese are: piàoliang 漂亮 and shuài 帅.

帅 is used for boys and men as to describe "good-looking" or "handsome".

Compared with 帅, 漂亮 has a broader meaning in Chinese. It is used for girls and women to describe "pretty" or "beautiful" in Chinese.

Apart from that, 漂亮 can also be used to describe a lot of other things, such as rooms, clothing, hair, paintings and scenery. Just like in English "beautiful" can be used to describe people and also a lot of other things.

For example, with words that we've learned before:

• piàoliang de nǚ péngyou
  漂亮的女朋友
  beautiful  girlfriend
• piàoliang de fángjiān
  漂亮的房间
  beautiful room
• piàoliang de fángzi
  漂亮的房子
  beautiful house
• piàoliang de xuéxiào
  漂亮的学校
  beautiful school
• piàoliang de yīfu
  漂亮的衣服
  beautiful clothes

Or with words that we haven't learned before:

• piàoliang de huà
  漂亮的画
  beautiful painting
• piàoliang de chéngshì
  漂亮的城市
  beautiful city
• piàoliang de yánsè
  漂亮的颜色
  beautiful color
• piàoliang de fēngjǐng
  漂亮的风景
  beautiful scenery