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 to ask *where* in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 nǎr / nǎlǐ. If we have to point out a difference, 哪儿 is slightly more common in spoken Chinese.

Most commonly, we use 哪儿/哪里 to ask “where is something?”. With this type of question, we use the word 在 (① verb: to be in/on/at somewhere; ② preposition: 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 tea shop?

Be careful that the position of 哪儿/哪里 depends on which part of the sentence it functions as, such as subject, object, attribute, or adverbial.

哪儿/哪里 as the Subject

• nǎr yǒu Píngguǒ shāngdiàn
  哪儿有苹果商店？
  Where is there an Apple Store?

哪儿/哪里 as the Object

• nǐ nǚpéngyou jīntiān qù nǎr
  你女朋友今天去哪儿？
  Where is your girlfriend going today?

哪儿/哪里 as the Attribute

• nǎlǐ de fēijīpiào piányi
  哪里的飞机票便宜？
  Where are plane tickets cheap?

哪儿/哪里 as the Adverbial

• nǐmen zài nǎlǐ chīfàn
  你们在哪里吃饭？
  Where do you eat?

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

In traditional Chinese culture, being modest is considered a virtue. So instead of replying “谢谢” to a compliment, we can say “哪里哪里”.

The phrase 哪里哪里 literally means “where-where”, expressing modesty by downplaying the compliment.

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！
Not at all.

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！
Not at all.

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 mainly for boys and men, meaning handsome.

漂亮 has a broader meaning. It is used for girls and women, and also for things such as rooms, clothes, paintings, and scenery.

For example:

• 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 other nouns:

• 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