Level 1 Lesson 6.1 – This Computer Is Too Expensive, How About That One?

Grammar 1: Question Particle 呢 in Chinese · HSK 1

In Chinese, we can use 呢 to ask a contextual question that is explained by the previous statement or the context. It could be asking about “how about something” or “where is something” depending on the context. We put 呢 after the topic that we're asking about, like this:

____  + 呢 ？

ASKING "HOW ABOUT SOMETHING"

• wǒ xiǎng mǎi yìtái diànnǎo, nǐ ne 我想买一台电脑，你呢？I want to buy a computer, how about you?
• jīntiān bùxíng, míngtiān ne 今天不行，明天呢？ Today is not OK, how about tomorrow?

ASKING "WHERE IS SOMETHING"

• wǒde qián ne 我的钱呢？ Where is my money?
• Lǐ Lǎoshī ne 李老师呢？ Where is Teacher Li?

Grammar 2: Exclamatory Sentences With 太.……了 Structure in Chinese · HSK 1

There are different ways to make Exclamatory Sentences in Chinese, one of them is with 太……了 Structure. We put an Adjective in the middle:

太 + Adjective + 了 ！

• tài piányi le 太便宜了！ (It's) so cheap!
• tài guì le 太贵了！ (It's) too expensive!
• tài hǎohē le 太好喝了！(It's) so tasty!
• tài xiǎo le 太小了！ (It's) too small!

Grammar 3: Descriptive Particle 的 in Chinese in Chinese · HSK 1

We learned 的 being a Possessive Particle before, today we'll learn another usage. It's the Descriptive Particle 的. We can use it to help an Adjective to describe a Noun or a Noun Phrase:

Adjective + 的 + Noun (Phrase)

• piányi de cháyè 便宜的茶叶 cheap tea leaves
• guì de kāfēi 贵的咖啡 expensive coffee
• dà de Hànyǔ xuéxiào 大的汉语学校 big Chinese school / major Chinese school
• hǎochī de shuǐguǒ 好吃的水果 tasty fruits

Grammar 4: Say Too Expensive and So Cheap in Chinese: 贵 VS. 便宜 · HSK 2

If we want to say too expensive and so cheap in Chinese, we use guì 贵 for expensive, and piányi 便宜 for inexpensive or cheap.

• zhè tái kāfēijī hěn piányi 这台咖啡机很便宜。This "tai" (of) coffee maker (is) very cheap.
• nàxiē diànnǎo hěn guì 那些电脑很贵。Those computers (are) very expensive.