Chinese For Dummies (15 page)

Table 3-1 Typical Classifiers for Natural Objects

Whenever you have a pair of anything, you can use the classifier
shuāng
双
(
雙
) (shwahng). That goes for
yì shuāng kuàizi
一双筷子
(
一雙筷子
) (ee shwahng kwye-dzuh) (
a pair of chopsticks
) as well as for
yì shuāng shǒu
一双手
(
一雙手
) (ee shwahng show) (
a pair of hands
). Sometimes a pair is indicated by the classifier
duì
对
(
對
) (dway), as in
yí duì ěrhuán
一对耳环
(
一對耳環
) (ee dway are-hwahn) (
a pair of earrings
).

Singular and plural: It's a non-issue

Chinese makes no distinction between singular and plural. If you say the word
shū
书
(
書
) (shoo), it can mean
book
just as easily as
books.
The only way you know whether it's singular or plural is if a number followed by a classifier precedes the word
shū,
as in
Wǒ yǒu sān běn shū.
我有三本书
. (
我有三本書
.) (waw yo sahn bun shoo.) (
I have three books.
).

One way to indicate plurality after personal pronouns
wǒ
我
(waw) (
I
),
nǐ
ä½ 
(nee) (
you
), and
tā
他
/
她
/
它
(tah) (
he/she/it
) and human nouns such as
háizi
孩子
(hi-dzuh) (
child
) and
xuéshēng
学生
(
學生
) (shweh-shuhng) (
student
) is by adding the suffix
-men
们
(
們
) (men). It acts as the equivalent of adding an
s
to nouns in English.

So many Chinese words are pronounced largely the same way (although each with different tones) that the only way to truly know the meaning of the word is by looking at the character. For example, the third person singular is pronounced “tah” regardless of whether it means
he, she,
or
it,
but each one is written with a different Chinese character.

Talkin' the Talk

Susan and Michael are looking at a beautiful field.

Susan:

Zhèr de fēngjǐng zhēn piàoliàng!

jar duh fung-jeeng juhn pyaow-lyahng.

This scenery is really beautiful!

Michael:

Nǐ kàn! Nà zuò shān yǒu nàmme duō shù, nàmme duō huā.

nee kahn! nah dzwaw shahn yo nummuh dwaw shoo, nummuh dwaw hwah.

Look! That mountain has so many trees and flowers.

Susan:

Duì le. Nèi kē shù tèbié piàoliàng. Zhè duǒ huā yě hěn yǒu tèsè.

dway luh. nay kuh shoo tuh-byeh pyaow-lyahng. jay dwaw hwah yeah hun yo tuh-suh.

You're right. That tree is particularly beautiful. And this flower is also really unique.

Michael:

Nà kē shù shàng yě yǒu sān zhī niǎo.

nah kuh shoo shahng yeah yo sahn jir nyaow.

That tree also has three birds in it.

If a number and a measure word already appear in front of a pronoun or human noun, such as
sānge háizi
三个孩子
(
三個孩子
) (sahn-guh hi-dzuh) (
three children
), don't add the suffix
-men
after
háizi
because plurality is already understood.

Never attach the suffix
-men
to anything not human. People will think you're nuts if you start referring to your two pet cats as
wǒde
xiǎo māomen
我的小猫们
(
我的小貓們
) (waw-duh shyaow maow-mun). Just say
Wǒde xiǎo māo hěn hǎo, xièxiè.
我的小猫很好
,
谢谢
. (
我的小貓很好
,
謝謝
.) (waw-duh shyaow maow hun how, shyeh-shyeh.) (
My cats are fine, thank you
.), and that should do the trick.

Definite versus indefinite articles

If you're looking for those little words in Chinese you can't seem to do without in English, such as
a, an,
and
the
— articles, as grammarians call them — you'll find they simply don't exist in Chinese. The only way you can tell if something is being referred to specifically (hence, considered definite) or just generally (and therefore indefinite) is by the word order. Nouns that refer specifically to something are usually found at the beginning of the sentence, before the verb:

Háizimen xǐhuān tā.
孩子们喜欢她
. (
孩子們喜歡她
.) (hi-dzuh-mun she-hwahn tah.) (
The children like her.
)

Pánzi zài zhuōzishàng.
盘子在桌子上
. (
盤子在桌子上
.) (pahn-dzuh dzye jwaw-dzuh-shahng.) (
There's a plate on the table.
)

Shū zài nàr.
书在那儿
. (
書在那兒
.) (shoo dzye nar.) (
The book[s] are there.
)

Nouns that refer to something more general (and are therefore indefinite) can more often be found at the end of the sentence, after the verb:

Nǎr yǒu huā?
哪儿有花
? (
哪兒有花
?) (nar yo hwah?) (
Where are some flowers?/Where is there a flower?
)

Nàr yǒu huā.
那儿有花
. (
那兒有花
.) (nar yo hwah.) (
There are some flowers over there./There's a flower over there.
)

Zhèige yǒu wèntí.
这个有问题
. (
這個有問題
.) (jay-guh yo one-tee.) (
There's a problem with this./There are some problems with this.
)

These rules have some exceptions: If you find a noun at the beginning of a sentence, it may actually refer to something indefinite if the sentence makes a general comment (instead of telling a whole story), like when you see the verb
shì
是
(shir) (
to be
) as part of the comment:

Xióngmāo shì dòngwù.
熊猫是动物
. (
熊貓是動物
.) (shyoong-maow shir doong-woo.) (
Pandas are animals.
)

Same thing goes if an adjective comes after the noun, such as

Pútáo hěn tián.
葡萄很甜
. (poo-taow hun tyan.) (
Grapes are very sweet.
)

Or if there's an auxiliary verb, such as

Xiǎo māo huì zhuā lǎoshǔ.
小貓会抓老鼠
. (
小貓會抓老鼠
.)
(shyaow maow hway jwah laow-shoo.) (
Kittens can catch mice.
)