HSK 1 · Lesson 17请问，书店在哪里？ Where is the bookshop?

Where things are: 这里 / 那里 / 哪里, 这边 / 那边, the place words 上, 下, 里, 外, 前. “I live in…” — 住在…. Politely: 请 and 请问.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

In the street

A
请问，这里有超市吗？
Qǐngwèn, zhèlǐ yǒu chāoshì ma?
Excuse me, is there a supermarket here?
B
有。超市在那边，书店前边。
Yǒu. Chāoshì zài nàbiān, shūdiàn qiánbian.
Yes. The supermarket is over there, in front of the bookshop.
A
书店在哪里？
Shūdiàn zài nǎlǐ?
And where is the bookshop?
B
在饭店和医院中间。
Zài fàndiàn hé yīyuàn zhōngjiān.
Between the restaurant and the hospital.
A
谢谢您！
Xièxie nín!
Thank you!
B
不客气。
Bú kèqi.
You’re welcome.

Where do you live?

A
你住在哪里？
Nǐ zhù zài nǎlǐ?
Where do you live?
B
我住在学校外边。你呢？
Wǒ zhù zài xuéxiào wàibian. Nǐ ne?
I live off the school grounds. And you?
A
我住在学校里。我的房间很小，房间里有桌子、椅子，还有很多书。
Wǒ zhù zài xuéxiào li. Wǒ de fángjiān hěn xiǎo, fángjiān li yǒu zhuōzi, yǐzi, hái yǒu hěn duō shū.
I live on the school grounds. My room is small: there’s a desk, a chair and lots of books.
B
我明天去你那里玩儿，好吗？
Wǒ míngtiān qù nǐ nàlǐ wánr, hǎo ma?
Can I come over to your place tomorrow?
A
好！明天见！
Hǎo! Míngtiān jiàn!
Sure! See you tomorrow!

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 这里 / 那里 / 哪里 = 这儿 / 那儿 / 哪儿

They mean the same “here / there / where” as in lesson 10. The 儿 forms are colloquial and northern; the 里 forms are neutral, more common in writing and in the south. 这边 / 那边 mean “on this / that side, over here / there”. “At your place” is the person + place word: 你那里, 我这儿.

这里有书店吗？
Zhèlǐ yǒu shūdiàn ma?
Is there a bookshop here?
超市在那边。
Chāoshì zài nàbiān.
The supermarket is over there.

2. Place: noun + 上 / 下 / 里 / 外 / 前 / 后

noun + 上 (on) / 下 (under) / 里 (in) / 外 (outside) / 前 (in front) / 后 (behind)

“On the table” in Chinese is “table-top”: 桌子上. Likewise 椅子下 “under the chair”, 房间里 “in the room”, 学校外 “outside the school”. You can add 边: 桌子上边, 学校外边, 书店前边. An ordinary noun needs such a word to become a place: “in the room” is 在房间里, not “在房间”. But country and city names take no 里: 在中国 (not 在中国里).

我的手机在桌子上。
Wǒ de shǒujī zài zhuōzi shang.
My phone is on the table.
椅子下边有一只猫。
Yǐzi xiàbian yǒu yì zhī māo.
There is a cat under the chair.
他在中国。
Tā zài Zhōngguó.
He is in China.

3. What is where: place + 有 / 是

Place + 有 + (number) + thing / Place + 是 + thing

The sentence starts with the place. 有 means “there is (something)”: 书店前边有一个超市 “there is a supermarket in front of the bookshop”. 是 is for naming what is there when we know something is: 书店前边是超市 “in front of the bookshop is the supermarket”. Shops are counted with 家: 一家书店.

这里有一家书店。
Zhèlǐ yǒu yì jiā shūdiàn.
There is a bookshop here.
书店前边是超市。
Shūdiàn qiánbian shì chāoshì.
In front of the bookshop is the supermarket.

4. 住在 “to live in…”

Subject + 住在 + place

“To live somewhere” is 住在 + place: 我住在学校外边. Here the place goes after 住在, not before the verb. The question is 你住在哪里？ / 你住在哪儿？

我住在学校外边。
Wǒ zhù zài xuéxiào wàibian.
I live outside the school.
你朋友住在哪里？
Nǐ péngyou zhù zài nǎlǐ?
Where does your friend live?

5. 请 “please” and 请问 “excuse me”

请 + verb is a polite request or invitation: 请坐 “please sit down”, 请喝茶 “please have some tea”. 请问 “may I ask” goes before a question to a stranger: 请问，超市在哪里？

请坐！
Qǐng zuò!
Please sit down!
请问，你们公司在哪里？
Qǐngwèn, nǐmen gōngsī zài nǎlǐ?
Excuse me, where is your company?

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    请问，书店在哪里？ Qǐngwèn, shūdiàn zài nǎlǐ? — Excuse me, where is the bookshop?

  2. Answer
    我的手机在桌子上。 Wǒ de shǒujī zài zhuōzi shang. — My phone is on the table.

  3. Answer
    我在书店外边。 Wǒ zài shūdiàn wàibian. — I’m outside the bookshop.

  4. Answer
    请坐！ Qǐng zuò! — Please sit down!

2. Choose the missing word

  1. 我住___学校外边。

    Answer
    在
  2. The book is on the table: 书在桌子___。

    Answer
    上
  3. He is in China: 他在___。

    Answer
    中国
  4. ___，这里有超市吗？

    Answer
    请问

3. Build the sentence

  1. The supermarket is in front of the bookshop.

    Answer
    超市在书店前边。 Chāoshì zài shūdiàn qiánbian.
  2. I live outside the school.

    Answer
    我住在学校外边。 Wǒ zhù zài xuéxiào wàibian.
  3. There is a cat under the chair.

    Answer
    椅子下边有一只猫。 Yǐzi xiàbian yǒu yì zhī māo.
  4. Excuse me, where is your company?

    Answer
    请问，你们公司在哪里？ Qǐngwèn, nǐmen gōngsī zài nǎlǐ?

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
请问，这里有书店吗？
Qǐngwèn, zhèlǐ yǒu shūdiàn ma?
Excuse me, is there a bookshop here?
B
有，在那边。
Yǒu, zài nàbiān.
Yes, over there.
A
在超市的前边吗？
Zài chāoshì de qiánbian ma?
In front of the supermarket?
B
不是，在超市的后边。
Bú shì, zài chāoshì de hòubian.
No, behind the supermarket.
A
谢谢你！
Xièxie nǐ!
Thank you!
B
不客气。
Bú kèqi.
You’re welcome.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Where do you live?
    Answer
    你住在哪里？/ 你住在哪儿？
  2. Please sit down!
    Answer
    请坐！Qǐng zuò!
  3. There is a dog under the table.
    Answer
    桌子下边有一只狗。

💡 Did you know?: Addresses go from big to small

Like dates, Chinese addresses go from big to small: country, province, city, district, street, building, flat — and only then the recipient’s name. It is the same logic as 桌子上 “table-top”: the main thing first, then the detail.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).