HSK 1 · Lesson 19真好吃！ Delicious!

Opinions: 好吃, 好听, 好玩儿, 便宜; 觉得 “to think”; 有点儿 “a bit (too)”; 给 someone something; 可以 “may”; thousands and halves.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Breakfast

A
你早饭吃什么？
Nǐ zǎofàn chī shénme?
What do you have for breakfast?
B
面包和牛奶。你呢？
Miànbāo hé niúnǎi. Nǐ ne?
Bread and milk. And you?
A
我吃饺子。饺子真好吃！
Wǒ chī jiǎozi. Jiǎozi zhēn hǎochī!
I have dumplings. They’re so tasty!
B
我可以吃一个吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ chī yí ge ma?
May I have one?
A
可以，给你。
Kěyǐ, gěi nǐ.
Sure, here you are.
B
太好吃了！
Tài hǎochī le!
Delicious!

At the market

A
苹果怎么卖？
Píngguǒ zěnme mài?
How much are the apples?
B
两块一个。
Liǎng kuài yí ge.
Two yuan each.
A
有点儿贵。便宜一点儿，可以吗？
Yǒudiǎnr guì. Piányi yìdiǎnr, kěyǐ ma?
That’s a bit expensive. Could you make it cheaper?
B
可以，一块五一个。
Kěyǐ, yí kuài wǔ yí ge.
OK, one fifty each.
A
好，我买十个。
Hǎo, wǒ mǎi shí ge.
Fine, I’ll take ten.
B
十个十五块。
Shí ge shíwǔ kuài.
Ten is fifteen yuan.

Impressions

A
你觉得北京怎么样？
Nǐ juéde Běijīng zěnmeyàng?
What do you think of Beijing?
B
很好玩儿，人有点儿多。
Hěn hǎowánr, rén yǒudiǎnr duō.
It’s great fun, but a bit crowded.
A
我觉得北京的东西不便宜。
Wǒ juéde Běijīng de dōngxi bù piányi.
I think things in Beijing aren’t cheap.
B
有的贵，有的便宜。
Yǒude guì, yǒude piányi.
Some things are expensive, some are cheap.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 觉得 “to think, to feel”

Subject + 觉得 + opinion

觉得 means “I think, I feel”: 我觉得饺子很好吃. A whole clause follows it. To ask an opinion: 你觉得怎么样？ “what do you think?”. The negative usually goes in the second part: 我觉得不贵 “I don’t think it’s expensive”.

我觉得这个面包很好吃。
Wǒ juéde zhège miànbāo hěn hǎochī.
I think this bread is very tasty.
你觉得怎么样？
Nǐ juéde zěnmeyàng?
What do you think?

2. 有点儿 + adjective — “a bit (too)”

有点儿 + adjective

有点儿 (in full 有一点儿) before an adjective means “a bit”, usually about something unwelcome: 有点儿贵 “a bit pricey”, 有点儿冷 “rather cold”. For nice things use 很, 真, 非常: 很好吃. Don’t confuse it with 一点儿 after a word: 便宜一点儿 “a bit cheaper”, 吃一点儿 “eat a little”.

这些苹果有点儿贵。
Zhèxiē píngguǒ yǒudiǎnr guì.
These apples are a bit expensive.
今天有点儿冷。
Jīntiān yǒudiǎnr lěng.
It’s a bit cold today.

3. 给 someone + something: two objects

Subject + 给 / 问 + whom + what

给 “to give” takes two objects: first whom, then what — 妈妈给我一个苹果 “Mum gives me an apple”. No prepositions! 给你 means “here you are”. 问 “to ask” works the same way: 我问老师一个问题 “I ask the teacher a question”.

妈妈给我一个苹果。
Māma gěi wǒ yí ge píngguǒ.
Mum gives me an apple.
我问老师一个问题。
Wǒ wèn lǎoshī yí ge wèntí.
I ask the teacher a question.

4. 可以 “may, can”

Subject + 可以 + verb + 吗？

可以 is about permission: 我可以吃一个吗？ “may I have one?”. Answer 可以 “yes, you may” or 不可以 “no, you may not”. Remember: 会 — know how (learned), 能 — be able (it’s possible), 可以 — may (it’s allowed).

我可以坐这里吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ zuò zhèlǐ ma?
May I sit here?
这里不可以说话。
Zhèlǐ bù kěyǐ shuōhuà.
You can’t talk here.

5. 好吃, 好听… and “…, 还…”

好 + verb means “nice to do”: 好吃 “tasty” (to eat), 好看 “good-looking” (to look at), 好听 “nice to hear”, 好玩儿 “fun”. Exclaim: 真好吃！ 太好吃了！ “Also, besides” is 还: 我买了苹果，还买了面包 “I bought apples and also bread”. (也 is “too” about another person or thing.)

这些歌都很好听。
Zhèxiē gē dōu hěn hǎotīng.
All these songs sound lovely.
我买了苹果，还买了面包。
Wǒ mǎile píngguǒ, hái mǎile miànbāo.
I bought apples and also bread.

6. Thousands, halves, “few”

千 is a thousand: 一千, 两千 (not “二千”), 三千五百. 一半 is “half”: 给我一半 “give me half”. 少 means “few, little”: 人很少 “there are few people”; 多少 is “how many / how much”.

这个手机三千块。
Zhège shǒujī sānqiān kuài.
This phone costs three thousand yuan.
给我一半，可以吗？
Gěi wǒ yíbàn, kěyǐ ma?
Can you give me half?

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这个苹果真好吃！ Zhège píngguǒ zhēn hǎochī! — This apple is really tasty!

  2. Answer
    有点儿贵。 Yǒudiǎnr guì. — A bit expensive.

  3. Answer
    妈妈给我一个面包。 Māma gěi wǒ yí ge miànbāo. — Mum gives me a bun.

  4. Answer
    我可以坐这里吗？ Wǒ kěyǐ zuò zhèlǐ ma? — May I sit here?

2. Choose the missing word

  1. “This bread is a bit pricey”: 这个面包___贵。

    Answer
    有点儿
  2. 我___你一个苹果。

    Answer
    给
  3. “May I go?”: 我___去吗？

    Answer
    可以
  4. 3000 = ___

    Answer
    三千

3. Build the sentence

  1. I think dumplings are delicious.

    Answer
    我觉得饺子很好吃。 Wǒ juéde jiǎozi hěn hǎochī.
  2. These apples are a bit expensive.

    Answer
    这些苹果有点儿贵。 Zhèxiē píngguǒ yǒudiǎnr guì.
  3. The teacher gives us a book.

    Answer
    老师给我们一本书。 Lǎoshī gěi wǒmen yì běn shū.
  4. I bought bread and also milk.

    Answer
    我买了面包，还买了牛奶。 Wǒ mǎile miànbāo, hái mǎile niúnǎi.

4. Dialogue: you are the customer

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

B
你好！你要什么？
Nǐ hǎo! Nǐ yào shénme?
Hello! What would you like?
A
苹果怎么卖？
Píngguǒ zěnme mài?
How much are the apples?
B
两块一个。
Liǎng kuài yí ge.
Two yuan each.
A
有点儿贵。便宜一点儿，可以吗？
Yǒudiǎnr guì. Piányi yìdiǎnr, kěyǐ ma?
A bit expensive. Could you make it cheaper?
B
可以，一块五一个。
Kěyǐ, yí kuài wǔ yí ge.
OK, one fifty each.
A
好，我买五个。
Hǎo, wǒ mǎi wǔ ge.
Fine, I’ll take five.
B
五个七块五。给你。
Wǔ ge qī kuài wǔ. Gěi nǐ.
Five is seven fifty. Here you are.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. It’s a bit cold today.
    Answer
    今天有点儿冷。Jīntiān yǒudiǎnr lěng.
  2. Give me half.
    Answer
    给我一半。Gěi wǒ yíbàn.
  3. I asked the teacher a question.
    Answer
    我问了老师一个问题。Wǒ wènle lǎoshī yí ge wèntí.

💡 Did you know?: 买 and 卖

“To buy” is 买 mǎi and “to sell” is 卖 mài: they differ only in tone and the 十 on top of 卖. A joke helps: to sell, you have to add something on top. That is why tones matter at the market: 我买 “I’m buying”, 我卖 “I’m selling”.

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