HSK 2 · Lesson 2你去过中国吗？ Have you been to China?

Experience: 过 “have ever”. How many times — 次, how long — 学了三年. 已经…了 “already”, 从…开始 “starting from”. School: class, words, exercises.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Learning Chinese for long?

A
你去过中国吗？
Nǐ qùguo Zhōngguó ma?
Have you been to China?
B
去过两次。
Qùguo liǎng cì.
Twice.
A
你学汉语学了多长时间了？
Nǐ xué Hànyǔ xuéle duō cháng shíjiān le?
How long have you been learning Chinese?
B
三年了。我从小就喜欢中国。
Sān nián le. Wǒ cóngxiǎo jiù xǐhuan Zhōngguó.
Three years. I’ve loved China since I was little.
A
你几岁开始学汉语？
Nǐ jǐ suì kāishǐ xué Hànyǔ?
How old were you when you started learning Chinese?
B
上高中的时候。现在我已经认识很多汉字了。
Shàng gāozhōng de shíhou. Xiànzài wǒ yǐjīng rènshi hěn duō Hànzì le.
When I started high school. Now I already know a lot of characters.

The new term

A
明天开学了！你在哪个班？
Míngtiān kāixué le! Nǐ zài nǎge bān?
Term starts tomorrow! Which class are you in?
B
二班。我们班有三十名学生。
Èr bān. Wǒmen bān yǒu sānshí míng xuésheng.
Class two. There are thirty students in our class.
A
你们的汉语老师是谁？
Nǐmen de Hànyǔ lǎoshī shì shéi?
Who is your Chinese teacher?
B
王老师。她教过我哥哥，她的课很有意思。
Wáng lǎoshī. Tā jiāoguo wǒ gēge, tā de kè hěn yǒu yìsi.
Ms Wang. She taught my brother; her classes are very interesting.
A
这个词是什么意思？你懂吗？
Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi? Nǐ dǒng ma?
What does this word mean? Do you understand it?
B
不懂。我们去教室问老师吧。
Bù dǒng. Wǒmen qù jiàoshì wèn lǎoshī ba.
No. Let’s go to the classroom and ask the teacher.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 过 — “have ever done”

Subject + verb + 过 + (object)

过 after a verb is about experience — it has happened at least once. 我去过中国 “I’ve been to China”, 我吃过饺子 “I’ve had dumplings”. The negative is 没(有) + verb + 过: 我没去过 “I’ve never been”. Compare 了: 我去了中国 “I went to China (that time)”, 我去过中国 “I have been to China (experience)”.

你吃过饺子吗？
Nǐ chīguo jiǎozi ma?
Have you ever had dumplings?
我没去过北京。
Wǒ méi qùguo Běijīng.
I’ve never been to Beijing.

2. How many times: verb + 次

verb + (过 / 了) + number + 次

次 means “time(s)”. It follows the verb: 去过两次 “been twice”, 我看了三次 “I watched it three times”. “The first time” is 第一次: 这是我第一次来中国.

我去过两次。
Wǒ qùguo liǎng cì.
I’ve been there twice.
这是我第一次来中国。
Zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì lái Zhōngguó.
This is my first time in China.

3. How long: 学了三年

verb + 了 + period (+ 了) · verb + object + verb + 了 + period

The period goes after the verb: 我学了三年 “I studied for three years”. With an object, repeat the verb: 我学汉语学了三年. A second 了 at the end means “and still”: 我学汉语学了三年了 “I’ve been learning Chinese for three years (and still am)”. The question is 多长时间？

我学汉语学了三年了。
Wǒ xué Hànyǔ xuéle sān nián le.
I’ve been learning Chinese for three years.
他在中国住了两个月。
Tā zài Zhōngguó zhùle liǎng ge yuè.
He lived in China for two months.

4. 已经…了 “already”

已经 “already” goes before the verb or adjective, often with 了 at the end: 我已经认识很多汉字了 “I already know a lot of characters”, 他已经走了 “he has already left”, 已经十点了 “it’s already ten”.

他已经走了。
Tā yǐjīng zǒu le.
He has already left.
已经十点了。
Yǐjīng shí diǎn le.
It’s already ten o’clock.

5. 从 — “from (a time or place)”

从 marks a starting point in time or space: 从明天开始 “starting tomorrow”, 从小 “since childhood”, 从家到学校 “from home to school”, 从中国来 “come from China”. 时 is a short “when, during”: 上课时 = 上课的时候.

我们从明天开始上课。
Wǒmen cóng míngtiān kāishǐ shàngkè.
Our classes start tomorrow.
上课时不要说话。
Shàngkè shí bú yào shuōhuà.
Don’t talk during class.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    我没去过中国。 Wǒ méi qùguo Zhōngguó. — I’ve never been to China.

  2. Answer
    他学了两年汉语。 Tā xuéle liǎng nián Hànyǔ. — He studied Chinese for two years.

  3. Answer
    我已经吃饭了。 Wǒ yǐjīng chīfàn le. — I’ve already eaten.

  4. Answer
    这个词是什么意思？ Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi? — What does this word mean?

2. Choose the missing word

  1. “Have you ever had dumplings?”: 你吃___饺子吗？

    Answer
    过
  2. 我去过三___。

    Answer
    次
  3. 我们___明天开始上课。

    Answer
    从
  4. 他___走了。

    Answer
    已经

3. Build the sentence

  1. Have you been to China?

    Answer
    你去过中国吗？ Nǐ qùguo Zhōngguó ma?
  2. I’ve been learning Chinese for three years.

    Answer
    我学汉语学了三年了。 Wǒ xué Hànyǔ xuéle sān nián le.
  3. This is my first time in China.

    Answer
    这是我第一次来中国。 Zhè shì wǒ dì-yī cì lái Zhōngguó.
  4. This film is very interesting.

    Answer
    这个电影很有意思。 Zhège diànyǐng hěn yǒu yìsi.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
你去过中国吗？
Nǐ qùguo Zhōngguó ma?
Have you been to China?
B
去过一次。
Qùguo yí cì.
Once.
A
你学汉语学了多长时间了？
Nǐ xué Hànyǔ xuéle duō cháng shíjiān le?
How long have you been learning Chinese?
B
两年了。
Liǎng nián le.
Two years now.
A
汉语有意思吗？
Hànyǔ yǒu yìsi ma?
Is Chinese interesting?
B
很有意思！
Hěn yǒu yìsi!
Very!

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. I’ve never had Chinese tea.
    Answer
    我没喝过中国茶。Wǒ méi hēguo Zhōngguó chá.
  2. He lived in China for three years.
    Answer
    他在中国住了三年。Tā zài Zhōngguó zhùle sān nián.
  3. Term starts in September.
    Answer
    九月开学。Jiǔ yuè kāixué.

💡 Did you know?: Chinese New Year

过年 means “to celebrate the New Year”, and almost always the Spring Festival 春节 Chūnjié of the lunar calendar (January — February). Millions travel home for it. Children get red envelopes with money, 红包 hóngbāo, and in the north families make and eat dumplings, 饺子, on New Year’s Eve.

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