HSK 3 · Lesson 1天气越来越冷了 It’s getting colder and colder
Weather and seasons. 越来越 “more and more”, 越…越… “the more…, the more…”, comparison with 更 / 还, 跟…一样 “the same as”, 不比, 极了 “extremely”, 好像 “seems”, 变成 “turn into”.
Dialogues
Getting colder
Rain
New words
- 春天chūntiānspring (season)
- 夏天xiàtiānsummer
- 秋天qiūtiānautumn
- 冬天dōngtiānwinter
- 季节jìjiéseason
- 四季sìjìfour seasons, namely: spring 春, summer 夏, autumn 秋 and winter 冬
- 季jìseason; the last month of a season
- 刮guāto scrape; to blow; to shave
- 风fēngwind; news; style
- 冰bīngice; to chill sth; (of an object or substance) to feel cold
- 凉快liángkuaipleasantly cool (weather etc); to cool oneself; to cool off
- 太阳tàiyángsun; sunlight; sunshine
- 月亮yuèliangthe moon
- 伞sǎnumbrella; parasol; damask silk
- 雨衣yǔyīraincoat
- 极jíextremely; pole (geography, physics); utmost
- 越yuèto exceed; to climb over; to surpass
- 变biànto change; to become different; to transform
- 变化biànhuà(intransitive) to change; to vary; change; variation
- 变成biànchéngto change into; to turn into; to become
- 更gèngmore; even more; further
- 一样yíyàngsame; like; equal to
- 好像hǎoxiàngas if; to seem like
Grammar
1. 越来越 “more and more” and 越…越… “the more…, the more…”
越来越 + adj. · 越 + A + 越 + B
越来越 + adjective is change over time: 天气越来越冷 “it’s getting colder and colder”, 他的汉语越来越好. 越 A 越 B means one grows with the other: 雨越下越大 “the longer it rains, the heavier it gets”, 越看越喜欢 “the more I look, the more I like it”. Do not add 很.
2. Comparison: 更 / 还, 跟…一样, 不比
To strengthen a comparison put 更 or 还 before the adjective: 今天比昨天更冷 / 还冷 “today is even colder” (no 很!). “The same” is A 跟 B 一样: 我跟你一样高 “I’m as tall as you”. 不比 means “no more … than”: 北京不比莫斯科冷 “Beijing is no colder than Moscow” (about the same).
3. Extremely: 极了, 得很
The highest degree goes after the adjective: 好极了 “wonderful”, 冷极了 “terribly cold”, 冷得很 “very cold”. It is livelier than 非常.
4. 好像 “seems” and 变成 “turn into”
好像 expresses uncertainty: 好像要下雨 “it looks like rain”, 他好像不在家. 变 is “to change”, 变成 “to turn into”: 雨变成了雪 “the rain turned into snow”. 变化 is “a change”: 天气变化很大 “the weather changes a lot”.
Exercises
1. Listen and choose the translation
- 天气越来越冷了。 Tiānqì yuè lái yuè lěng le.
Answer
天气越来越冷了。 Tiānqì yuè lái yuè lěng le. — It’s getting colder and colder. - 我跟你一样高。 Wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo.
Answer
我跟你一样高。 Wǒ gēn nǐ yíyàng gāo. — I’m as tall as you. - 好像要下雨。 Hǎoxiàng yào xià yǔ.
Answer
好像要下雨。 Hǎoxiàng yào xià yǔ. — It looks like rain. - 雨越下越大。 Yǔ yuè xià yuè dà.
Answer
雨越下越大。 Yǔ yuè xià yuè dà. — The rain is getting heavier.
2. Choose the correct option
- “Today is even colder than yesterday”
Answer
今天比昨天更冷。 - “I’m as tall as you”
Answer
我跟你一样高。 - 天气___冷了。
Answer
越来越 - “Wonderful!”: 好___了！
Answer
极
3. Build the sentence
- His Chinese is getting better and better.他的汉语越来越好了。 Tā de Hànyǔ yuè lái yuè hǎo le.
Answer
他的汉语越来越好了。 Tā de Hànyǔ yuè lái yuè hǎo le. - Today is even colder than yesterday.今天比昨天更冷。 Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān gèng lěng.
Answer
今天比昨天更冷。 Jīntiān bǐ zuótiān gèng lěng. - The rain turned into snow.雨变成了雪。 Yǔ biànchéngle xuě.
Answer
雨变成了雪。 Yǔ biànchéngle xuě. - Which season do you like best?你最喜欢哪个季节？ Nǐ zuì xǐhuan nǎge jìjié?
Answer
你最喜欢哪个季节？ Nǐ zuì xǐhuan nǎge jìjié?
4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker
You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.
5. Translate into Chinese
- It’s getting warmer and warmer.
Answer
天气越来越热了。Tiānqì yuè lái yuè rè le. - My brother is as tall as Dad.
Answer
我哥哥跟爸爸一样高。 - He doesn’t seem to be coming today.
Answer
他今天好像不来了。
💡 Did you know?: The Mid-Autumn Festival
On the 15th day of the 8th lunar month (September — early October) China celebrates 中秋节, the Mid-Autumn Festival. That night the moon is thought to be at its roundest and brightest; families gather, admire the moon and eat mooncakes, 月饼 yuèbing.
Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).