HSK 4 · Lesson 10请把车停在这儿 Please park here

Transport: taxis, the metro, traffic jams, parking. Four more 把 patterns: 把车停一停, 把车卖了, 把课文读了两遍, 把车往前开; 趟 “a trip”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

In a taxi

A
师傅，去火车站。
Shīfu, qù huǒchēzhàn.
To the railway station, please.
B
好。现在是下班时间，这条路车特别多，常常堵车。
Hǎo. Xiànzài shì xiàbān shíjiān, zhè tiáo lù chē tèbié duō, chángcháng dǔchē.
OK. It’s rush hour — there are lots of cars on this road and it often jams.
A
那我们走高速吧，我要赶七点的动车。
Nà wǒmen zǒu gāosù ba, wǒ yào gǎn qī diǎn de dòngchē.
Then let’s take the expressway — I have to catch the seven o’clock fast train.
B
行。高速上车速快，二十分钟就能到。
Xíng. Gāosù shang chēsù kuài, èrshí fēnzhōng jiù néng dào.
Sure. It’s fast on the expressway — we’ll be there in twenty minutes.
A
到了以后，请把车停在南门。
Dàole yǐhòu, qǐng bǎ chē tíng zài nánmén.
When we get there, please stop at the south entrance.
B
南门没有车位，我把你送到停车场门口吧。
Nánmén méiyǒu chēwèi, wǒ bǎ nǐ sòngdào tíngchēchǎng ménkǒu ba.
There’s nowhere to stop at the south entrance — I’ll take you to the car park entrance.
A
好的，谢谢师傅！
Hǎo de, xièxie shīfu!
OK, thank you!

How do you get there?

A
你每天怎么出行？
Nǐ měi tiān zěnme chūxíng?
How do you get around every day?
B
我骑电动车，把车往地铁站一停，然后乘坐地铁。
Wǒ qí diàndòngchē, bǎ chē wǎng dìtiězhàn yì tíng, ránhòu chéngzuò dìtiě.
I ride my e-bike, park it at the metro station, and then take the metro.
A
要换乘吗？
Yào huànchéng ma?
Do you have to change?
B
要换乘一次。早上乘客特别多，常常没有座位。
Yào huànchéng yí cì. Zǎoshang chéngkè tèbié duō, chángcháng méiyǒu zuòwèi.
Once. In the mornings there are lots of passengers and often no seats.
A
我开车上班，可是油太贵了，每周都得去加油站加油。
Wǒ kāichē shàngbān, kěshì yóu tài guì le, měi zhōu dōu děi qù jiāyóuzhàn jiāyóu.
I drive to work, but petrol is so expensive — I have to fill up every week.
B
那你也坐地铁吧，直接到公司，不用担心堵车。
Nà nǐ yě zuò dìtiě ba, zhíjiē dào gōngsī, búyòng dānxīn dǔchē.
Then take the metro too — straight to work, no worrying about traffic jams.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 把 + object + verb一verb “a bit, briefly”

The verb after 把 can be doubled (with 一 or 了 in between) to make the action brief and soft: 把房间打扫打扫 “give the room a quick tidy”, 请把车往后倒一倒 “please back up a little”, 他把手洗了洗 “he gave his hands a wash”.

请把车往后倒一倒。
Qǐng bǎ chē wǎng hòu dào yi dào.
Please back up a little.
你把房间打扫打扫吧。
Nǐ bǎ fángjiān dǎsǎo dǎsǎo ba.
Give your room a quick tidy.

2. 把 + object + verb + 了 “and it’s gone”

Verb + 了 after 把 often means the thing is “gone, used up”: 我把车卖了 “I sold the car”, 把这杯水喝了 “drink up this glass of water”, 他把票丢了 “he lost the ticket”.

油太贵了，我把车卖了。
Yóu tài guì le, wǒ bǎ chē mài le.
Petrol is too expensive — I sold the car.
他把动车票丢了。
Tā bǎ dòngchē piào diū le.
He lost his fast-train ticket.

3. 把 + object + verb + how many times / how long

After the verb you can say how many times or how long: 我把课文读了两遍 “I read the text twice”, 他把车洗了一个小时 “he spent an hour washing the car”.

我把课文读了两遍。
Wǒ bǎ kèwén dúle liǎng biàn.
I read the text twice.
他把车洗了一个小时。
Tā bǎ chē xǐle yí ge xiǎoshí.
He spent an hour washing the car.

4. 把 + object + where / how + verb

An adverbial — where or how — can stand between 把 + object and the verb: 把车往前开 “drive the car forward”, 把车往地铁站一停 “park the bike at the metro station”. 一 + verb here means a quick action: 他把书往桌子上一放 “he tossed the book on the table”.

请把车往前开一点儿。
Qǐng bǎ chē wǎng qián kāi yìdiǎnr.
Please drive forward a little.
他把书往桌子上一放，就出去了。
Tā bǎ shū wǎng zhuōzi shang yí fàng, jiù chūqu le.
He tossed the book on the table and went out.

5. 趟 — “a trip”; 乘 and 坐

趟 counts round trips: 我去了一趟北京 “I made a trip to Beijing”, 你来一趟 “come over”. It also counts runs: 这趟车 “this train/bus”. 乘 / 乘坐 is the formal “travel by” instead of 坐: 乘坐地铁, 乘飞机; 乘客 is “passenger”. 列 counts trains: 一列火车.

上个月我去了一趟北京。
Shàng ge yuè wǒ qùle yí tàng Běijīng.
Last month I made a trip to Beijing.
到路口往左转。
Dào lùkǒu wǎng zuǒ zhuǎn.
Turn left at the crossroads.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这条路常常堵车。 Zhè tiáo lù chángcháng dǔchē. — This road often has traffic jams.

  2. Answer
    车坏了，我们把它推到路边吧。 Chē huài le, wǒmen bǎ tā tuīdào lùbiān ba. — The car’s broken down — let’s push it to the roadside.

  3. Answer
    我们坐大巴去机场。 Wǒmen zuò dàbā qù jīchǎng. — We’re taking a coach to the airport.

  4. Answer
    请把车往后倒一倒。 Qǐng bǎ chē wǎng hòu dào yi dào. — Please back up a little.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “I read the text twice”

    Answer
    我把课文读了两遍。
  2. “Drive forward a little”

    Answer
    请把车往前开一点儿。
  3. 上个月我去了一___上海。

    Answer
    趟
  4. 早上地铁里___特别多。

    Answer
    乘客

3. Build the sentence

  1. Please park here.

    Answer
    请把车停在这儿。 Qǐng bǎ chē tíng zài zhèr.
  2. I sold the car.

    Answer
    我把车卖了。 Wǒ bǎ chē mài le.
  3. You have to change once.

    Answer
    要换乘一次。 Yào huànchéng yí cì.
  4. Take the metro straight to work.

    Answer
    坐地铁直接到公司。 Zuò dìtiě zhíjiē dào gōngsī.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
师傅，去机场要多长时间？
Shīfu, qù jīchǎng yào duō cháng shíjiān?
How long does it take to the airport?
B
走高速四十分钟左右。
Zǒu gāosù sìshí fēnzhōng zuǒyòu.
About forty minutes on the expressway.
A
现在堵车吗？
Xiànzài dǔchē ma?
Is there traffic now?
B
不堵车，现在不是上下班时间。
Bù dǔchē, xiànzài bú shì shàng-xiàbān shíjiān.
No, it isn’t rush hour now.
A
好。到了请把车停在三号门。
Hǎo. Dàole qǐng bǎ chē tíng zài sān hào mén.
Good. When we get there please stop at door three.
B
没问题，我把你送到门口。
Méi wèntí, wǒ bǎ nǐ sòngdào ménkǒu.
No problem, I’ll take you right to the door.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Park the car in the car park.
    Answer
    把车停在停车场吧。
  2. Next week I’ll make a trip to Shanghai.
    Answer
    下个星期我去一趟上海。
  3. Turn right at the crossroads.
    Answer
    到十字路口往右转。

💡 Did you know?: High-speed trains

China has the world’s largest high-speed rail network — over 45,000 kilometres. The fastest trains are called 高铁 (their numbers start with G), slightly slower ones 动车 (numbers starting with D). From Beijing to Shanghai, about 1,300 kilometres, the fastest train takes roughly four and a half hours. Tickets are bought with an ID, 身份证, and stations have airport-style security checks.

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