HSK 4 · Lesson 20洗衣机坏了 The washing machine’s broken

Things: repairs, household shopping, measure words. 打 “a dozen”, 袋 “a bag”, 棵 (trees), 台 (machines), 幅 (paintings); 用来 / 用于 “used for”, 不如 “might as well”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Calling a repairman

A
师傅，我的洗衣机坏了，你能来修一下吗？
Shīfu, wǒ de xǐyījī huài le, nǐ néng lái xiū yíxià ma?
My washing machine is broken — could you come and fix it?
B
是哪台？什么牌子的？
Shì nǎ tái? Shénme páizi de?
Which machine? What brand?
A
就是卫生间里那台，用了十年了。
Jiù shì wèishēngjiān li nà tái, yòngle shí nián le.
The one in the bathroom — it’s ten years old.
B
我看看……修理要两百块，不过效果不一定好。旧的不如换一台新的。
Wǒ kànkan …… xiūlǐ yào liǎngbǎi kuài, búguò xiàoguǒ bù yídìng hǎo. Jiù de bùrú huàn yì tái xīn de.
Let me see… a repair is two hundred yuan, but it may not do much good. You might as well replace the old one with a new one.
A
新的怎么使用？我看不懂说明书。
Xīn de zěnme shǐyòng? Wǒ kàn bu dǒng shuōmíngshū.
How do you use the new one? I can’t understand the instructions.
B
很简单，按这里就开始洗了。
Hěn jiǎndān, àn zhèlǐ jiù kāishǐ xǐ le.
It’s easy — press here and it starts washing.

A shopping list

A
家里牙膏、毛巾、纸巾都用完了。
Jiā li yágāo, máojīn, zhǐjīn dōu yòngwán le.
We’ve run out of toothpaste, towels and tissues at home.
B
我去超市买。还要什么？
Wǒ qù chāoshì mǎi. Hái yào shénme?
I’ll go to the supermarket. What else do we need?
A
再买一打鸡蛋、一袋米。别要塑料袋，用我们自己的袋子。
Zài mǎi yì dá jīdàn, yí dài mǐ. Bié yào sùliàodài, yòng wǒmen zìjǐ de dàizi.
Also a dozen eggs and a bag of rice. Don’t take a plastic bag — use our own.
B
好。对了，那幅画还挂不挂？
Hǎo. Duì le, nà fú huà hái guà bu guà?
OK. By the way, are we still hanging that painting?
A
挂在客厅吧。院子里再种一棵树怎么样？
Guà zài kètīng ba. Yuànzi li zài zhòng yì kē shù zěnmeyàng?
Let’s hang it in the living room. How about planting another tree in the yard?
B
好主意！
Hǎo zhǔyi!
Good idea!

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. Measure words: 打, 袋, 棵, 台, 幅

打 dá is “a dozen”: 一打鸡蛋. 袋 dài is “a bag, a sack”: 一袋米, 一袋牛奶. 棵 kē is for trees and plants: 一棵树. 台 tái is for machines: 一台电脑, 一台洗衣机. 幅 fú is for paintings and pictures: 一幅画. The related 袋子 is “a bag” (the object), and 塑料袋 is “a plastic bag”.

再买一打鸡蛋、一袋米。
Zài mǎi yì dá jīdàn, yí dài mǐ.
Also buy a dozen eggs and a bag of rice.
客厅里挂着一幅画。
Kètīng li guàzhe yì fú huà.
A painting hangs in the living room.
办公室里有十台电脑。
Bàngōngshì li yǒu shí tái diànnǎo.
There are ten computers in the office.

2. 用来 / 用于 “used for”

thing + 用来 + verb · thing + 用于 + what

用来 + verb means “is used to…” (colloquial): 这个盒子用来装茶叶 “this box is for keeping tea”. 用于 + noun or verb is the same but formal: 这种塑料用于做杯子 “this plastic is used to make cups”. Lesson 4 had 这个词用来打招呼.

这个盒子用来装茶叶。
Zhège hézi yònglái zhuāng cháyè.
This box is for keeping tea.
这种塑料用于做杯子。
Zhè zhǒng sùliào yòngyú zuò bēizi.
This plastic is used to make cups.

3. 不如 “might as well, better to”

Besides comparison (lesson 13), 不如 suggests a better option: “rather than that, you might as well…”: 旧的不如换一台新的 “you might as well replace the old one with a new one”, 坐车太慢，不如走路 “the bus is too slow — better to walk”.

坐车太慢，不如走路。
Zuò chē tài màn, bùrú zǒulù.
Going by car is too slow — we might as well walk.

4. 便于, 作用, 效果, 有效

便于 + verb means “convenient for”: 这种包很轻，便于出行. 作用 is “effect, role”: 运动对身体有很好的作用. 效果 is “effect, result”: 效果不好. 有效 means “effective; valid (of a document)”: 这种药很有效, 签证有效. 使用 is “to use”, 方式 “way, method”: 用什么方式付钱？

这种包很轻，便于出行。
Zhè zhǒng bāo hěn qīng, biànyú chūxíng.
This bag is light — handy for travel.
这种药很有效。
Zhè zhǒng yào hěn yǒuxiào.
This medicine is very effective.
运动对身体有很好的作用。
Yùndòng duì shēntǐ yǒu hěn hǎo de zuòyòng.
Exercise is very good for your health.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这个箱子很轻。 Zhège xiāngzi hěn qīng. — This suitcase is light.

  2. Answer
    别压着我的书。 Bié yāzhe wǒ de shū. — Don’t squash my book.

  3. Answer
    你用什么方式付钱？ Nǐ yòng shénme fāngshì fù qián? — How will you pay?

  4. Answer
    我看不懂说明书。 Wǒ kàn bu dǒng shuōmíngshū. — I can’t understand the instructions.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. 院子里有一___树。

    Answer
    棵
  2. 办公室里有十___电脑。

    Answer
    台
  3. How many eggs in 一打鸡蛋?

    Answer
    Twelve
  4. 修理太贵了，___买一个新的。

    Answer
    不如

3. Build the sentence

  1. My washing machine is broken.

    Answer
    我的洗衣机坏了。 Wǒ de xǐyījī huài le.
  2. This box is for keeping tea.

    Answer
    这个盒子用来装茶叶。 Zhège hézi yònglái zhuāng cháyè.
  3. A painting hangs in the living room.

    Answer
    客厅里挂着一幅画。 Kètīng li guàzhe yì fú huà.
  4. This medicine is very effective.

    Answer
    这种药很有效。 Zhè zhǒng yào hěn yǒuxiào.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
我的电脑又坏了。
Wǒ de diànnǎo yòu huài le.
My computer’s broken again.
B
拿去修理吧。
Ná qù xiūlǐ ba.
Take it to be repaired.
A
已经修了三次了，效果都不好。
Yǐjīng xiūle sān cì le, xiàoguǒ dōu bù hǎo.
It’s been repaired three times already — it never helps.
B
那不如买一台新的。
Nà bùrú mǎi yì tái xīn de.
Then you might as well buy a new one.
A
新的太贵了。
Xīn de tài guì le.
New ones are too expensive.
B
现在很多电脑打折，我帮你在网上看看。
Xiànzài hěn duō diànnǎo dǎzhé, wǒ bāng nǐ zài wǎngshang kànkan.
Lots of computers are on sale now — I’ll have a look online for you.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Please buy a dozen eggs.
    Answer
    请买一打鸡蛋。
  2. A taxi is too expensive — we might as well take the metro.
    Answer
    打车太贵了，不如坐地铁。
  3. This room is used for work.
    Answer
    这个房间用来工作。

💡 Did you know?: Sorting rubbish

Since 2019 sorting rubbish, 垃圾分类, has been compulsory in Shanghai and then in other big Chinese cities. There are usually four bins: recyclables (paper, plastic 塑料, glass), hazardous waste (batteries, medicine), “wet” food waste, and “dry” waste — everything else, like used 纸巾. At first many people even went to classes to work out what goes where.

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