HSK 4 · Lesson 22让你睡你就睡！ When I say sleep, you sleep!

Family and generations: parents, grandchildren, relatives, childhood. 互相 / 相互 “each other”, 老 “always”, 让你…你就… “do as you’re told”, …也得…，不…也得… “like it or not”, 俩 “the two of”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

A family photo

A
这是你们家的照片吗？
Zhè shì nǐmen jiā de zhàopiàn ma?
Is this your family photo?
B
对，这是我父母，这是我哥哥和他儿子。我们兄弟俩长得很像。
Duì, zhè shì wǒ fùmǔ, zhè shì wǒ gēge hé tā érzi. Wǒmen xiōngdì liǎ zhǎng de hěn xiàng.
Yes, these are my parents, and this is my brother and his son. We two brothers look very alike.
A
你哥哥的儿子真可爱！他多大了？
Nǐ gēge de érzi zhēn kě’ài! Tā duō dà le?
Your brother’s son is so cute! How old is he?
B
三岁。他是我父母的第一个孙子，他们特别爱他。
Sān suì. Tā shì wǒ fùmǔ de dì-yī ge sūnzi, tāmen tèbié ài tā.
Three. He’s my parents’ first grandson — they adore him.
A
你们一家人常在一起吗？
Nǐmen yì jiā rén cháng zài yìqǐ ma?
Does your family often get together?
B
平常大家都很忙，过年的时候才回老家，亲戚们都来。
Píngcháng dàjiā dōu hěn máng, guònián de shíhou cái huí lǎojiā, qīnqimen dōu lái.
Usually everyone’s busy; we only go back home at New Year, and all the relatives come.
A
你跟你父亲关系怎么样？
Nǐ gēn nǐ fùqīn guānxì zěnmeyàng?
How do you get on with your father?
B
很好。他老说：“让你做你就做。”小时候我不喜欢，现在觉得他是为我好。
Hěn hǎo. Tā lǎo shuō: “Ràng nǐ zuò nǐ jiù zuò.” Xiǎoshíhou wǒ bù xǐhuan, xiànzài juéde tā shì wèi wǒ hǎo.
Very well. He was always saying, “When you’re told to do it, do it.” I didn’t like it as a kid, but now I see he meant well.

Bedtime

A
都十一点了，快睡吧！
Dōu shíyī diǎn le, kuài shuì ba!
It’s already eleven — off to bed!
B
我还有作业。
Wǒ hái yǒu zuòyè.
I’ve still got homework.
A
明天考试，今天你睡也得睡，不睡也得睡。
Míngtiān kǎoshì, jīntiān nǐ shuì yě děi shuì, bú shuì yě děi shuì.
You’ve got an exam tomorrow — like it or not, you’re going to bed.
B
好吧。妈妈，你小时候也这样吗？
Hǎo ba. Māma, nǐ xiǎoshíhou yě zhèyàng ma?
All right. Mum, were you like this as a child?
A
我的童年在农村，作业没有那么多，每天晚上跟我妈妈散步。
Wǒ de tóngnián zài nóngcūn, zuòyè méiyǒu nàme duō, měi tiān wǎnshang gēn wǒ māma sànbù.
I grew up in the countryside — there wasn’t so much homework, and every evening I went for a walk with my mum.
B
那我们母子俩明天也去散步吧！晚安，妈妈。
Nà wǒmen mǔzǐ liǎ míngtiān yě qù sànbù ba! Wǎn’ān, māma.
Then let’s go for a walk together tomorrow, just the two of us! Good night, Mum.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 互相 / 相互 “each other”

互相 and 相互 before a verb mean “each other, mutually”: 兄弟俩互相帮助 “the two brothers help each other”, 我们应该相互了解 “we should get to know each other”. 相互 is more formal and can also modify a noun: 相互的理解 “mutual understanding”.

兄弟俩互相帮助。
Xiōngdì liǎ hùxiāng bāngzhù.
The two brothers help each other.
家长和老师要相互了解。
Jiāzhǎng hé lǎoshī yào xiānghù liǎojiě.
Parents and teachers need to understand each other.

2. 老 “always, keep doing”

老 before a verb is colloquial for “always, keep doing”, often with annoyance: 他老迟到 “he’s always late”, 我父亲老说… “my father was always saying…”. 老是 (lesson 23) means the same. Don’t confuse it with 老 “old” (老人).

他老迟到。
Tā lǎo chídào.
He’s always late.

3. 让你X你就X “do as you’re told”

让 / 叫 + 你 + verb + 你就 + verb

Elders or bosses say this: “if you’re told to, just do it, no arguing”: 让你睡你就睡！, 叫你去你就去 “when you’re told to go, go”. It sounds strict, sometimes rather blunt.

叫你去你就去，别问为什么。
Jiào nǐ qù nǐ jiù qù, bié wèn wèi shénme.
When you’re told to go, go — don’t ask why.

4. X也得X，不X也得X “like it or not”

The verb is repeated four times: 睡也得睡，不睡也得睡 “you’re going to sleep whether you like it or not”, 去也得去，不去也得去. There’s no choice. 得 is read děi.

这个会很重要，你去也得去，不去也得去。
Zhège huì hěn zhòngyào, nǐ qù yě děi qù, bú qù yě děi qù.
This meeting is important — you’re going, like it or not.

5. Family and ages: 俩, 父子, 儿童…老年

俩 liǎ = 两个, with no 个 after it: 我们俩, 兄弟俩. Pairs: 父子 “father and son”, 父女 “father and daughter”, 母子 “mother and son”, 母女 “mother and daughter”. Ages: 儿童 “children” → 少年 “teenagers” → 青年 “young people” → 中年 “middle age” → 老年 “old age”. 生 shēng is “to give birth; to be born”: 她生了一个女儿, 我生在上海.

她去年生了一个女儿。
Tā qùnián shēngle yí ge nǚ’ér.
She had a baby girl last year.
中国的儿童节是六月一号。
Zhōngguó de Értóng Jié shì liùyuè yī hào.
Children’s Day in China is on the first of June.
从小要养成好习惯。
Cóngxiǎo yào yǎngchéng hǎo xíguàn.
Good habits should be formed from childhood.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    明天学校开家长会。 Míngtiān xuéxiào kāi jiāzhǎng huì. — There’s a parents’ meeting at school tomorrow.

  2. Answer
    我的家乡在南方。 Wǒ de jiāxiāng zài nánfāng. — My home town is in the south.

  3. Answer
    奶奶很爱她的孙女。 Nǎinai hěn ài tā de sūnnǚ. — Grandma loves her granddaughter very much.

  4. Answer
    请问您的年龄？ Qǐngwèn nín de niánlíng? — May I ask your age?

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “The two of us”

    Answer
    我们俩
  2. 同学们应该___帮助。

    Answer
    互相
  3. “When you’re told to go, go”

    Answer
    叫你去你就去。
  4. Who is the oldest?

    Answer
    老年人

3. Build the sentence

  1. We two brothers look very alike.

    Answer
    我们兄弟俩长得很像。 Wǒmen xiōngdì liǎ zhǎng de hěn xiàng.
  2. Usually everyone is very busy.

    Answer
    平常大家都很忙。 Píngcháng dàjiā dōu hěn máng.
  3. I spent my childhood in the countryside.

    Answer
    我的童年在农村。 Wǒ de tóngnián zài nóngcūn.
  4. He’s always late.

    Answer
    他老迟到。 Tā lǎo chídào.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
你家有几口人？
Nǐ jiā yǒu jǐ kǒu rén?
How many people are in your family?
B
五口：父母、我、妹妹和奶奶。
Wǔ kǒu: fùmǔ, wǒ, mèimei hé nǎinai.
Five: my parents, me, my sister and my grandma.
A
你和妹妹关系好吗？
Nǐ hé mèimei guānxì hǎo ma?
Do you get on with your sister?
B
很好，我们俩常常互相帮助。
Hěn hǎo, wǒmen liǎ chángcháng hùxiāng bāngzhù.
Very well — we often help each other.
A
你的老家在哪儿？
Nǐ de lǎojiā zài nǎr?
Where’s your family from?
B
在北方的一个小城市。
Zài běifāng de yí ge xiǎo chéngshì.
A small city in the north.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Neighbours should help each other.
    Answer
    邻居应该互相帮助。
  2. He’s always forgetting his keys.
    Answer
    他老忘带钥匙。
  3. Like it or not, you’ll have to eat.
    Answer
    你吃也得吃，不吃也得吃。

💡 Did you know?: Grandparents and grandchildren

In China grandparents often bring up grandchildren while the parents work: taking them to kindergarten, feeding them, going for walks. Relatives on the father’s and mother’s sides have different names: the father’s parents are 爷爷 yéye and 奶奶 nǎinai, the mother’s are 外公 wàigōng and 外婆 wàipó (in the north 姥爷 and 姥姥). Even grandchildren differ: a son’s children are 孙子, 孙女, a daughter’s are 外孙, 外孙女.

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