HSK 4 · Lesson 28这才是艺术！ Now that’s art!

Stage and music: theatre, Peking opera, concerts, piano. The pattern V一X是一X “every bit counts”, 才 / 就 / 还 for emphasis, 首 “a song”, 弹 “to play (piano)”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

Peking opera

A
昨天我第一次去剧院观看京剧，太精彩了！
Zuótiān wǒ dì-yī cì qù jùyuàn guānkàn jīngjù, tài jīngcǎi le!
Yesterday I saw Peking opera at the theatre for the first time — it was brilliant!
B
你听得懂吗？
Nǐ tīng de dǒng ma?
Could you understand it?
A
听不太懂，可是演员的动作和衣服很吸引人。这才是艺术！
Tīng bu tài dǒng, kěshì yǎnyuán de dòngzuò hé yīfu hěn xīyǐn rén. Zhè cái shì yìshù!
Not really, but the actors’ movements and costumes are captivating. Now that’s art!
B
我就喜欢京剧。我爷爷以前是京剧演员。
Wǒ jiù xǐhuan jīngjù. Wǒ yéye yǐqián shì jīngjù yǎnyuán.
I just love Peking opera. My grandfather used to be a Peking opera actor.
A
真的？他还演出吗？
Zhēn de? Tā hái yǎnchū ma?
Really? Does he still perform?
B
不演了，他快八十了。不过在家还常常唱，唱得还真不错。
Bù yǎn le, tā kuài bāshí le. Búguò zài jiā hái chángcháng chàng, chàng de hái zhēn búcuò.
No, he’s nearly eighty. But he still often sings at home — and pretty well, too.

Music

A
你学钢琴多久了？
Nǐ xué gāngqín duō jiǔ le?
How long have you been learning the piano?
B
半年。每天弹一个小时，可是弹得还不太好。
Bàn nián. Měi tiān tán yí ge xiǎoshí, kěshì tán de hái bú tài hǎo.
Six months. I play for an hour every day, but I’m still not very good.
A
别着急，学一首是一首。
Bié zháojí, xué yì shǒu shì yì shǒu.
Don’t rush — every piece you learn is a gain.
B
下个月有个歌手来这儿演唱，我们一起去吧？
Xià ge yuè yǒu ge gēshǒu lái zhèr yǎnchàng, wǒmen yìqǐ qù ba?
A singer’s performing here next month — shall we go together?
A
好啊！她的歌声给我留下了很深的印象。
Hǎo a! Tā de gēshēng gěi wǒ liúxiale hěn shēn de yìnxiàng.
Sure! Her singing made a deep impression on me.
B
听说观众很多，票很难买。
Tīngshuō guānzhòng hěn duō, piào hěn nán mǎi.
They say there’ll be a big audience — tickets are hard to get.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. V一X是一X “every bit counts”

verb + 一 + measure + 是 + 一 + measure

The pattern means “take it bit by bit and be glad of each step” or “take things as they come”: 学一首是一首 “every piece you learn is a gain”, 走一步是一步 “one step at a time and see what happens”, 过一天是一天 “live one day at a time”. The verb and measure are repeated.

别着急，学一首是一首。
Bié zháojí, xué yì shǒu shì yì shǒu.
Don’t rush — every piece you learn is a gain.
现在不知道以后怎么样，走一步是一步吧。
Xiànzài bù zhīdào yǐhòu zěnmeyàng, zǒu yí bù shì yí bù ba.
We don’t know what will happen — let’s take it one step at a time.

2. 才, 就, 还 for emphasis

These adverbs carry the speaker’s feelings. 才 means “this is what really…”: 这才是艺术！ “now that’s (real) art!”. 就 means “precisely, just (and nothing else)”, stubbornly: 我就喜欢京剧 “I just love Peking opera”, 他就是那个歌手 “he’s the very singer”. 还 means “surprisingly, fairly”: 他唱得还真不错 “he sings pretty well, actually”.

这才是我想要的！
Zhè cái shì wǒ xiǎng yào de!
This is exactly what I wanted!
他就是那个有名的歌手。
Tā jiù shì nàge yǒumíng de gēshǒu.
He’s that famous singer.
这个电视剧还挺好看的。
Zhège diànshìjù hái tǐng hǎokàn de.
This TV series is actually pretty good.

3. 首 “a song”, 弹 “to play”, 演 “to perform”

首 counts songs and poems: 一首歌, 一首诗. Playing instruments uses different verbs: 弹 tán for keyboards and plucked strings: 弹钢琴, 弹琴; 拉 for bowed strings; 吹 for wind instruments. 演 is “to act, to perform”: 演电影; 演出 is “a performance”; 演唱 “to sing (on stage)”; 演员 “an actor”.

她会弹钢琴，也会唱歌。
Tā huì tán gāngqín, yě huì chàng gē.
She can play the piano and sing.
电话响了。
Diànhuà xiǎng le.
The phone rang.

4. Stage and screen

剧 is “a play, a drama”: 京剧 “Peking opera” (sung), 话剧 “spoken drama, a play”, 电视剧 “a TV series”, 剧院 “a theatre (building)”. 观众 is “audience, spectators”, 听众 “listeners”, 观看 “to watch (a show, match)”, 精彩 “brilliant, exciting”.

话剧和京剧不一样，话剧用说话来表演。
Huàjù hé jīngjù bù yíyàng, huàjù yòng shuōhuà lái biǎoyǎn.
Spoken drama differs from Peking opera — it’s performed through speech.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这个电视剧很好看。 Zhège diànshìjù hěn hǎokàn. — This TV series is very good.

  2. Answer
    她唱了一首歌。 Tā chàngle yì shǒu gē. — She sang a song.

  3. Answer
    演出很精彩，观众都很喜欢。 Yǎnchū hěn jīngcǎi, guānzhòng dōu hěn xǐhuan. — The show was brilliant — the audience loved it.

  4. Answer
    那个歌手给我留下了很深的印象。 Nàge gēshǒu gěi wǒ liúxiale hěn shēn de yìnxiàng. — That singer made a deep impression on me.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. Which verb goes with 钢琴?

    Answer
    弹
  2. 我唱一___歌给你听。

    Answer
    首
  3. “Now that’s real art!”

    Answer
    这才是艺术！
  4. What does 走一步是一步 mean?

    Answer
    One step at a time, and see what happens.

3. Build the sentence

  1. Now that’s art!

    Answer
    这才是艺术！ Zhè cái shì yìshù!
  2. Yesterday’s show was brilliant.

    Answer
    昨天的演出太精彩了。 Zuótiān de yǎnchū tài jīngcǎi le.
  3. I play the piano for an hour every day.

    Answer
    我每天弹一个小时钢琴。 Wǒ měi tiān tán yí ge xiǎoshí gāngqín.
  4. The actors’ movements are captivating.

    Answer
    演员的动作很吸引人。 Yǎnyuán de dòngzuò hěn xīyǐn rén.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
周末你干什么了？
Zhōumò nǐ gàn shénme le?
What did you do at the weekend?
B
我去剧院看了一场话剧。
Wǒ qù jùyuàn kànle yì chǎng huàjù.
I went to the theatre to see a play.
A
怎么样？
Zěnmeyàng?
How was it?
B
非常精彩，演员演得特别好。
Fēicháng jīngcǎi, yǎnyuán yǎn de tèbié hǎo.
Brilliant — the actors were superb.
A
观众多吗？
Guānzhòng duō ma?
Was there a big audience?
B
很多，演完以后观众都站起来了。
Hěn duō, yǎnwán yǐhòu guānzhòng dōu zhàn qilai le.
Lots — at the end the whole audience stood up.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Now that’s a real friend!
    Answer
    这才是真正的朋友！
  2. She can play the piano.
    Answer
    她会弹钢琴。
  3. Sing us a song!
    Answer
    给我们唱一首歌吧！

💡 Did you know?: Peking opera

京剧 jīngjù took shape in Beijing about two hundred years ago, when troupes from Anhui province came to the capital. It combines singing, recitative, mime and acrobatics, and the colour of the make-up hints at a character’s nature: red is loyal and brave, black upright and stern, white cunning. In 2010 Peking opera was added to UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage.

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