HSK 4 · Lesson 33规定是规定 Rules are rules

Society and rules: bans, the law, a survey. Double negatives (不得不 “have to”, 没有人不… “there’s no one who doesn’t…”), 任何 “any”, 规定是规定 “rules are rules”, 否则 “otherwise”, 不必 “needn’t”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

No parking here

A
这儿禁止停车，你不得不开到别的地方去。
Zhèr jìnzhǐ tíngchē, nǐ bùdébù kāidào bié de dìfang qu.
No parking here — you’ll have to drive somewhere else.
B
我就停五分钟，不行吗？
Wǒ jiù tíng wǔ fēnzhōng, bù xíng ma?
I’ll only stop for five minutes — is that not OK?
A
规定是规定，任何人都不允许在这儿停。
Guīdìng shì guīdìng, rènhé rén dōu bù yǔnxǔ zài zhèr tíng.
Rules are rules — nobody is allowed to stop here.
B
好吧。这儿的警察真严格。
Hǎo ba. Zhèr de jǐngchá zhēn yángé.
All right. The police here are really strict.
A
严格是正常的，否则公共交通就乱了。
Yángé shì zhèngcháng de, fǒuzé gōnggòng jiāotōng jiù luàn le.
Strictness is normal — otherwise public transport would be chaos.

A survey

A
我们在做一个社会调查：普通人对法律了解多少。
Wǒmen zài zuò yí ge shèhuì diàochá: pǔtōng rén duì fǎlǜ liǎojiě duōshao.
We’re doing a survey: how much ordinary people know about the law.
B
结果怎么样？
Jiéguǒ zěnmeyàng?
What are the results?
A
多数人只知道日常生活中的一些规定，只有少数人真正了解法律。
Duōshù rén zhǐ zhīdào rìcháng shēnghuó zhōng de yìxiē guīdìng, zhǐyǒu shǎoshù rén zhēnzhèng liǎojiě fǎlǜ.
Most people only know some everyday rules; only a few really understand the law.
B
遇到问题的时候，没有人不需要律师的帮助。
Yùdào wèntí de shíhou, méiyǒu rén bù xūyào lǜshī de bāngzhù.
When problems come up, everyone needs a lawyer’s help.
A
对，所以要加强法律教育。
Duì, suǒyǐ yào jiāqiáng fǎlǜ jiàoyù.
Right, so legal education should be strengthened.
B
还有，大家要互相尊重，这是国际上普遍的标准。
Hái yǒu, dàjiā yào hùxiāng zūnzhòng, zhè shì guójì shang pǔbiàn de biāozhǔn.
And everyone should respect each other — that’s a universal international standard.

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. Double negatives: 不得不, 不能不, 没有…不…

Two negatives make a strong positive. 不得不 is “have no choice but to”: 你不得不开到别的地方去. 不能不 is “can’t not, must”: 这件事我不能不管. 没有 + who + 不… is “there’s no one who doesn’t…” = “everyone”: 没有人不需要帮助 “everyone needs help”. 不是不… is “it’s not that… not”: 我不是不想去.

下雨了，我们不得不回家。
Xià yǔ le, wǒmen bùdébù huí jiā.
It started raining, so we had to go home.
这个电影，没有人不喜欢。
Zhège diànyǐng, méiyǒu rén bù xǐhuan.
There’s nobody who doesn’t like this film.

2. 任何 “any”

任何 + noun + 都 / 也 means “any, whatever”: 任何人都不允许在这儿停 “nobody is allowed to stop here”, 有任何问题都可以问我 “ask me any questions you have”, 任何时候 “at any time”.

有任何问题都可以问我。
Yǒu rènhé wèntí dōu kěyǐ wèn wǒ.
Ask me any questions you have.

3. 规定是规定 “rules are rules”

Repeating X是X stresses “X is X, no arguing, no exceptions”: 规定是规定 “rules are rules”, 错了就是错了 “a mistake is a mistake”. Don’t confuse it with X是X，Y是Y (lesson 7) or X是X，就是… (lesson 15).

规定是规定，任何人都不能这样做。
Guīdìng shì guīdìng, rènhé rén dōu bù néng zhèyàng zuò.
Rules are rules — nobody may do that.

4. 否则 “otherwise” and 不必 “needn’t”

否则 (lesson 6) means “otherwise”: 严格是正常的，否则交通就乱了. 不必 is “needn’t, not necessary” (gentle): 你不必来 “you needn’t come”. It isn’t a ban like 不要 / 别 but “there’s no need”. The opposite is 必须 “must”.

你不必担心，我保证明天完成。
Nǐ búbì dānxīn, wǒ bǎozhèng míngtiān wánchéng.
You needn’t worry — I promise to finish tomorrow.
公司很重视安全。
Gōngsī hěn zhòngshì ānquán.
The company takes safety very seriously.
他的态度很好。
Tā de tàidù hěn hǎo.
He has a good attitude.

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    这儿禁止吸烟。 Zhèr jìnzhǐ xī yān. — Smoking is forbidden here.

  2. Answer
    请问，工作人员在哪儿？ Qǐngwèn, gōngzuò rényuán zài nǎr? — Excuse me, where are the staff?

  3. Answer
    你不必担心。 Nǐ búbì dānxīn. — You needn’t worry.

  4. Answer
    这个电影，没有人不喜欢。 Zhège diànyǐng, méiyǒu rén bù xǐhuan. — Everyone likes this film.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “We had to go home”

    Answer
    我们不得不回家。
  2. 有___问题都可以问我。

    Answer
    任何
  3. What does 没有人不知道 mean?

    Answer
    Everyone knows.
  4. 你___来了，我已经做完了。

    Answer
    不必

3. Build the sentence

  1. Rules are rules.

    Answer
    规定是规定。 Guīdìng shì guīdìng.
  2. Nobody is allowed to park here.

    Answer
    任何人都不允许在这儿停车。 Rènhé rén dōu bù yǔnxǔ zài zhèr tíngchē.
  3. We should respect each other.

    Answer
    我们要互相尊重。 Wǒmen yào hùxiāng zūnzhòng.
  4. The police here are strict.

    Answer
    这儿的警察很严格。 Zhèr de jǐngchá hěn yángé.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

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

A
对不起，这里不允许拍照。
Duìbuqǐ, zhèlǐ bù yǔnxǔ pāizhào.
Sorry, photography isn’t allowed here.
B
为什么？我只拍一张。
Wèi shénme? Wǒ zhǐ pāi yì zhāng.
Why? I’m only taking one.
A
这是这儿的规定，任何人都不能拍。
Zhè shì zhèr de guīdìng, rènhé rén dōu bù néng pāi.
It’s the rule here — nobody can take photos.
B
好吧，那我不拍了。
Hǎo ba, nà wǒ bù pāi le.
All right, I won’t then.
A
谢谢您的理解。
Xièxie nín de lǐjiě.
Thank you for understanding.
B
没关系，规定是规定。
Méi guānxi, guīdìng shì guīdìng.
No problem — rules are rules.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. It was raining, so we had to stay at home.
    Answer
    下雨了，我们不得不待在家里。
  2. Call me any time.
    Answer
    你任何时候都可以给我打电话。
  3. You needn’t buy one — I have one.
    Answer
    你不必买，我有。

💡 Did you know?: The smoking ban

People used to smoke almost everywhere in China, but in recent years the rules have become strict. In Beijing, for example, a law has been in force since 2015: smoking is 禁止 in indoor public places — restaurants, offices, transport — and violators are fined. Many doors carry 禁止吸烟 signs. Shanghai and other big cities have similar rules.

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