Lesson 6
If you are an animal lover, you are going to enjoy this lesson because we’re practicing using numbers while talking about pets. If you already know about Chinese measure words, jump right in, but if not, things will be a lot clearer if you first at least skim “The Mystery of Measure Words”.
Vocabulary
| 有 | yǒu | have |
| 没有 | méi yǒu | don’t have |
| 喜欢 | xǐ huān | to like |
| 宠物 | chǒng wù | pet |
| 只 | zhī | measure word for relatively small animals |
| 条 | tiáo | measure word for long, thin, wriggly, or slithery animals |
| 小 | xiǎo | small |
| 大 | dà | big |
| 两 | liǎng | two |
| 和 | hé | and |
Notes
You already learnt that “二” means two in Chinese, so you might be wondering why this other word “两” also means “two”. “二” is used for counting, so we say “一、二、三”. On the other hand,“两” is used for quantities, such as “两个苹果” (two apples).
Pets
| Chinese | Measure Word | Pinyin | English |
| 猫 | 只 | māo | cat |
| 狗 | 只、条 | gǒu | dog |
| 兔子 | 只 | tùzi | rabbit |
| 仓鼠 | 只 | cāngshǔ | hamster |
| 鸟 | 只 | niǎo | bird |
| 鱼 | 条 | yú | fish |
| 蛇 | 条 | shé | snake |
Notes
只 vs 条
In Chinese, 只 (zhī) and 条 (tiáo) are both classifiers used for counting animals, but they are used for different types of animals.
- 只 (zhī) is generally used for counting small animals, such as birds, rabbits, cats, dogs, and other small creatures. For example, 一只鸟 (yī zhī niǎo) means “one bird.”
- 条 (tiáo) is usually used for counting long, slender animals, such as snakes, fish, and worms. For example, 一条鱼 (yī tiáo yú) means “one fish.” 条 is sometimes also used for dogs that are long and slim.
Turning statements into questions
In Chinese, turning a statement into a question is as simple as removing the period “。” and adding the question particle “吗” and a question mark to the end of the sentence.
For example:
你有宠物。 (Nǐ yǒu chǒngwù.) You have pets.
你有宠物吗？ (Nǐ yǒu chǒngwù ma?) Do you have pets?
她喜欢猫。 (Tā xǐhuan māo.） She likes cats.
她喜欢猫吗？ (Tā xǐhuan māo ma?) Does she like cats?
This punctuation mark “。” is the Chinese full stop. If you didn’t recognize it, you might like to check out “Understanding Chinese punctuation“
Key sentences
Carefully examine the sentences below and see if you can use the vocabulary you have learnt to figure out what each of them mean. After you have tried your best to decipher what they mean, check below to see if you are correct. Then listen to the audio and practicing reading these sentences aloud.
| 你有宠物吗？ | Nǐ yǒu chǒngwù ma? |
| 我没有宠物。 | Wǒ méiyǒu chǒngwù. |
| 我有一只狗。 | Wǒ yǒu yì zhī gǒu. |
| 我有两只猫和三只鸟。 | Wǒ yǒu liǎng zhī māo hé sān zhī niǎo. |
| 你喜欢宠物吗？ | Nǐ xǐhuan chǒngwù ma? |
| 我很喜欢宠物。 | Wǒ hěn xǐhuan chǒngwù. |
| 我不喜欢宠物。 | Wǒ bù xǐhuan chǒngwù. |
| 你喜欢兔子吗？ | Nǐ xǐhuan tùzi ma? |
| 我喜欢兔子。 | Wǒxǐhuān tùzi. |
| 你喜欢蛇吗？ | Nǐ xǐhuan shé ma? |
| 我不喜欢蛇。 | Wǒ bù xǐhuan shé. |
| 我喜欢猫、狗、兔子和鸟。 | Wǒxǐhuān māo、 gǒu、 tùzi hé niǎo. |
Notes
很 as an adverb of degree
In Lesson 2 you learnt that 很 is used as a dummy-linking adverb. When used with certain special verbs (that convey an emotional state), 很 can also be used to indicate degree and has the meaning very, really or quite. In this way 很 can be used to intensify the emotional state being described. As you saw in the example above “我很喜欢宠物。” means “I really like pets”.
Learn more of these special “psychological” verbs and more about how to use 很.
Using 和 in a list
“和” can be used to connect nouns in a list of two or more elements. While 和 means “and”, however, it’s use is not exactly the same as the English version “and”. In upcoming lessons you will learn about the situations where 和 is used differently and how to use it correctly.
English Translation
| 你有宠物吗？ | Do you have pets? |
| 我没有宠物。 | I don’t have pets. |
| 我有一只狗。 | I have a dog. |
| 我有两只猫和三只鸟。 | I have two cats and three birds. |
| 你喜欢宠物吗？ | Do you like pets? |
| 我很喜欢宠物。 | I really like pets. |
| 我不喜欢宠物。 | I don’t like pets. |
| 你喜欢兔子吗？ | Do you like rabbits? |
| 我喜欢兔子。 | I like rabbits. |
| 你喜欢蛇吗？ | Do you like snakes? |
| 我不喜欢蛇。 | I don’t like snakes. |
| 我喜欢狗、猫、兔子和鸟。 | I like dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds. |
Baby pets
In Chinese, adding “小” before the name of most animals in Chinese generally indicates a young or small version of that animal. Even though there are some exceptions where it may not have this meaning, all of the pets we’ve learnt about today follow this pattern. So, for example “小猫” means “kitten”, and “小狗” means “puppy”.
You also learnt earlier that “大” means big. Note that you don’t have to use 大 to refer to the adult versions of animals.
What you’ve learnt
You’ve learnt how to talk about quantities, ask about pets and talk about your pets in Chinese. You also learnt to use the verbs “有” and ”喜欢”, how to use “和”in a list and how to use the question particle“吗”.
Next lesson ->