Grammar
Words and characters
The first vocabulary word in this lesson is 东半球 dōngbànqiú: "eastern hemisphere". This is a new word, yet we have already seen the 3 characters that compose it:
- 东 dōng: east (level 1 lesson 8)
- 半 bàn: half (level 3 lesson 1)
- 球 qiú: ball / sphere (level 2 lesson 3)
When we know each character of a word, we can very often guess the meaning of this word: 东半球 eastern half of the sphere / ball ⟶ eastern hemisphere. Thus, we can discover 3 new words:
北半球:
northern hemisphere
南半球:
southern hemisphere
西半球:
western hemisphere
Another example with 流经 and 流入:
流 : to flow
经 : to cross / Classic Books / acupuncture meridians ...
入 : to enter / to go in
流经 ⟶ to cross by flowing (river, river)
流入 ⟶ to enter/ go in by flowing (river, river)
It is therefore necessary to retain the meaning of the characters individually. But it must be noted that a character is not necessarily a word! For instance 经 and 入> will never be used alone to say "to cross" and "to enter".
每 and 各
We have already seen 每 měi "each / every" at level 2 lesson7. In this lesson, we are studying a new word that has the same meaning: 各 gè. Their nuances of meaning are not easy to characterize.
每 indicates elements of a totality and emphases the belonging to this totality while 各 indicates elements by emphasizing their individuality:
- 中国的每个地方都很美。 Every place in China is very beautiful.
- 中国各个地方的气候很不同。 Every place in China has a very different climate.
由 and 从
We already saw 从 cóng "from" at level 2 lesson 2. It can be used with a place or a time:
- 从这儿到那儿: from here to there
- 从星期一到星期五: from Monday to Friday
由 yóu can bu used as i class="hanzi">从 cóng only for place and with a more literary connotation: 由西向东 from west to east.
Unlike 从, 由 is also used to indicate the cause or to introduce the agent in a passive voice. We will have the opportunity to see this structure thereafter. For now, your vocabulary is still a little limited to access more subtle examples.
左右 and 大约
At level lesson 4, we saw separately the characters 左 zuǒ (left) and 右 yòu (right). Together they means "about / approximately" and they are placed at the end of the sentence:
- 她二十岁左右。 She is about 20 years old.
大约 dàyuē also means "about / approximately". It is an adverb and it is placed before the verb or the complement when the verb is omitted:
- 她大约二十岁。 She is about 20 years old.
- 距离大约有五十公里。 The distance is about 50 kilometers.
New use of 当 dāng
In level 3 lesson 11 we saw the character 当 dāng in the word 当然 dāngrán "of course". Alone, this character can have many different uses. In this lesson, we see it at the beginning of the sentence with the meaning of "when, at the moment of" jointly employed with 的时候 deshíhou:
- 当北方很多地方还在下雪的时候。。。 When in the north many places are still snowing ...
New use of 长 zhǎng
In level 3 lesson 2, we saw the character 长 pronounced cháng (to be long). In level 3 lesson 2 we saw the same character pronounced zhǎng and wthi the meaning of "leader" (校长 xiàozhǎng "principal").
Alone, 长 zhǎng also means "to grow":
- 你孩子长得好快！ Your children are growing so fast!
- 树开始长出新叶子。 Tree's leaves begin to grow.
New pronunciation of 都 dōu
Again a character with a second pronunciation: 都 dōu "all". It is also pronounced dū with the meaning of "capital". However 都 dū is not used alone. The WORD "capital" is 首都 shǒudū.
常常 and 往往
常常 and 往往 both indicate the frequency of the action and are often translated by "often". However, 往往 has a more limited use than 常常. 往往 must appear with a reason or condition that causes the event to occur frequently. It can’t just appear in a simple statement that something often happens. 往往can be used for present events, but is most commonly used for past events. It cannot be used for future, conditional or hypothetical events.
- 上海是南方最大的城市，不过可惜的是，孩子们往往看不到雪。 Shanghai is the largest city in the south, but sadly, children do not see the snow often. (The reason is that Shanghai is south).
- 我们常常看不到雪。 We do not see the snow often. (We cannot say 我们往往看不到雪。 because there is no cause or condition leading to the frequent occurrence of the event).
而
At level 3 lesson 3, we saw the word 而且 érqiě (but also / moreover). Alone 而 ér has the same meaning but much stronger (while / however):
- 北方的冬天很冷，比较干燥，而南方的夏天温度很高，经常下雨。 The climate of the north is very cold and relatively dry, while the temperatures of the south in summer are very high and it often rains.