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Wang Xing meets a new coworker and they discuss their places of origin.
| Name | Pinyin | Chinese | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 尚 | Wáng Xīng, zhè shì wǒmen de tóngshì Xiáo Lǐ. | 王星，这是我们的同事小李。 | Wang Xing, this is our co-worker Li. |
| 王 | Níhǎo Xiáo Lǐ. Nǐ shì Shànghǎirén ma? | 你好小李。你是上海人吗？ | Greetings Li. Are you from Shanghai? |
| 李 | Bú shì, wǒ láizì Guǎngdōng. | 不是，我来自广东。 | No, I come from Guangdong. |
| 王 | Ò，Guǎngdōng lí zhèli hén yuǎn. | 哦，广东离这里很远。 | Oh, Guangdong is a long ways from here. |
| 李 | Duì a. Nǐ ne? Nǐ shì cóng nǎ ge guójiā lái de? | 对啊。你呢？你是从哪个国家来的？ | True. What about you? Which country are you from? |
| 王 | Wǒ shì Měiguórén. Cóng Jiāzhōu lái de. | 我是美国人。从加州来的。 | I am from the US. .. from California. |
Vocabulary
| Pinyin | Hanzi | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| tóngshì | 同事 | co-worker | noun |
| láizì | 来自 | come from | verb |
| cóng | 从 | from | preposition |
| Guǎngdōng | 广东 | Guangdong | Southern province sometimes called Canton |
| lí | 离 | from | used for distance |
| ò | 哦 | oh | Interjection |
| yuǎn | 远 | far | adjective |
| jìn | 近 | close | adjective |
| guójiā | 国家 | country | noun |
| Jiāzhōu | 加州 | California | noun |
Grammar Patterns
Come from
In this lesson we learn two different ways to talk about coming from. The meaning is similar, but the structure is different.
The first pattern is subject – laizi – place or “Subject from place”
| Subject | 来自 | Place |
|---|---|---|
| Wǒ | láizì | Měiguō |
| Jíngjing | láizì | Shanghai |
| Kōngzì | láizì | Shāndōng |
(Kōngzì is Confucius, Shāndōng is a province of China)
The second pattern is subject – cóng – place – lái or subject from place come.
| subject | 从 | place | 来 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nǐ shì | cóng | nǎ ge guójiā | lái de |
| Wǒ shì | cóng | rì běn | lái de |
To and From
Cóng and dào are used to link directional verbs, like lái and qù, with locations. For example:
- Wǒ dào xuéxiào qù. (I to school go..)
- Tā cóng Měiguó lái. (She from the US comes..)
Other examples …
| Cóng <place> | dào <place>, | <statement> |
|---|---|---|
| Cóng měiguó | dào zhōngguó, | dàjiā dōu xǐhuān kàn shū |
| From the US | to China, | everyone likes to read books |
| Cóng <time> | dào <time>, | <statement> |
|---|---|---|
| Cóng zǎoshang | dào wǎnshang, | tāmen zài gōngcháng gōngzuò |
| From morning | to night, | they worked in the factory |
| <subject> | Cóng <place> | dào <place>, | <predicate> |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wǒ | cóng jiā | dào xuéxiào, | qí zìxíngchē. |
| I | from home | to school, | ride my bike |
Distance from
When talking about distance from one place to another, the word lí is very useful.
- Guǎngdōng lí zhèli hěn yuǎn. (Gouangdong from here is quite far)
- Guǎngdōng lí zhèli wǔbǎi gōnglǐ. (Guangdong from here is 500 km.)
- Měiguó lí Zhōngguó tài yuǎn le. (The distance to the US from China is too far.)
