8 Lesson 2 Dialogue 2: Talking About Family Members

Narration:

大家好！我想介绍一下我的家人。这是一张我的家人的照片。我家有六个人：爸爸、妈妈、两个哥哥、一个姐姐和我。看，这个男人是我的爸爸，那个女人是我的妈妈。他们都是老师，爸爸是大学老师，妈妈是中学老师。我的两个哥哥都很高、很帅。这是我的大哥，他是一个医生。那是二哥，他是工程师。我的姐姐是大学生。这是我，我是小学生。我没有妹妹，也没有弟弟。我的家人都很爱我，我也爱他们。
你家有几个人？他们都做什么工作？请你介绍一下。

Vocabulary:

Grammar Notes:

1. The question word 几 (jǐ):
   It is used to ask how many? Note that it is used when asking about small numbers, usually less than 10. In addition, this word is usually followed by a measure word. Example:
   几口人? Jǐ kǒu rén? How many people?（Note: in most cases, 个 is used before 人 to describe how many of people. 口 is only used to describe family members.）
2. 两 (liǎng) vs 二 (èr)：
   The digit “2” is 二 , used generally in numbers, when counting to ten, telling a phone number, and so on. 两 is used to say there are “two” of something, generally followed by measure words. For example, “two girls” is translated as “两个女孩子” rather than “二个女孩子”.
3. The question phrase 哪个:
   It is used to express “which”. For example, “which is your elder sister” is translated into “哪个(人)是你的姐姐” in Chinese.
4. The adverb 没(méi)：
   Chinese people use 没  (rather than 不) to negate the verb 有 (yǒu). The structure is “Subj. + 没 + 有 + Obj.“. For example, 我没有弟弟(I don’t have a little brother.)
5. 做什么工作 is a way to ask about a person’s job or occupation, like “what (job) do you do” in English. To respond to such a question, simply answer with “是 + occupation”. For example, 你做什么工作？我是老师。
6. The adverb 都 (dōu): This word may mean “both” and “all”. It is an adverb, always used before verbs. For example, 我们都是美国人。In this sentence, 都 is used before the verb 是. In addition, Chinese doesn’t have a special pattern like “neither/none” for the negative case. Just add 都 before the negative verbs. For instance, 我们都不是美国人。(Neither/none of us are Americans).

Culture Notes:

1. Besides the international numbers that are used in the world (including China), Chinese has its own set of characters for writing numbers, and learning to count in Chinese is very easy because it follows very logical rules. Let’s start with the basic numbers from 1 to 10 for now:
   一 yī one
   二 èr two
   三 sān three
   四 sì four
   五 wŭ five
   六 liù six
   七 qī seven
   八 bā eight
   九 jiŭ nine
   十 shí ten
2. Most Chinese children call their dads 爸爸 (bà ba) or, even more casually, 爸 (bà), and call their moms 妈妈 (mā ma) or simply 妈 (mā). When referring to both dad and mom casually, they sometimes combine these words and say 爸妈 (bà mā). In northern China, children also call their dad 爹 (diē) and their mom 娘 (niáng) in everyday life. 父亲 (fù qīn, father) and 母亲 (mǔ qīn, mother) are more formal words, used in formal situations.
3. 兄弟姐妹 (xiōng dì jiě mèi , literally elder brother, younger brother, elder sister, younger sister) means “siblings”. The eldest brother is called 大哥, and the eldest sister is 大姐 . The rest are ranked according to their birth order using numerals. For example, the second eldest brother is 二哥, and the third eldest is 三哥. The youngest is 小弟 . Note that Chinese younger siblings normally refer to their elder siblings by their kinship terms rather than their names to show respect.