11 Lesson 13 Dialogue 1: 你家在哪儿？
Dialogue:
（杨小姐给李先生打电话。）
杨小姐：喂，小李，我现在在故宫，能去你家玩儿吗？
李先生：欢迎欢迎。你以前没来过吗？
杨小姐：没有。你家在哪儿？
李先生：我家在北大和故宫的中间。
杨小姐：离北大和故宫有多远？离哪儿更近点儿？
李先生：离北大很近，走五分钟就到了，没有离故宫那么远。
杨小姐：那从故宫到你家怎么走？
李先生：从故宫出来，坐地铁一号线，坐六站就到了。我在家等你。
（杨小姐下了地铁。）
杨小姐：喂，小李，从地铁站到你家怎么走？
李先生：从地铁站出来，上中山路，往东走，过两个红绿灯，在第二个红绿灯往右拐，过一个路口就到了。
杨小姐：我已经过了那个路口，你家旁边是什么？
李先生：我家的对面是一家书店，后面有一个活动中心，左右两边都是餐馆。
杨小姐：哦，我看到了！回见！
Vocabulary:
| 中文 | 拼音 | 英文 |
|---|---|---|
| 中间 | zhōng jiān | n., middle |
| 北大 | běi dà | n., a shorter way to say 北京大学 |
| 故宫 | gù gōng | n., Forbidden City |
| 离 | lí | prep., away from |
| 近 | jìn | adj., near, close |
| 远 | yuǎn | adj., far |
| 对面 | duì miàn | n., the opposite side |
| 东 | dōng | n., east |
| 书店 | shū diàn | n., bookstore |
| 往 | wǎng | prep., towards |
| 拐 | guǎi | v., to turn |
| 旁边 | páng biān | n., beside, aside, next to |
| 过 | guò | particle, used after verbs to indicate a past experience v., to pass |
| 活动 | huó dòng | n./v., activity, event; to exercise |
| 中心 | zhōng xīn | n., center |
| 多远 | duō yuǎn | question word, how far |
| 红绿灯 | hóng lǜ dēng | n., traffic light |
| 右 | yòu | n., right |
| 路口 | lù kǒu | n., intersection |
| 餐馆 | cān guǎn | n., restaurant |
| 左 | zuǒ | n., left |
| 边 | biān | n., side |
| 后面 | hòu miàn | n., back |
| 哦 | ò | interjection, indicating “I see” |
| 回见 | huí jiàn | verb phrase, another way to say 再见 |
Grammar Notes:
- Direction and location words:
on/above (上 – shàng)
under/below (下 – xià)
in front (前 – qián)
behind (后 – hòu)
right (右 – yòu)
left (左 – zuǒ)
in (里 – lǐ)
out (外 – wài)
east (东 – dōng)
west (西 – xī)
north (北 – běi)
south (南 – nán)
The above location words can be used with either 面 (face, surface) or 边 (side) to form the location nouns such as 上面/上边，里面/里边, etc. There are two special location words: 中间 (middle) and 旁边 (beside).
The above words are often used with the preposition 在 (at, in, on) to indicate something is located somewhere. The structure is “Subject + 在 + place + (的 +) location word”. For example:
我的书在哪里？你的书在桌子上。(Where is my book? It is on the table.)
书店在商店和饭店的中间。(The bookstore is in the middle of the shop and the restaurant.) - 离.
This word means “away from”, and is often used to express distance. The structure is “place 1 + 离 + place 2 + 远/近“. For example:
中国离美国很远。(China is far away from the USA.)
北京大学离故宫很近。(Beijing University is close to the Forbidden City.)
When asking questions about the distance, we use 多远. The structure is “place 1 + 离 + place 2 + (有) + 多远？” For example:
图书馆离宿舍有多远？(How far is the library from the dorm?) - Comparison with 没有
When expressing something is “not as adjective as something else”, we use the word 没有. The structure is “Noun 1 + 没有 + Noun 2 + (那么) + Adj.”, in which the adverb 那么 (so) is optional, indicating a degree. For example:
我的弟弟没有我高。(My little brother is not as tall as me.)
这件衣服没有那件(那么)漂亮。(This coat is not as pretty as that one.)
我没有你(那么)有钱。(I am not as rich as you.) - The particle 过 in the sentence “她以前没去过”
This word is used right after verbs to talk about past experiences, equivalent as the English “have/has done something”. The structure is “Subject + Verb + 过 + Object“. For example:
我去过中国。(I have been to China.)
他们吃过中国菜。(They have tasted Chinese food.)
As this structure talks about past experiences, 没 is used to negate the sentences. For example:
我没去过中国。(I haven’t been to China.)
他们没吃过中国菜。(They haven’t tasted Chinese food.) - The verb 过 in the sentence “过两个红绿灯”
过 can be used as a verb, meaning “to pass”. For example:
他过了一个路口，又过了一个路口。(He passed one intersection and then another.) - 多远
This question word, meaning “how far”, is used to ask about “distance”. The structure is “Place 1 + 离 + Place 2 + (有 +）多远？“ For example:
北京离上海(有)多远？(How far away is Beijing from Shanghai?)
中国离美国多远？(How far away is China from the USA?)
Culture Notes:
Unlike English, where people say directions as “North, south, east, and west,” Chinese people always list directions in a clockwise manner: “东(dōng, east), 南 (nán, south), 西 (xī, west), 北 (běi, north).” There are several reasons why they say them this way: (1) the four direction words are associated with the four seasons, specifically, 东(east) is associated with 春(spring); 南 south–夏 summer; 西west–秋 fall; 北 north–冬 winter. The direction words follow the sequence of the four seasons. (2) In the ancient times, people believed that the sun moved around the earth, therefore, the traditional Chinese order of the cardinal directions (东南西北) offers a still fuller sequence. The sun rises in the east, moves to the south, descends in the west and then returns to its point of origin.
Another interesting fact is that, in Chinese, “东 East” and “西 West” always come first when describing intermediate directions, which is opposite to the English expressions. So the English direction word “southeast” is expressed in Chinese as “东南 (dōng nán)” or literally, “east-south.” The reason is mainly related to the geographic fact that almost all the rivers in China flow from east to west; therefore, the two words 东 and 西 are used as the main direction words while 南 and 北 are used as attached to them.
