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- "I am happy. How about you?"
"I am happy. How about you?"
Translation:我很高兴,你呢?
26 Comments
Tips and notes
When we want to describe something we don’t use the verb “to be”, we have to put something else before an adjective. The most common word used to do this is 很 hěn, which literally means very. It goes between the subject (who or what we are describing) and the adjective (what we are describing it as). Since 很 is used so often like this, it oftentimes doesn’t mean “very”, just a link between a noun and an adjective.
*Pinyin in brackets is the actual pronunciation as a result of the change of tone.
Chinese ----- Pinyin ----- English
我很好。----- Wǒ hěn[hén]* hǎo. ----- I'm good.
你很高兴。----- Nǐ[ní] hěn gāoxìng. ----- You are happy.
The word for “also” or “too” is much less flexible in Chinese than in English. It must always come after the subject and before the verb.
Chinese ----- Pinyin ----- English
我也认识你。----- Wǒ[wó] yě rènshi nǐ. ----- I also know you. / I know you, too.
我也很高兴。----- Wǒ yě[yé] hěn gāoxìng. ----- I am happy, also. / I am also happy.
也 can also be used in the phrase "If X is... then Y is (also) ..." Here we don't need to use 很.
Chinese ----- Pinyin ----- English
你高兴,我也高兴. ----- nǐ gāoxìng, wǒ[wó] yě gāoxìng. ----- If you are happy then I am happy.
你很高兴,我也很高兴。----- nǐ[ní] hěn gāoxìng, wǒ yě[yé] hěn gāo xìng. ----- You are happy, I am also happy.
我高兴,他也高兴。----- wǒ gāo xìng, tā yě gāoxìng ----- If I am happy then he is happy.
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Please don't be angry x Learning by making mistakes is how we remember! From the time we are born... Good luck with this course x
I agree - having things repeated is gradually helping me recognise the characters more easily. I can speak six European languages, but have only recently decided to learn Chinese because I didn't feel I had enough time to memorise a whole new character set. With a few minutes a day, this app is helping the patterns sink in. Don't get frustrated with the repetition - bear in mind that over time it will help you remember!