Lesson 046 Usages of "Dei"

Allen:  Hi everyone! I’m Allen. Great to have you with us again on Chinese Studio.
Yajie: 大家好。我是YJ. Today, we’ll learn another word in Chinese.
A: Yes, pay attention to the Key Words of the Day to see if you can figure out what special word we'll be using throughout today's lesson.

Key Words of the Day
我得减肥, I have to lose weight,我得节食, I have to diet, 我得运动,  I have to exercise.  All in today’s Chinese studio.

Y: today’s special word is 得, which means have to.
A: How do you use it in a sentence? How does a person say they have to do something?
Y: Well, it's actually a pretty simple construction. Take the name of the person you want to talk about, or a pronoun, add 得, and then add what it is the person have to do.
A: I'm starting to understand, Yajie, but could you give me some examples?
Y: Sure, for example.我得减肥, I have to lose weight. 减,  to decrease, 肥, which means fat. So 减肥,  to lose weight.
A: But Yajie, you look good. I don’t think 你得减肥 (ni dei jian fei); I don't think you have to lose weight.
Y: well, I've made up my mind.
A: Okay. But do you have a weight-loss plan?
Y: Sure I have.我得节食, I have to diet. 节食mean to diet.
A: But Yajie, you already don't eat a lot. I think 你得运动 (ni dei yun dong), I think you must exercise to really see any results. 运动 mean to exercise.
Y: Actually, Allen,  I like to exercise, while I don't like to diet, so maybe I will take your advice. Now, let’s listen to a conversation.
  
Converstation1

A: Yajie, (Wan shang yi qi chi fan, hao ma?), Let’s have dinner together tonight, okay?
Y: Sorry, 对不起, 我得去练瑜珈. 瑜珈, Yoga. 练, to practice. 练瑜珈, practice Yoga. Yoga is very popular in Beijing nowadays.
A: 我不喜欢瑜珈, I don't like Yoga.
Y: Too bad. 瑜珈 is a lot of fun. But I know 你喜欢打网球.I know you like playing tennis. 网球，tennis.
A: and I remember that we learned table tennis last time, which is ping pang qiu, right.
Y: yes.

Conversation 2

Y: You know what Allen, I also have a secret way to 减肥.
A: Really, what is it?
Y: 买漂亮衣服, Buy pretty clothes.
A: I know 漂亮 (piao liang) means pretty, and 衣服 (yi fu) means clothes, but I have no idea what the connection between pretty clothes and 减肥 (jian fei) is.
Y: Well, if you have 漂亮衣服, but they are too small, you’ll definitely make up your mind to减肥.
A: Hmm… that’s interesting to know. How do you say pretty clothes again?
Y: 漂亮衣服.
A: 漂亮衣服, pretty clothes. Yajie, look at the time. 我们得说再见了 (Wo men dei shuo zai jian le), We have to say good-bye.
Y: Oh, I don’t like to say goodbye. 我不喜欢说再见。