Lesson 044 Revision of the Usages of "De"

Yajie: Dajia hao. I’m Yajie here with Cam, and welcome to Chinese Studio.  We focused all week on the Chinese character de, and learned a lot.  So we should probably review.
Cam: Good idea.I have done my best to try and remember everything, so a review is probably good.
Yajie: Now let’s check sentences in the week.

********** Sentences in the week
This week we’ve learned some useful expressions that signalize the characteristic and its relationship and with another one. For instance, 中国人, the Chinese；红苹果, red apple; 我的，mine. 谁的, whose. 请问，这是谁的书？ May I ask, whose book is this?
**********

Yajie: 中国人, the Chinese people.
Cam: 中国人(Zhongguo ren).
Yajie: 中国, China.
Cam: 中国, zhóngguó, China. And 人, rén, means person, or people.
Yajie: Yes. 中国人, the Chinese people.
Cam: 中国人(Zhongguo ren). This is composed of two words, the first one defines the second.
Yajie: Some more examples like: 203 房间, room 203.
Cam: 203 房间 (èr líng sān fángjiān). I know 2 means two; 0, zero; 3, three.
Yajie: and 房间, room.
Cam: 房间(fángjiān).
Yajie: Next , 红苹果, red apple.
Cam: 红苹果 (hong pingguo).
Yajie: 红, h-o-n-g, the second tone, meaning red.
Cam: 红 (hong).
Yajie: 苹果(pingguo), apple.
Cam: 苹果(pingguo).
Yajie: 红苹果, red apple.
Cam: 红苹果 (hóng píngguǒ).

Conversations (1)

Yajie: In Chinese, father  is爸爸 (bàba).
Cam: Yes. It’s爸爸 (bàba).
Yajie: And in the last lesson we said the Chinese character 的signalizes the relationship that one belongs to another.  
Cam: Yes. I remember the phrases我的，mine. And 我的书, my book. The book is mine and it belongs to me.
Yajie: Yes. Then how do you say “my father” in Chinese?
Cam: I think it’s 我的爸爸.
Yajie: Right. It is 我的爸爸, my father. Some phrases, like this one, don’t need the Chinese character “de”.People usually say 我爸爸 rather than 我的爸爸.
Cam: Ok. Seems easier.
Yajie: 这是谁？(zhe shi shui) Who is this?
Cam: 这是谁？(zhe shi shui)
Yajie: Also you may say这是谁？(zhe shi shéi).
Cam: 这是谁？(zhe shi shéi).
Yajie: 这means this. z-h-e, the fourth tone.
Cam: 这(zhè).
Yajie: 是, s-h-i, the fourth tone, meaning “is”.
Cam: 是 (shì).　
Yajie: 谁, shei, the second tone.
Cam: 谁 (shéi).
Yajie: 这是谁？(zhe shi shei) Who is this?
Cam: 这是谁？(zhè shì shéi)

Conversations (2)

Yajie: 我的书, my book.
Cam: 我的书(wo de shu).
Yajie: 书, s-h-u, the first tone, book.
Cam: 书 (shu).
Yajie: 我的书, my book.
Cam: 我的书(wǒ de shū).
Yajie: And the Chinese for “whose is this” is “这是谁的”?
Cam: 这是谁的 (zhè shì shei de)? Whose is this?

Conversations (3)

********** Sentences in the week
中国人, the Chinese people；红苹果, red apple; 我的，mine. 谁的, whose. 请问，这是谁的书？ May I ask whose book is this?