Lesson 109 where Should I Stand?

M: Dàjiā hǎo. Huānyíng nǐmen dào Xiànzài Xué Hànyǔ. Wǒ shì ML.
 S: Wǒ shì Stuart. Today it's lesson 109. Jīntian shì dì yì bǎi líng jǐu kè.

M: Don't forget, the 零 líng means ‘zero'. So ‘one hundred and nine' is yì bǎi líng jǐu, yí bǎi líng jǐu.

S: And today we'll continue learning position words, like ‘on the left', ‘on the right' and ‘in the middle'. Very useful.

M: Especially when taking photos, zhàoxiàng.

S: Mary, you stand in the middle. 玛丽，你站在中间nǐ zhàn zài zhōngjiān.

M: I'll also stand in the middle. 我也站在中间 wǒ yě zhàn zài zhōngjiān.

S: Now, we've learnt the phrases ‘at the back' 在后面 zài hòumian. And ‘at the front', 在前面 zài qiánmian. And also words for ‘left' 左zuǒ, and ‘right' 右 yòu.

M: Now we'll tell you how to say ‘on the left' and ‘on the right'. Listen carefully.

S: 在左边，on the left, zài zuǒbian. And zài yóubian, on the right, 在右边。

M: Out of interest, grammatically speaking we can use both ‘面' and ‘边' when talking about position. However, we seldom say ‘左面' and ‘右面', always ‘左边' and ‘右边'.

M: Now please say, Mr. Zhang, you stand on the left. Hěn hǎo. 张先生，你站在左边。Zhang Xiānshèng, nǐ zhàn zài zuǒbian.

S: And now say, Jiànguò, you stand on the right, ok? Fēicháng hǎo. 建国，你站在右边, 好不好？Jiànguó, nǐ zhàn zài yóubian, hǎo bù hǎo?

JG: No problem. Méi wèntí.

M: We're getting there! 我在中间，玛丽也在中间。张先生在左边，建国在右边. Wǒ zài zhōngjiān, Mǎlì yě zài zhōngjiān. Zhāng Xiānshēng zài zuǒbian, Jiànguó zài yòubian.

S: Now let's go over the new things. I said, 玛丽，你站在中间.

M: Nǐ zhàn zài zhōngjiān. You've probably guessed that the 中 is the sane zhōng as in the Middle Kingdom, China, Zhōngguó.

S: The 间 JIAN jiān, 1st tone, here indicates space or position. Zhōngjiān, literally something like the middle space. Zài zhōngjiān, ‘in the middle', ‘between' or ‘among'. So how to say, ‘I stand in the middle'? Duìle. 我站在中间 wǒ zhàn zài zhōngjiān.

M: I stand between you. 我站在你们中间 wǒ　zhàn zài nǐmen zhōngjiān.

S: zhōngjiān can also be used in a sentence like, ‘he is the tallest among us.' The word order in Chinese is ‘We among he tallest'. So try to say, he is the tallest among us. Hěn hǎo. 我们中间他最高 wǒmen zhōngjiān tā zuì gāo.

M: Now say, I am the cleverest among us. Dui4le. 我们中间我最聪明 wǒmen zhōngjiān wǒ zuì cōngming.

S: Why is ML always saying things like that? M: Heng! Stuart, 我生气了！

S: Oh dear, I'd better run away right now! Péngyǒumen, míngtiānjiàn!