Yajie: Da jia hao. Wo shi YJ. Welcome to Chinese Studio on China Radio International.
Cam: Ni men hao. Wo shi Cam. What do we have planned for today, Yajie?
Yajie: Well, we’ve been learning how to talk about jobs. 你在哪工作？Literally, wher do you work? But when you meet a student without a job, what would you say to start the conversation?
Cam: That’s a good question. Let’s find out in Key Words of the Day.
你在哪儿上学？wher do you study? 上学, go to school or study. 学生, student, University, 大学；Middle school, 中学；Primary school小学. All in today’s Chinese Studio.
Cam: Hey Yajie, today’s topic is really timely. I am actually meeting with some university students next week to help them learn English. Now I can practice my Chinese, too!
Yajie: Good times. In Chinese, student is 学生.
Cam: 学生(xue2 sheng1), student. How about university student?
Yajie: 大学学生 University student。University, 大学. 大, d-a, fourth falling tone. Basically it means ‘big’. And 大学学生 can also be shortened to just大学生
Cam: I see. 大学学生 (da xue xue sheng) and 大学生(da xue sheng) are the same. Both mean university student.
Conversation1:
Yajie: 上学， go to school or study. 上, sh-ang, fourth tone. 上 means to go. And 学, as we mentioned just now, x-ue, second tone, which means school.
Cam: 上学, go to school. 你在哪儿上学 (ni3 zai4 nar3 shang4 xue2)？ wher do you study? Ni3 means you, zai nar is at wher, and shang xue is study. wher do you study?
Yajie: 我在北京大学上学。I study at Peking University. Cam, you know, Peking University, 北京大学, is one of the most prestigious universities in China.
Cam: Yes, I’ve heard of it. (wo zai Beijing da xue shang xue).
Conversation2:
Cam: Yajie, how do you say middle school and primary school in Chinese?
Yajie: Middle school. 中学.中, zh-ong, first tone, means ‘middle’. And primary school is 小学 (xiao).
Cam: I know 小 means ‘little or small’.
Yajie: Right. 小学, primary school.
Cam: It’s funny. 小学, primary school, literally means ‘small school’. 中学，middle school. And 大学, university, ‘big school’。Easy to remember.
Conversation3:
Cam:小张在哪儿上学(xiao3 zhang1 zai4 nar3 shang4 xue2)？ wher does Xiao Zhang study?
Yajie: 她在中学上学 (ta1 zai4 zhong1 xue2 shang4 xue2)。She is studying at the middle school. So she is a middle school student. 中学生.
Cam: 中学生(zhong1 xue2 sheng1), a middle school student。So 小学生(xiao3 xue2 sheng1) must be a primary school student。
Yajie: Right. For example, He is a primary school student. 他是小学生。他在小学上学 (ta1 zai4 xiao3 xue2 shang4 xue2)。He’s studying at the primary school.
Key Words Reminder:
你在哪儿上学？wher do you study? 上学, go to school or study. 学生, student, University, 大学；Middle school, 中学；Primary school小学
