Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Ask-for-directions-in-Chinese
In this Chinese class, we will learn to ask the way and understand a directional indication.
Vocabulary
Verbs
| Character | Pinyin | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 换 | huàn | change; exchange |
| 过 | guò | cross (a passage); pass |
| 要 | yào | in this lesson: require; have to |
| 拐 | guǎi | turn |
Miscellaneous words
| Character | Pinyin | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 离 | lí | remote from |
| 多 | duō | in this lesson: (particle used to form interrogative sentences) |
| 远 | yuǎn | far |
| 近 | jìn | close; near |
| 附近 | fùjìn | neighborhood; surroundings |
| 那儿 | nàr | the; over there |
| 从 | cóng | from |
| 到 | dào | until; go to; arrive |
| 大概 | dàgài | about; nearly |
| 公里 | gōnglǐ | kilometer |
| 米 | mǐ | metre |
| 先 | xiān | first |
| 然后 | ránhòu | then; then |
| 路 | lù | in this lesson: (classifier and suffix equivalent to "No." for bus lines) |
| 马路 | mǎlù | street |
| 十字路口 | shízìlùkǒu | intersection (literal "intersection in character") |
| 车站 | chēzhàn | bus stop |
| 长 | cháng | length; long |
| 堵车 | dǔchē | traffic jam |
| 交通 | jiāotōng | transport network |
| 的话 | dehuà | (placed at the end of the sentence to express an hypothesis) if; in the case where |
| 小时 | xiǎoshí | hour (duration) |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | practice (adj.) |
| 一直 | yīzhí | always; continuous |
| 往 | wǎng | in the direction of; towards |
| 天安门 | tiān'ānmén | Tian'anmen (historical and tourist site in Beijing) |
Grammar
Indicate the distance between two points
In Chinese, the preposition 离 <lí> is used to indicate the distance between two points. It appears frequently in a sentence, accompanied by adjectives like 远 <yuǎn> and 近 <jìn>.
Location 1 + 离 + Location 2 + Adj.
天安门 离 这儿 很近. <Tiān'ānmén the zhèr hén jìn. >
Tian'anmen is very close to here. 银行 离 书店 不远. <Yínháng lí shūdiān bù yuǎn. >
The bank is not far from the bookstore. Instead of an adjective, some sentences use the structure 有 ... 米 / 公里 <yǒu ... mǐ / gōnglǐ> to indicate the exact distance.
L1 + 离 + L2 + 有 + Value + 米 / 公里
- 天安门 离 这儿 有 三 公里. <Tiān'ānmén lí zhèr yǒu sān gōnglǐ. >
Tian'anmen is three kilometers from here.
- 地铁 离 学校 有 有 米 500 米. <Dìtiě lí xuéxiào yǒu 500 mǐ. >
The metro is 500 meters from the school.
Express "(from) from ... (up to) to ..."
从 ... 到 ... <cóng ... dao ...> is used in the same way as in English in a phrase of the style "(from) ... (up to) to ... ".
If in this lesson, this structure is used for places. It can also be used for a period of time. Just as for 离 <lí>, this structure can be followed by an adjective or a verb + object structure.
从 + Location 1 + 到 + Location 2
- 从 这儿 到 天安门 有 三 公里。 ‹ Cóng zhèr dào Tiān'ānmén yǒu sān gōnglǐ. ›
From here to Tiananmen, there are three kilometers.
- 从 地铁 到 学校 要 用 半个小时。 ‹ Cóng dìtiě dào xuéxiào yào yòng bàn gè xiǎoshí. ›
From the metro to the school, it takes half an hour.
从 2004年 到 2008年，我 一直 在 北京。 ‹ Cóng 2004 nián dào 2008 nián, wǒ yīzhí zài Běijīng. ›
From 2004 to 2008, I was in Beijing all the time.
Express "first ... then ..."
The adverb 先 <xiān> is often used with the adverb 然后 <ránhòu> to indicate a sequence of two events in the same sentence in Chinese.
S + 先 + V1 + O1 + 然后 + V2 + O2
- 你 先 往 左 拐，然后 往 前 走。 ‹ Nǐ xiān wǎng zuǒ guǎi, ránhòu wǎng qián zǒu. ›
You turn first left, then straight.
- 我 先 去 喝 咖啡，然后 回 学校。 ‹ Wǒ xiān qù hē kāfēi, ránhòu huí xuéxiào. ›
I go for a coffee first, then I go back to school.
Questions with 多 <duō>
The adverb 多 <duō> is often used in Chinese in front of an adjective to question the extent or degree of something.
For example, 多远 <duō yuǎn> is used to query distance and 多 长 <duō cháng> for length.
多 + Adj. (+ Object)
- 从 这儿 到 天安门 有 多远 ？ ‹ Cóng zhèr dào Tiān'ānmén yǒu duō yuǎn? ›
Tian'anmen is how far from here?
- 坐 公共汽车 要 用 多长 时间 ？ ‹ Zuò gōnggòngqìchē yào yòng duō cháng shíjiān? ›
By bus, how much time is needed?
Express the condition with 的 话 <dehuà>
的 话 <dehuà> is equivalent to the French "si", with the difference that it is at the very end of the first part of the sentence in Chinese.
Sentence 1 + 的 话 +, Phrase 2
- 你 去 北京 的话, ... ‹ Nǐ qù Běijīng dehuà, ... ›
If you go to Beijing, ...
- 不 堵车 的话，要 半个小时 去 天安门。 ‹ Bù dǔchē dehuà, yào bàn gè xiǎoshí qù Tiān'ānmén. ›
If there is no traffic, it takes half an hour to go to Tiananmen.