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 |
|---|---|---|
| 換/换 | huàn | change; exchange |
| 過/过 | guò | cross (a passage); pass |
| 要 | yào | in this lesson: require; have to |
| 拐 | guǎi | turn |
Miscellaneous words
| Character | Pinyin | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| 離/离 | lí | remote from |
| 多 | duō | in this lesson: (particle used to form interrogative sentences) |
| 遠/远 | yuǎn | far |
| 近 | jìn | close; near |
| 附近 | fùjìn | neighborhood; surroundings |
| 那兒/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 |
| 然後/然后 | ránhòu | then; then |
| 路 | lù | in this lesson: (classifier and suffix equivalent to "No." for bus lines) |
| 馬路/马路 | mǎlù | street |
| 十字路口 | shízìlùkǒu | intersection (literal "intersection in character") |
| 車站/车站 | chēzhàn | bus stop |
| 長/长 | cháng | length; long |
| 堵車/堵车 | dǔchē | traffic jam |
| 交通 | jiāotōng | transport network |
| 的話/的话 | dehuà | (placed at the end of the sentence to express an hypothesis) if; in the case |
| 小時/小时 | xiǎoshí | hour (duration) |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | practice (adj.) |
| 一直 | yīzhí | always; continuous |
| 往 | wǎng | in the direction of; towards |
| 天安門/天安门 | tiān'ānmén | Tian'anmen (historical and tourist site in Beijing) |
Grammar
Indicate the distance between two points
In Chinese, the preposition 離/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 + 離/离 + Location 2 + Adj.
天安門 離 這兒 很近。/天安门 离 这儿 很近。 <Tiān'ānmén the zhèr hén jìn. >
Tian'anmen is very close to here. 銀行 離 書店 不遠。/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.
Location 1 + 離/离 + Location 2 + 有 + Value + 米 / 公里
- 天安門 離 這兒 有 三 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.
- 地鐵 離 學校 有 500 米。/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 …"
從 … 到 …/从 … 到 … <cóng … dào …> is used in the same way as in English in a phrase of the style "(from) … (up to) to … ".
In this lesson, this structure is used for places. It can also be used for a period of time. Just as for 離/离 <lí>, this structure can be followed by an adjective or a verb + object structure.
從/从 + Location 1 + 到 + Location 2
- 從 這兒 到 天安門 有 三 公里。/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.
- 從 地鐵 到 學校 要 用 半 個 小時。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.
- 從 2004年 到 2008年，我 一直 在 北京。/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> or 再 <zài> to indicate a sequence of two events in the same sentence in Chinese.
Subject + 先 + Verb 1 (+ Object 1) + 然後/然后 + Verb 2 (+ Object 2)
Subject + 先 + Verb 1 (+ Object 1) + 再 + Verb 2 (+ Object 2)
- 你 先 往 左 拐， 然後 往前 走。/你 先 往 左 拐，然后 往 前 走。 ‹ Nǐ xiān wǎng zuǒ guǎi, ránhòu wǎng qián zǒu. ›
You turn left at first, then straight forward.
- 我 先 去 喝 咖啡， 再 回 學校。/我 先 去 喝 咖啡，再 回 学校。 ‹ Wǒ xiān qù hē kāfēi, zài 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 遠/多 远 <duō yuǎn> is used to query distance and 多 長/多 长 <duō cháng> for length.
多 + Adjective (+ Object)
- 從 這兒 到 天安門 有 多遠？/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 公共汽車 要 用 多長 時間？/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 話/的 话 <de huà>
的 話/的 话 <de huà> means “in the case of”, which is placed at the end of a clause to indicate subjunctive mood.
Clause 1(Subjunctive) + 的 話/的 话 +, Clause 2
- 你 去 京 的 話，/你 去 北京 的 话, … ‹ Nǐ qù Běijīng dehuà, … ›
If you go to Beijing, …
- 不 堵車 的 話， 去 天安門 要 半個 小時。/不 堵车 的 话，去 天安门 要 半个 小时。 ‹ Bù dǔchē dehuà, qù Tiān'ānmén yào bàn gè xiǎoshí. ›
If there is no traffic jam, it takes half an hour to go to Tiananmen.