Bonus 01: “Pineapples”
About this lesson
A bonus dialogue using everyday, conversational Mandarin. A-Ming and Xiao Li meet in a cafe, where they talk about pineapples, coffee, coincidences, and the importance of mopping the floor.
We also introduce the phrase “連… 都…” — a way of expressing the extremity of a situation.
Recommended usage
Without any preparation, just listen to the dialogue once. See what words are familiar, and how much you can understand already. Don’t be discouraged if the answer is “almost nothing.” Even if you don’t understand many words, can you infer anything about the dialogue based on the tone of voice? What’s the emotional state of the characters? Can you make any guesses as to where they are?
After the first listen, it can be helpful to read through the transcript. This is provided below in Chinese characters, and also with a translation and pinyin beneath that. If you are learning the Chinese characters already, you might choose to read through the Chinese character-only version first.
Listen to the dialogue again, while simultaneously following along with the transcript. Pause and go back if you need to. See if you can connect a meaning to every sound being spoken.
Finally, listen to the dialogue a third time, this time without looking at the transcript. See how much of the meaning you can still connect to what you hear, even without looking at the text.
In the following days, continue listening to the dialogue, at least once per day. Continue this until you feel comfortable with the dialogue, or you feel yourself becoming bored. Then move on.
During these listening sessions, I encourage you to “shadow” the dialogue: imitating what you hear by speaking it out loud.
Enjoy!
Dialogue transcript (Chinese characters only)
M: 早安！你等很久了嗎？
L: 沒有，我才剛到。我很喜歡你今天穿的t-shirt，上面是鳳梨！
M: 對啊，我很喜歡鳳梨
L: 我記得你還有鳳梨的襪子！
M: 哇！連我的襪子你都注意到了
L: 當然！你看我現在在吃什麼
M: 你在吃鳳梨！這麼巧！
L: 真的很巧。你要點什麼嗎？
M: 我先點一杯咖啡好了，今天有很重要的事情要做。
L: 什麼事情？
M: 我要在家裡拖地板
L: 拖地板？拖地板很重要嗎？
M: 很重要啊！我如果看到地板很髒，我會覺得壓力很大
L: 你真的很愛乾淨
Dialogue transcript (w/ pinyin and translation)
M: 早安！你等很久了嗎？
Zǎo ān! Nǐ děng hěnjiǔle ma?
Morning! Have you been waiting long?
L: 沒有，我才剛到。我很喜歡你今天穿的t-shirt，上面是鳳梨！
Méiyǒu, wǒ cái gāng dào. Wǒ hěn xǐhuān nǐ jīntiān chuān de t-shirt, shàngmiàn shì fènglí!
No, I just got here. I like your t-shirt, it has pineapples on it!
M: 對啊，我很喜歡鳳梨
Duì a, wǒ hěn xǐhuān fènglí
Yeah, I really like pineapples.
L: 我記得你還有鳳梨的襪子！
Wǒ jìdé nǐ hái yǒu fènglí de wàzi!
I rememeber you also have pineapple socks.
M: 哇！連我的襪子你都注意到了
Wa! Lián wǒ de wàzi nǐ dōu zhùyì dàole
Wow! You even noticed my socks!
L: 當然！你看我現在在吃什麼
Dāngrán! Nǐ kàn wǒ xiànzài zài chī shénme
Of course. Look what I’m eating now.
M: 你在吃鳳梨！這麼巧！
Nǐ zài chī fènglí! Zhème qiǎo!
You’re eating pineapple! What a coincidence!
L: 真的很巧。你要點什麼嗎？
Zhēn de hěn qiǎo. Nǐ yàodiǎn shénme ma?
Really coincidental. Do you want to order something?
M: 我先點一杯咖啡好了，今天有很重要的事情要做。
Wǒ xiān diǎn yībēi kāfēi hǎole, jīntiān yǒu hěn zhòngyào de shìqíng yào zuò.
First I’ll order a cup of coffee, today I have an important thing to do.
L: 什麼事情？
Shénme shìqíng?
What thing?
M: 我要在家裡拖地板
Wǒ yào zài jiālǐ tuō dìbǎn
I’m going to mop the floor at my house.
L: 拖地板？拖地板很重要嗎？
Tuō dìbǎn? Tuō dìbǎn hěn zhòngyào ma?
Mop the floor? Is mopping the floor really important?
M: 很重要啊！我如果看到地板很髒，我會覺得壓力很大
Hěn zhòngyào a! Wǒ rúguǒ kàn dào dìbǎn hěn zāng, wǒ huì juédé yālì hěn dà
It’s important! If I see that the floor is dirty, I’ll feel really stressed out (lots of pressure).
L: 你真的很愛乾淨
Nǐ zhēn de hěn ài gānjìng
You really love cleanliness.
Featured expression: 連… 都…
「連我的襪子你都注意到了！」
連(lián)...都(dōu)... is a way of expression an extreme situation. It is hard to translate literally into English, but we can start to understand how it works by seeing some examples.
Examples:
我今天非常忙，連早餐都沒吃
wǒ jīntiān fēicháng máng, lián zǎocān dōu méi chī
I'm so busy today, I didn't even eat breakfast.
她沒有跟我說話，連看我都沒有
tā méiyǒu gēn wǒ shuōhuà, lián kàn wǒ dōu méiyǒu
She didn't talk to me. She didn't even look at me.
Sometimes 也 (yě) can be used instead of 都 (dōu):
他人這麼好，連你也喜歡他了
Tā rén zhème hǎo, lián nǐ yě xǐhuān tāle
He's such a good person, even you like him.
Great work!
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