- A fish, ih diau ng 一條魚.
- To return, °tsen-le 轉來, Lit. To come back; °tsen-chi° 轉去, Lit. To go back.
- To come out or forth, tsheh-le 出來.
- To go out, tsheh chi° 出去.
- To thank, zia° 謝.
- Near, °jung 近.
- To-day, kyung-tsau 今朝.
- Yesterday, zau-nyih 昨日.
- A painter, ih kuh tshih-ziang° 一個漆匠.
- Thus, zeh-ke° 實蓋 or zeh-ke°-nung 實蓋能.
- Then (used as a conjunction), nan-meh 難末.
- Only, pi-koo° 必過.
- South, nen 南.
- Immediately, zieu° 就.
- Time, z-‘eu° 時候, zung-kwaung 辰光 or koong-foo 工夫.
- But, dan°-°z 但是, dok-°z 獨是.
EXERCISES
(Translate into English)
- (1) °Tshing sien-sang ming-tsau °kyeu °tien-tsoong le.
- (2) Kyung-tsau °z °li-pa°-ih, ming-tsau °z °li-pa°-nyi°.
- (3) Di°-kuk nyoeh °yeu san-seh nyih.
- (4) Ih °li-pa° °yeu tshih nyih.
- (5) Noong°-kuh bang-°yeu dzu° la° sa° di°-faung? La° dzung °li. La° dzung °li, sa° dzang-hau°? °Jung nen mung.
- (6) °Ngoo-kuh tau noong° faung° la°-°‘a-°li?
- (7) Zau-nyih °ngoo dok-ts °ng °tien-tsoong su, nan-meh tsheh-chi° °tseu loo°.
- (8) °Kyi °pung su °z noong°-kuh °lau °kyi °pung °z yi-kuh?
- (9) I-kuh nyung °yeu °kyi-kuh ‘eu-°ts? Yi pih-koo° °yeu ih-kuh.
- (10) Noong° tau°-ts Tsoong-kok °kyi-kuh nyoeh tse? °Ngoo le-ts san kuh nyoeh.
- (11) Noong° °kyi-z iau° °tsen-chi°? °Li-pa°-san iau° °tsen-chi°.
- (12) °Zaung-°he °kyi-z °tsen-le kuh? Zau-nyih °tsen-le kuh.
- (13) Noong° we°-sa°-°lau ’veh tsheh-chi° °tseu °tseu? °Iung-we° m-meh koong-foo °lau.
- (14) Zia° zia° noong° chi° °tshing i-sung le.
- (15) °Ngoo dok-°hau-ts su zieu° iau° chuh van.
- (16) °Z zeh-ke° va°? °Z zeh-ke° kuh.
- (一) 請先生明朝九點鐘來.
- (二) 今朝是禮拜一, 明朝是禮拜二.
- (三) 第個月有三十日.
- (四) 一禮拜有七日.
- (五) 儂個朋友住拉啥地方? 拉城裏. 拉城裏啥場化? 近南門.
- (六) 我個刀儂放拉那裏?
- (七) 昨日我讀之五點鐘書, 難末出去走路.
- (八) 幾本書是儂個佬幾本是伊個?
- (九) 伊個人有幾個兒子? 伊必過有一個.
- (十) 儂到之中國幾個月哉? 我來之三個月.
- (十一) 儂幾時要轉去? 禮拜三要轉去.
- (十二) 上海幾時轉來個? 昨日轉來個.
- (十三) 儂爲啥佬勿出去走走? 因爲無沒工夫佬.
- (十四) 謝謝儂去請醫生來.
- (十五) 我讀好之書就要吃飯.
- (十六) 是實蓋否? 是實蓋個.
(Translate into Chinese)
- (1) Where have you put my shoes?
- (2) I put them in the box.
- (3) I do not want to study on Sunday, but I will study on Monday.
- (4) How many weeks are there in a month?
- (5) How many peaches have you eaten?
- (6) How many dollars did you give your servant?
- (7) What time is it now?
- (8) Where do you live?
- (9) When you have bought the fish, return immediately.
- (10) The guest will stay here four months, and then will return.
- (11) Please tell the painter to come.
- (12) The teacher, having taught for three hours, left immediately.
- (13) Why do you do it this way? Because the teacher told me to do it thus.
- (14) I wish to do it, but I have no time to do it.
- (15) Go see what time it is now.
- (一) 我個鞋子儂放拉那裏?
- (二) 我放拉箱子裏.
- (三) 禮拜日勿要讀書, 禮拜一佬讀個.
- (四) 一個月有幾個禮拜?
- (五) 儂吃之幾隻桃子?
- (六) 儂撥之儂個用人幾塊洋錢?
- (七) 現在是幾點鐘?
- (八) 儂住拉啥地方?
- (九) 買好之魚就轉來.
- (十) 客人要住四個月, 難末轉去哉.
- (十一) 謝謝儂叫漆匠來.
- (十二) 先生教之三點鐘工夫, 就轉去.
- (十三) 儂爲啥實蓋做? 因爲先生教我實蓋做.
- (十四) 我要做個, 但是無沒工夫.
- (十五) 去看現在幾點鐘.
Notes.
- (1) “Thank you” is expressed by repeating the Zia°. Thus “Thank you” is Zia°-zia° noong°. In speaking to an equal or superior, the Noong° would be dropped. Often in Chinese when you ask a person to do a thing for you, you preface the request by thanking the person. Thus Zia°-zia° noong chi° tan °ngoo-kuh san° le (謝謝儂去擔我個傘來) means “Thank you, go bring my umbrella.”
- (2) Koong-foo has the double sense of “work” or “time.” Thus: Tsoo° koong-foo means to do work. But M-meh koong-foo means “I have no time.” You never say Sa° koong-foo, meaning “What time?” but Sa s-‘eu°? or Sa° zung-kwaung? In asking what time it is by the clock the usual expression is °Kyi °tien-tsoong?
- (3) The force of the question in the third sentence of the First Exercise is due to the fact that some Chinese months have thirty days and some have twenty-nine. A month of thirty days is called Doo° nyoeh (大月), “a large month,” and one with twenty-nine days is called a small month °Siau nyoeh (小月). In order to make the seasons come right, an intercalary month is put in about every three years. This in Chinese is called Nyung° nyoeh (閏月).
- (4) Notice the elliptical form of expression in the seventh sentence of the First Exercise. Literally it means “Yesterday I read five hours’ book.”
- (5) In the third sentence of the Second Exercise the Chinese idiom is peculiar. You say °Li-pa° nyih ’veh iau° dok su, °li-pa°-ih °lau dok kuh. Literally “Sunday not want to study, Monday and study.”
- (6) In the eleventh sentence of the Second Exercise, the “please” should be translated Zia°-zia° noong°.