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Lesson 6 - What do you want to do? (Demo)

Click "View" for a literal translation, individual pronunciation of words, and a slow speed of the sentence.
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Conversation

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Conversation sentences

English ( Hide ) / Pinyin ( Hide ) / Characters ( Hide )	Analysis	Audio (Click)	Select
Hello Hua, How are you? nǐhǎo! huà! nǐ hǎo mǎ? 你好! 桦！你好吗？	View
I'm very good, and you? wǒ hěnhǎo, nǐ ne? 我很好，你呢？	View
So-so. mǎmǎhūhū. 马马虎虎。	View
David, what do you want to do? dàwèi, nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme? 大卫，你想做什么？	View
I'm hungry. I would like to eat something. wǒ dùzi è le. wǒ xiǎng chī diǎn dōngxi. 我肚子饿了。我想吃点东西。	View
Where would you like to go to eat? nǐ xiǎng qù nǎer chī? 你想去哪儿吃？	View
I would like to go to a Chinese restaurant. wǒ xiǎng qù chī zhōngguó cài. 我想去吃中国菜。	View
What do you like to eat? nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme? 你喜欢吃什么？	View
I like fried rice. Do you like to eat fried rice? wǒ xǐhuan chī chǎofàn. nǐ xǐhuan chī chǎofàn ma? 我喜欢吃炒饭。你喜欢吃炒饭吗？	View
I don't like. wǒ bù xǐhuan. 我不喜欢。	View

Language Points

Literal Translation

For each sentence the simplified characters, pinyin (pronounciation), and literal tranaslations are given. The literal translation section gives the literal meaning for the words and characters that make up the sentence. Looking at the sentence in its literal translation gives insight into the grammer. It also helps aid memory. For words that consist of two or more characters, it is often useful to analyze the characters that make up the words and to think about why these characters were put together to form the word in question.

In lesson 6, the sentence "I would like to go to a Chinese restaurant." is split apart in the analysis section as:

Analysis of sentence

Pinyin
(Click for sound)

wǒ

xiǎng

qù

chī

zhōng guó

cài

Literal
Translation

would like

eat

China (middle-country)

food

Simplified
Characters
(Click for definition)

We see here that the word for China is comprised of the characters meaning "middle 中 zhōng" and "country 国 guó." China or "中国 zhōng guó" literally means "Middle-Country" or "Middle-Kingdom."