中文 - Week 16 (New Practical Chinese Reader 1)

The book I am using is New Practical Chinese Reader 1 by the Beijing Language and Culture University Press. Volume 1 of the book has 14 lessons. Target end date is May 12, 2012.

MONDAY: Lesson Eight – 你们家有几口人？

We would still be covering characters but in a boring narration way here, no more demo calligraphy. It’s just that I think it would be best for me if I do the oral practice on video. Let’s do the written part here. We have thirteen characters so let’s do three right away. 几 is used to say how many for a number below ten, that is why it is used in the chapter’s title to count family members they usually do not exceed ten people. 禾 means standing grain and is one half of the word for “and”. 个is some sort of universal counter that could be used for big nouns, not sure of the qualification though.

TUESDAY: Lesson Eight – 你们家有几口人？

两 is the alternate for the other Chinese Character for two which we use when we count. This one, however is used for quantity when you want to mean the number two but not in the sense of it being a numeral, but as a quantity. 未 means have not according to the book and I usually see this character in tandem with another in the word for little sister. This character lends the sound. 犬 means dog and to be fair the original pictograph does look like a dog, somehow.

WEDNESDAY: Lesson Eight – 你们家有几口人？

云means clouds and was used in the text as the name of Da Wei’s mom. 少 means few or less. 士 means person and it looks similar to that character meaning land or soil, except that the horizontal bar on the base of this one is much shorter.

THURSDAY: Lesson Eight – 你们家有几口人？

欠 means to owe and you probably know this better as the second character for that favorite character of ours which is the character for you. 夕 means evening because the original pictograph is that of the moon. I remember this as one of the characters in “name” and “foreign” or maybe I am remembering them wrong?

FRIDAY: Lesson Eight – 你们家有几口人？

百 means one hundred. 卜 means divination and I remember it as one of the characters in that word “foreign”.

For next week I will still be covering lesson nine. We are making progress! The goal is to pass the lowest level of the HSK in September 2012! =)