Lesson 7: How to turn sentences into questions.

Just add ma1 吗 to the end of sentences, albeit affirmative or negative, and the sentences will be turned into questions.

Lesson 6: My, your, his/her/its, and light tone with basic sentences

1) What is a light tone in Mandarin? 2) How to say MY, YOUR, HIS/HER/ITS in Mandarin? 3) Let's practice!!!

学生 xue2sheng1 Definitely Means "Student" :)

Question:

DesiGirlInCanada: just to be clear..doesn't xueshang mean senior or upperclassman?

My Answer:

学生 xue2sheng1 definitely means "student" in Chinese. xue2 学 means "to learn", and sheng1 生 means "raw, novice, birth", depending on the context. So in the case of 学生 xue2sheng, it essentially means "learning novice" and hence "student".

I hope it helps!

C.-Y.

想要 Used as a Compound Word vs. 想 or 要 Used as an Individual Character in Chinese Sentences

Question:

I have a question. I always used 想 & 要 individually in a sentence. I did not know until now that 想要 could be used as a compound word. So whats the difference when saying 我要電腦，我想電腦，compared to saying 我想要電腦? Does it matter which you use when expressing your desire of wanting something? Thanks

My Answer:

It is a good question; thanks! 想 or 要 can be used individually indeed in Chinese. By pairing up the two characters as a compound word, one SPECIFCALLY expresses “the desire of obtaining something or conducting an act”. For example, wo3 xiang3yao4 dian4nao3我想要電腦 = I want [to obtain] a computer. Wo3 xiang3yao4 mai3 dian4nao3我想要買電腦 = I want to buy a computer.

When想 is used individually, it means “to think, to think of, to miss, to hope to conduct an act”, depending on the context. So for example, wo3 xiang3 dian4nao3我想電腦 (PS.: This sentence is grammatically correct but not idiomatic; by idiomatic, I mean it sounds slightly odd and therefore people generally do not use the sentence.) = I think of a computer. 我想買電腦 wo3 xiang3 mai3 dian4nao3 = I hope to buy a computer (In the sentence, the person entertains the THOUGHT of buy a computer; whether or not s/he is going to really go and buy a computer is not expressed by the sentence.). 我想你 wo3 xiang3 ni3 = I miss you.

When要is used individually, it means “to want, to be going to conduct an act”, depending on the context. So for example, wo3 yao4 dian4nao3我要電腦 (PS.: This sentence is grammatically correct and idiomatic) = I want a computer. Therefore, one can safely say that 要 yao4, when used individually, followed by a NOUN (e.g. an object, a thing or a person etc.), the usage of 要 is the same as that of 想要. Other examples regarding how to use要 individually are: 我要買電腦 wo3 yao4 mai3 dian4nao3 = I am going to buy a computer. 我要你 wo3 yao4 ni3 = I want you (This sentence is useful if one wants to in a VERY DIRECT way woo someone else s/he has affectionate feelings for.).

I hope it helps! :)

C.-Y.