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Getting started with Chinese 3
Getting started with Chinese 3

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2 Adjectives – building your vocabulary

Table 1 shows adjectives which can be used to describe people’s appearance and status. Listen to how they are pronounced and repeat afterwards. Listen as many times as you wish.

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Transcript

kù 酷

shuài 帅

cōngmíng 聪明

làngmàn 浪漫

piàoliang 漂亮  

gāo 高   

pàng 胖   

shòu 瘦   

shǎo 少   

ǎi 矮   

yǒuqián 有钱   

méiqián 没钱   

yǒuyòng 有用   

yuǎn 远   

jìn 近

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Table 1 Adjectives to describe one’s appearance
kù 酷 cool (great)
shuài 帅 handsome
cōngmíng 聪明 clever
làngmàn 浪漫 romantic
piàoliang 漂亮 pretty, beautiful
gāo 高 tall (person or building), high
pàng 胖 fat, stout
shòu 瘦 thin (person)
shǎo 少 few; less
ǎi 矮 short (height)
yǒuqián 有钱 rich (lit. have money)
méiqián 没钱 poor (lit. have no money）
yǒuyòng 有用 useful
yuǎn 远 far
jìn 近 near, close

Now have a go at Activity 4.

Activity 4

Part 1

Match the Chinese adjectives to their English translation.

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. kù 酷

  2. piàoliang 漂亮

  3. làngmàn 浪漫

  4. shuài 帅

  5. cōngmíng 聪明

  • a.cool

  • b.pretty

  • c.clever

  • d.romantic

  • e.handsome

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = a
  • 2 = b
  • 3 = d
  • 4 = e
  • 5 = c

Part 2

Match the antonyms of these Chinese adjectives.

Using the following two lists, match each numbered item with the correct letter.

  1. yuǎn 远

  2. pàng 胖

  3. yǒuqián 有钱

  4. gāo 高

  • a.shòu 瘦

  • b.méiqián 没钱

  • c.ǎi 矮

  • d.jìn 近

The correct answers are:
  • 1 = d
  • 2 = a
  • 3 = b
  • 4 = c

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