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Daily lessons · Day 24 of 90
The weather
Weather and seasons
Weather is the safest small talk in any language, and in Chinese it also introduces two patterns you will use everywhere else: asking how something is, and saying it is slightly too much of something.
How is it today
怎么样 asks how something is, and goes at the end.
Why it works
有点儿 and 一点儿 both mean a bit and they are not interchangeable. 有点儿 goes before an adjective and always carries a mild complaint: 有点儿贵 is a bit too expensive. 一点儿 goes after and is neutral: 便宜一点儿 is a bit cheaper, please. If you are unhappy about it, 有点儿 comes first.
Tomorrow
会 appears again, this time meaning likely to.
Why it works
会 had one job on day 17, a learned skill, and this is its second: something that is likely to happen. The two are further apart in English than in Chinese, where the thread running through both is that the outcome is predictable. Context makes it obvious which is meant, and nobody misunderstands 明天会下雨.
The seasons
Four words, all built the same way.
Why it works
天 here is not day but sky or season, the same character doing a broader job. Chinese reuses a small stock of characters across many meanings rather than inventing new ones, which is why a character you learn early keeps turning up in words you did not expect.
Heating stops at a line on the map
Public heating in China follows the Qinling and Huai river line, drawn in the 1950s. North of it, buildings get central heating for a fixed winter season. South of it they officially do not, which is why a January in Shanghai can feel colder indoors than one in Beijing. If you are travelling south in winter, pack for indoors as well as out.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
Where does 怎么样 go?
- at the end of the sentence
- at the start
- before the verb
- after the subject
Show the answer
at the end of the sentence 今天天气怎么样, today's weather how is it.
Type it's hot today in pinyin.
Show the answer
jīntiān hěn rè Adjectives take 很, not 是.
What is the difference between 有点儿 and 一点儿?
- 有点儿 goes before an adjective and implies a complaint, 一点儿 goes after and is neutral
- they are interchangeable
- 有点儿 is written and 一点儿 is spoken
- 一点儿 is a larger amount
Show the answer
有点儿 goes before an adjective and implies a complaint, 一点儿 goes after and is neutral 有点儿贵 is a bit too expensive; 便宜一点儿 is a bit cheaper, please.
What does 会 mean in 明天会下雨?
- it is likely to happen
- someone has learned how
- it is permitted
- it is compulsory
Show the answer
it is likely to happen 会 has two jobs: a learned skill and a likely outcome.
Which means it's a bit cold?
- 有点儿冷 yǒudiǎnr lěng
- 冷一点儿 lěng yìdiǎnr
- 很冷了 hěn lěng le
- 冷有点儿 lěng yǒudiǎnr
Show the answer
有点儿冷 yǒudiǎnr lěng 有点儿 first, and it carries the complaint.
What is 天 doing in 春天?
- meaning sky or season rather than day
- meaning day, as in a calendar
- marking the plural
- it is a measure word
Show the answer
meaning sky or season rather than day One character, several jobs, which is normal in Chinese.
Why can a Shanghai winter feel colder indoors than a Beijing one?
- public heating officially stops south of the Qinling and Huai river line
- Shanghai is further north
- Beijing has no winter
- southern buildings are better insulated
Show the answer
public heating officially stops south of the Qinling and Huai river line The line was drawn in the 1950s and still applies.
Type will it rain tomorrow in pinyin.
Show the answer
míngtiān huì xià yǔ ma 会 for a likely outcome, 吗 for a yes or no question.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 30
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.