LESSON TRANSCRIPT

Absolute Beginner S1 #1
Meeting - What's Your Name in
Chinese?

CONTENTS
2
2
3
3
4
6
8

INTRODUCTION
DIALOGUES
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
VOCAB LIST
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
GRAMMAR POINT
OUTRO

#
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INTRODUCTION
Amber:Hello everyone and welcome to ChineseClass101.com, our Absolute Beginners
Series, Lesson 1
Victor:Hello everyone, I am Victor.
Amber:And this is our Absolute Beginners Lesson 1, and absolute first dialogue you
will need to know.
Victor:Yes, we start out a lesson to help you make friends right away.
Amber:Yep. Today were going to teach you how to greet someone in Chinese.
Victor:Yes, very important. And very easy in Chinese. And also how to tell them your
name, as well as ask theirs.
Amber:And this can be no small feat, because Chinese names are really different than
Western names. But have no fear, this lesson is here!
Victor:Listeners...I have a question...
Amber:A question?
Victor:Yep, I want to know when was the last time you commented?
Amber:Ahh, yes! Great question.
Victor:Stop by ChineseClass101.com, leave us a comment or just say hi.
Amber:haha...okay, you heard Victor.
Amber:Let's listen to the conversation.

DIALOGUES
A:
B:
A:
B:
English Host: Lets hear the conversation one time slowly.
A:
B:
A:
B:
English Host: Now lets hear it with the English

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

translation.
A:
Amber:Hello.
B:
Amber:Hello, what's your name?
A:
Amber:I'm Zhang Lin.
B:
Amber:I'm Wang Xiaofang.

POST CONVERSATION BANTER

Amber:So what is your Chinese name, Victor?
Victor:_________. How about you Amber?
Amber:Im .
Victor:Oh a very cute name.
Amber:Yes, specially chosen by my friend. Though Ive changed my Chinese name 3
or 4 times. You can do that when its a fake name!
Victor:Yes, and everyone needs a Chinese name when they are learning Chinese. No
Ambers allowed!

VOCAB LIST
Amber:Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson.
The first word we shall see is:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:hello
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native speed]
Next:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:you
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

speed]
Next:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:to call
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native speed]
Next:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:what
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native speed]
Next:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:name
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native speed]
Next:
Victor: [natural native speed]
Amber:I, me
Victor: [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: [natural native speed]

KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES

Amber:Let's have a closer look at the usuage for some of the words and phrases from
this lesson.
Victor:The first word/phrase well look at is....
Amber:Well where else to start but at the very beginning. Our basic Chinese greeting.
Which is, of course, what we heard first
Victor:
Amber:This greeting is good, because it teaches us 2 words in one.
Victor:Yes, is the word for you. is the word for good.
Amber:So to say hello in Chinese, you are literally saying you good. Can you use this
any time?
Victor:Yes, you can use very indiscriminately. There is also one other version
you may here, which is for more formal settings. Like when you want to show extra

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

respect, perhaps with an elderly person, or someone in a position of authority. You

would use the formal word for , which is almost the same, .
Amber:So in a more formal setting you might hear instead of ni hao.
Victor:Exactly.
Amber:And next, we hear the response to , which is also
Victor:Very easy. And next, what would be better to add than your name.
Amber:Of course. So, in Chinese, to ask what is your name, literally translated its
you called what name. Lets hear it, Victor
Victor:
Amber:So right off, we hear the word again for you
Victor:
Amber:Next comes the verb for to call.
Victor:
Amber:So, so far you called now for the what name part
Victor:The word in Chinese for what is
Amber:Yes, this word will come in very handy. . And, last but not least, the word
for name
Victor:
Amber:name.
Victor:Yes, and this can be your full name, or just your first name.
Amber:Which brings us to the issue of Chinese names!
Victor:Yes, much different than English names.
Amber:And I wont lieits really hard to remember them! And so many sound the
same to me!
Victor:Yes, it may seem like that, but Chinese names are full of deep meaning. They
are generally made up of a surname or family name, which is one Chinese character.
Then a persons given name will be made up of either one or two characters.
Amber:And there is something else special, is that in Chinese, the surname comes
first.
Victor:Right, So lets look at our dialogue to find out that is.
Amber:So in the dialogue, in response to we hear
Victor:
Amber:So lets start at the beginning. Because weve learned the word for you
Victor:. And now we learn the word for I or me
Amber:And next, we hear again our word for to call. So this time its Im

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

called
Victor:
Amber:and then our friends name, .
Victor:Yes, this friend has a 2 character name. First his surname, of course, . Then
his given name, .
Amber:Which quite a commonly heard surname for sure. Other common ones are Li,
chen perhaps youve heard some of them before, hmmm?!
Victor:Yes, and our second characters surname is also quite common. Her surname is

, which actually means king. Then her given name .

Amber:Right, and to offer her name, she also simply says
Victor:So anytime you want to say your name, you simply can use this wo jiao ____

GRAMMAR POINT
Amber:Now, speaking of you and I . The pronouns I mean. I think we can mention
a few more. We would be remiss in our duty if we didnt tell you how to talk about
everybody else! Not just yourselves!
Victor:OK so we know the word for I or me is . For you its . Now heres the great
news for he, she or it, its the same word
Amber:Yes same word in pronunciation, but the written character is different. However
this makes it very easy to be ambiguous.
Victor:Now to make a pronoun plural, its really easy too. You just tack the word
onto the end of the pronoun.
Amber:So you take , and to make it into we, or us you just add
Victor:
Amber:For you plural its
Victor:Yes and for them or they,
Amber:Its that easy!
Amber:Now speaking of Chinese names, Victor, how do we get one?
Victor:Well, this is an important pointyou will need some Chinese help for this.
Amber:Yes. Unless you want to end up with something that could draw smirks and
even, perhaps, laughs.
Victor:Yes, because Chinese names are very deep, and not just any character can be
used in a name.
Amber:Do they always have

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

meaning?
Victor:Not alwaysdepends on your parents, what they want.
Amber:Ah depends on if you have parents with deep literary minds.
Victor:Or, parents with big ambitions for you.
Amber:Ah that explains my friend whose name is Money in Chinese.
Victor:Exactly.
Amber:What about our dialogue friends, Victor? Do their names mean anything?
Victor:_________________
Amber:OK, so you see how scary it could be if you dont pick the right name! Who
knows what youll end up being.
Victor:Yes! So please get a Chinese friend to help.
Amber:Otherwise you may end up with the equivalent of a name like Dinosaur or
Raining in English. Like some of my English students in China.
Victor:OK so weve learned some good stuff today!
Amber:Lets have a little review. What is our hello?
Victor:Ni hao
Amber:And, what is the word for name
Victor:Mingzi
Amber:How do you say, What is your name?
Victor:
Amber:OK and Ill answer that
Victor:Excellent, Zi An. And_______
Amber:And that is your very first Absolute Beginner Chinese lesson!
Victor:Youve only just begun though!
Amber:Yes, stay tuned for more. Here at ChineseClass101.com
Victor:Until next time, zai jian!
Wrap-up
Amber:That just about does it for today.
Amber:Before we go, we want to tell you about a way to drastically improve your
pronunciation.
Victor:The voice recording tool...
Amber:Yes, the voice recording tool in the premium learning center...
Victor:Record your voice with a click of a button,
Amber:and then play it back just as easily.
Victor:So you record your voice, and then listen to it.
Amber:Compare it to the native

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?

speakers...
Victor:And adjust your pronunciation!
Amber:This will help you improve your pronunciation fast!

OUTRO
Amber:
Victor:

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ABS OLUT E BEGI NNER S 1 #1 - MEET I NG - WHAT 'S YOUR NAME I N CHI NES E?