Notes.（1) In regard to°sau, meaning ”few,” it should be noted that it never occurs before a noun. If you wish to say a few men the idiomatic expression would be°yeu ’veh too °kyi-kuh nyung(有勿多幾個人) orm-meh °kyi-hau° nyung(無沒幾化人). The men are few would benyung °sau(人少).°Sauis often used to qualify verbs. Thus we have°sau dok kuh, meaning “to read less.”（2) As already pointed out in a previous lesson what correspond to prepositions in English are really postpositions in Chinese, as they come after the nouns instead of before them. When used as adverbs, however, they generally precede the verbs. Thus we have°li-hyang° °zoofor “Sit inside,”°zaung-deu °zoo(上頭坐) for “take a higher seat.” This is the usual polite phrase said to a guest when he enters your guest room. He will take a seat near the door, and you ask him “to be seated higher.”（3) The first sentence of the First Exercise is really an oath, and is used when one is calling Heaven and Earth to witness that his words are true.（4) Note the impersonal use of°yeuin the second sentence of the First Exercise. Literally it is “There are many characters.”（5) In the seventh sentence of the Second Exercise you have the usual form of inquiring whether the gentleman you wish to see is at home. You saySien-sang leh-la° va°?“is the master there?” The answer isleh-la°, if he is at home, meaning “He is there.” If he is not at home, the answer may betsheh chi° la°, “he has gone out,” or’veh leh-la°, “he is not there.”
Notes.
The verb°chi(起) is often used as an auxiliary verb after the principal verb to express the idea ofinception. Thusdok-°chi(讀起) means “Begin to read.”°Chialso expresses the idea oferectness, but when used in this sense,le(來) follows the°chi. ThusLih-°chi-le(立起來) means “Stand up.”Lok-°chi-le(䟿起來) means “Get up.” It also has aprogressivemeaning, as when you sayDoh-°chi-le(讀起來) it means “read on,” “go on reading.”
We have the°chi, also used in combination withtuh(得). ThusLok-tuh-°chi(䟿得起) means “Able to get up.”Lok-’veh-°chi(䟿勿起) means “Unable to get up.”°Ma-tuh-°chi(買得起) means “Can afford to buy it.”°Ma-’veh-°chi(買勿起) means “Cannot afford to buy it.”Kwhung°-’veh-°chi(睏勿起) means “unable to sleep.”Khoen°-’veh-°chi(看勿起) means “to look down upon,” “to disdain.”
°Zaung(上) and°‘Au(下) are used both as principal verbs and as auxiliaries. Thus we have the expressions°Zaung san(上山), meaning “to go up hill.”°‘Au san(下山), “to go down hill.”°‘Au zen(下船), “to go on board a boat,”°Zaung su(上書), “to take an advanced lesson in a book,” etc. In these cases they are used as principal verbs.
As auxiliary verbs, they express motion upwards and motion downwards.
They are not confined to verbs of motion, but are used freely with other verbs. To both of themle(來) andchi°(去) are frequently added.
Thus we havedok-°‘au-chi°(讀下去), meaning “Read on down.”Tsoo°-°‘au-chi°(做下去), meaning “Go on doing it.”Thiau°-°‘au-le(跳下來), meaning “Jump down.”Thiau°-°zaung-chi°(跳上去), meaning “Jump up to that place.”Thiau°-°zaung-le(跳上來) “Jump up to this place.”
Although the Chinese language is, strictly speaking, a monosyllabic language, yet as has already been noticed there is a strong tendency to use two or more words together forming as it were disyllables or trisyllables. In this lesson some verbs are used, composed of two characters occurring together.
Ban(爿) is the Classifier for firms, shops, etc.
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Notes.（1) Note thatsiang-sing°means “to like” as well as to believe.°Ngoo siang-sing° ih kuh nyung(我相信一個人) means, “I like him.”（2) The expression “to back the book” arises from the old Chinese custom of the pupil turning his back upon the teacher when he recites his lesson.（3) Notice the order of the words in the eleventh sentence of the First Exercise. The verb°Yeucomes first in the sentence.（4) The wordla°is added at the end of the sixteenth sentence of the First Exercise merely for euphony.（5) In the twentieth sentence of the First Exercise we have another polite way of asking a person to take a higher seat in the guest room.（6) In sentences twenty-two and twenty-three of the First Exercise we have the use oflauhandtihfor “fall”. It is difficult to distinguish between the two, buttihis used always when we speak of a person falling down.（7) The correct way of translating the first sentence of the Second Exercise isDi°-yang meh-z° nong° hwen°-hyi chuh va°?Di°-yangmeans “this sort.”（8) The thirteenth sentence of the Second Exercise of course refers to the fact that the Chinese write from the top down and not across the page.（9) The last clause of the fifteenth sentence of the Second Exercise should benan-meh theh yi-la °zaung su. “Then for them, advances in the book.”
Notes.
The idea of causality, in the sense of causing a person to do a thing, is expressed in Chinese by the use of the auxiliary verbskau(敎) andtsha(差). Thus “I caused him to do it,” would be°ngoo kao yi tsoo°(我敎伊做). “I caused him to go,” would be°ngoo tsha yi chi(我差伊去). The wordtshaliterally means “to send.” The wordkauis the same askyau°, but used with different pronunciation and different tone. When one of higher rank causes a person of lower rank to do a thing the words°(使) is used. ThusS° °ngoo ieu-mung, “Caused me to sorrow.”
“Must” is expressed by the expressionstsoong-iau°(總要),pih-ding° iau°(必定要),ih-ding° iau°(一定要).
“It must be” istsoong °z(總是). Thus “It must be so” istsoong-°z zeh-ke°(總是實蓋).
“Ought” implying obligation, is expressed byiung-ke(應該). Thus “You ought to do it” isnoong° iung-ke tsoo° kuh(儂應該做個).
Foong(封) is the classifier used for letters and other sealed parcels.
Tsang(張) is the classifier denoting sheets.
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Notes.(1) Wan is sometimes used to qualify adjectives. ThusWan °hau(還好) means “fairly good” or “pretty good.”(2)Soe-zenandZen-rare generally used together; the first introducing the first clause, and the second, the second clause.(3) In the first sentence of the First Exercise notice the formation of the verbal noun, “the things which we ought to do.”(4) In the ninth sentence of the First Exercise notice thatkwha° °tiendoes not mean “faster,” but is used for “quickly.”(5) In the eleventh sentence of the First Exercise°Tung yi ’veh tuhmeans lit., “Wait him not get;” that is, “I cannot wait for him.”(6) In the fourteenth sentence of the First Exercise notice the use ofle.Leandchiare frequently used with other verbs to make the direction of the action clear. Thus°Sia leis, “Write come to me”;°Sia chi°is, “Write send away,” or “Write go.”(7) In the fifth sentence of the Second Exercise, Diligently can be expressed byYoong° sing, “Use heart or mind.”(8) In this lesson frequent use has been made of the verb°Si(死). In speaking of a person dying the more euphonious expression isKoo°-s°故世.
Notes.
Numbers above one hundred are expressed as follows: One hundred and one, isih pak ling ih,and so on toih pak ling °kyeu;then thelingis dropped, and we haveih pah zeh(一百十),ih pak zeh ih,ih pak zeh nyi°,ih pak zeh san,etc.Lingreally means “in addition.”
The hundreds are expressed simply bynyi pak(二百), “two hundred,”san pak(三百), “three hundred,” etc. “One thousand” isih tshien(一千). In expressing “one hundred and one,” we sayih pak ling ih(一百零一). In expressing “one thousand and one,” we sayih tshien ling ling ih.
“Ten thousand” isih man°(一萬). “One million” isih pak man°(一百萬). The ordinal numerals are expressed in Chinese by prefixingdi°(第) before the cardinal. Thus “the first” isdi° ih(第一) ordeu-ih(頭一), “the second”di° nyi°(第二), and so forth.
°Soo所 (lit. a place) is often used as a relative pronoun. It translates the English “who,” “which,” “what,” “that,” and “the things which.” The clause it introduces usually comes before the subject of the sentence. Thus “All which you do, I am able to do also,” would benoong° °soo tsoo° kuh z°-°thi °ngoo °‘a nung-keu° tsoo° kuh.As has already been pointed outkuhoften has the force of the relative.
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Notes.(1)Han-deuis very frequently used with persons and personal pronouns. Thus you do not sayTan tau° yifor take it to him, butTan tau° yi han-deu chi°. “Leave it with me” would be°Pa la° °ngoo han-deu.(2) The second sentence of the First Exercise is often used in speaking to a guest when he is departing. When he is about to go, he announces the fact by sayingChi° tse(去哉), meaning “I am going.” You sayMan° chi°(慢去), meaning “Go slowly,” and then when he is walking away,°Taung sing °tseu °hau(當心走好).(3) In the fifth sentence of the First ExerciseM-sa° °haumeans “not at all well.”(4) In the tenth sentence of the First Exercise notice how the objectyisplits up the verb into two parts.(5) In the sixth sentence of the Second Exercise “to the right” is expressed byyeu° °seu(右手).
Notes.
The idea of there being time to accomplish a thing is expressed by adding the wordstuh-ji°(得及) after the principal verb. If there is not sufficient time to do a thing you add’veh-ji°(勿及) after the principal verb. Thus,Tsoo°-tuh-ji°(做得及) means “there is time to do a thing.”Tsoo°-’veh-ji°(做勿及) means “there is not time.”
This expression is used most frequently with the verble(來).Le-tuh-jimeans “there is time,” andle-’veh-jimeans “there is not time.”
The idea of a thing being important is expressed by the wordsiau°-°kyung kuh(要緊個). “Not being important,” by the words’veh iau° °kyung(勿要緊), or’veh nge° sa°(勿礙啥). “Is it important?” or “Does it make any difference?” would benge° sa° va°(礙啥否).
’Veh lauhis often used after verbs giving the idea of inability to do a thing. ThusChuh ’veh lauh(吃勿落) means “unable to eat.”°Zoo ’veh lauh(坐勿落) “Unable to sit because of lack of room.” We also have the affirmative forms°zoo tuh lauh(坐得落) andchuh tuh lauh(吃得落).
°Kwen(管) is the classifier for tubular things.
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Notes.(1) The word for “to borrow” and “to lend” is exactly the same in Chinese. The only way you can distinguish between them is by auxiliary words used in connection with them. ThusTsia° peh(借撥) means “to lend.”Tsia° le(借來) means “to borrow.” AgainTsia° chi°(借去) means “to lend.” But we have such constructions as°Ngoo tsia° la° yi(我借拉伊), meaning “I lend to him,” and°Ngoo la° yi han-deu tsia° kuh(我拉伊壗頭借個), meaning “I borrowed it from him.”(2) In the fifth sentence of the First ExerciseDok° °chimeans “read begin,” anddingmeans “stop.” This is an ordinary form for asking where to begin the lesson and where to end it.(3) In the fourteenth sentence of the First Exercise notice howdoo°qualifies the verbkhok.(4) The twenty-second sentence of the First Exercise is a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb.
Notes.
In asking questions°yeu tuh?(有得) sometimes precedes a verb with the sense, “is there to be had?” Thus°Yeu-tuh °ma va°?(有得買否) means, “Is there to be bought?”°Yeu-tuh chuh va°?(有得吃否) means, “Is there anything to eat?” The answers to these questions would be°yeu-tuh °ma kuh(有得買個),°yeu tuh chuh kuh(有得吃個), “It can be bought.” “There is something to eat.”
’Veh pih(勿必) means “It is not necessary.” Thus’Veh pih khok(勿必哭), “It is not necessary to cry.”’Veh pih chi°(勿必去), “It is not necessary to go.”
Ih ngan ’veh(一顏勿) before the verbs means, “Not at all.” Thus°Ngoo ih ngan ’veh °hyau-tuh(我一顏勿曉得) means, “I do not know at all.”Ih ngan ’veh zung khoen°-kyien° hyih(一顏勿曾看見歇) means, “I have not seen it at all.”Ih ngan ’veh iau° khoen°(一顏勿要看) means, “I do not want to see it at all.”
Fok(幅) is the classifier of paintings or engravings.
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