Pearls of Mandarin Worksheet #4: something 来说

🌀 Pearls of Mandarin Worksheet #4

Hello Mandarin Enthusiasts! 🌟

In this week’s Chinese Grammar Gem #10, we’ve learnt about four structures that all contain 来说 (lái shuō): 对…来说, 一般来说, 拿…来说 and 总的来说.

If you haven’t given the exercises a shot yet, just remember it’s always okay to start now. Why not give translating these sentences into Mandarin a try?

1. Overall, cats are the best psychotherapists in the house, though their fees are paid in treats.

2. Considering her achievements, she is undoubtedly the best in our team.

3. Generally speaking, going to bed early and getting up early is beneficial for health.

4. For me, learning Chinese is very interesting.

Remember, crafting your own Chinese sentences is key, even if it means looking up words or dealing with a bit of uncertainty in your translations.

Keep in mind, practice does make perfect, and only you can undertake this practice journey.

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🌀 Sentence #1

Overall, cats are the best psychotherapists in the house, though their fees are paid in treats.

The sentence starts with “Overall,” which sets the general tone for the statement. As we’ve learnt this week, this is translated as 总的来说 (zǒngdeláishuō).

Next, we have “cats are the best psychotherapists in the house.” The subject here is “cats,” translated as 猫 (māo).

“The best psychotherapists in the house” is a descriptive phrase where the main noun is “psychotherapists,” translated as 心理治疗师 (xīnlǐ zhìliáo shī). 心理 (xīnlǐ) means “psychological,” 治疗 (zhìliáo) means “therapy,” and 师 (shī) is a suffix meaning “specialist” or “teacher.” The phrase “in the house” is 房子里 (fángzi lǐ), with 房子 (fángzi) meaning "house" and 里 (lǐ) meaning “inside.” The descriptor “the best” is 最好 (zuì hǎo).

In Mandarin, the adjectives and descriptive phrases come before the nouns they describe, and they are linked to the noun by 的. “The best psychotherapist” is 最好的心理治疗师. The location must go before that, so “the best psychotherapists in the house” is 房子里最好的心理治疗师.

The second part of the sentence is “though their fees are paid in treats.” The word “though” introduces a contrasting clause and is translated as 不过 (bùguò), meaning “however” or “but.” It’s as simple as that, no need for a complicated grammatical structure!

“Their fees” refers to what the cats receive for their services. “Fees” is translated as 治疗费 (zhìliáo fèi), with 治疗 (zhìliáo) still meaning “therapy” and 费 (fèi) meaning “fees.”

The phrase “are paid in treats” is 用零食支付的 (yòng língshí zhīfù de). 用 (yòng) means “using,” 零食 (língshí) means “snacks” or “treats,” and 支付 (zhīfù) means “to pay.” 的 at the end of the phrase turns the verb phrase into a descriptive clause for the fees.

Combining all these parts, the Mandarin translation of the sentence is:

• 总的来说，猫是房子里最好的心理治疗师，不过治疗费是用零食支付的。

• 总的来说 / ， / 猫 / 是 / 房子 / 里 / 最好 / 的 / 心理治疗师 / ， / 不过 / 治疗费 / 是 / 用 / 零食 / 支付 / 的 / 。

• zǒngdeláishuō, māo shì fángzi lǐ zuìhǎo de xīnlǐzhìliáoshī, bùguò zhìliáofèi shì yòng língshí zhīfù de

• overall / cat / to be / house / inside / best / (linking particle 的) / psychotherapist / but / therapist fee / to be / to use / snacks / to pay / (particle 的).

Let’s practice it with the audio recordings:

Slow speed:

Normal speed:

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Curious about your Mandarin mastery? How many words, characters, or chengyu can you recognize?

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🌀 Sentence #2

Considering her achievements, she is undoubtedly the best in our team.

The sentence begins with “Considering her achievements,” which introduces the basis for the subsequent statement. Here, we can use the structure 拿…来说 (ná … láishuō) to pinpoint an example.

“Her achievements” is translated as 她的成就 (tā de chéngjiù). 她的 (tā de) means "her," with 的 (de) being the possessive particle. 成就 (chéngjiù) means “achievements.” The entire phrase sets up the context for evaluating her status in the team.

Next, the phrase “she is undoubtedly the best in our team” contains several important elements. “She is” is translated simply as 她是 (tā shì).