Chinese for English speakers Hospital · Lesson 0

Not too much

Chinese 不太 for 'not too' — 现在天气很好 (Now the weather is nice) — with 怎么样 for asking opinions.

Conversation

  1. Bob Bob

    天气怎么样？

    tiān qì zěn me yàng?

    What's the weather like?

    Tip: 天气 <tiānqì> = the weather 怎么样 <zěnmeyàng> = how is it? How about that? In which way? What about that?

  2. Yaya Yaya

    现在天气很好。

    xiàn zài tiān qì hěn hǎo.

    Now the weather is nice.

    Tip: 现在 <xiànzài> = now, right now

  3. Bob Bob

    很热吗？

    hěn rè ma?

    Is it hot?

    Tip: 热 <rè> = hot

  4. Yaya Yaya

    不太热。

    bú tài rè.

    Not that hot.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

What does 不太 mean?

'Not too / not very'. Used to soften negation. 不太冷 = 'not too cold'. 不太喜欢 = 'don't really like'.

How do you ask 'how is X?'

X + 怎么样? = 'how is X?'. 天气怎么样? = 'how is the weather?'. 工作怎么样? = 'how's work?'.

Chinese weather phrases?

天气好 (good weather), 天气热 (hot), 天气冷 (cold), 下雨 (raining), 下雪 (snowing), 刮风 (windy).

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Chinese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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