Chinese for English speakers Sports · Lesson 1

Impossible

Chinese 能 — 糟糕! 正在下雨 (Oh no! It's raining) — and 能 for objective possibility.

Conversation

  1. Meera Meera

    糟糕！正在下雨。

    zāo gāo! zhèngzài xià yǔ.

    Oh no! It's raining!

    Tip: 糟糕 <zāogāo> = terrible, awful 正在 <zhengzài> = right now, in this very moment (for actions that last for some time) 下雨 <xiàyǔ> = to rain

  2. Muri Muri

    那又怎么样呢？

    nà yòu zěn me yàng?

    So what?

    Tip: 那又怎么样<nà yòu zěnmeyàng> = and so what? Is that a problem?

  3. Meera Meera

    今天下午不能打网球。

    jīn tiān xià wǔ bù néng dǎ wǎng qíu.

    We can't play tennis today in the afternoon.

    Tip: 能 <néng> = can (to express that an event can be organized or carried out for reasons the speaker cannot control) 打 <dǎ> = to hit 网球 <wǎngqiú> = tennin 打网球 <dǎwǎngqiú> = to play tennis

  4. Muri Muri

    真可惜。下次吧！

    zhēn kě xī. xià cì ba!

    What a pity. Well, next time.

    Tip: 可惜 ěī 下次 àì

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

What's the difference between 能 and 会?

能 = able to (objective possibility). 会 = know how (learned skill). 我能游泳 (can swim now) vs 我会游泳 (know how to swim).

What does 糟糕 mean?

'Oh no / terrible / what a mess'. Common exclamation for bad situations.

What does 正在 + verb mean?

'In the process of (doing)'. Present continuous. 正在下雨 = 'it's raining (right now)'.

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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