Career Magazine

148: How to Talk About Something Which Happened in the Past in Mandarin Chinese

By Learnmandarinnow

We all love our memories! Every now and then we look back on things which happened to us in the past—both good and bad. It’s nice to reminisce sometimes, and great if you talk about your past experiences, plus listen to those of others!

In this Podcast, you will learn:

(i) How to talk about something which happened in the past

(ii) To discuss with others a particular memory or memories

Dialogue:

Two people remember one of their earlier dates:

(在家看电视)

(zài jiā kàn diàn shì)

(watching TV at home)

  1. Female
  2. Male

A:你看这张照片儿。

Nǐ kàn zhè zhāng zhào piān er.

Look at this photo.

B:这是我们去动物园的时候照的。

Zhè shì wǒ mén qù dòng wù yuán de shí hou zhào de.

We took this when we went to the zoo.

A:哈哈我记得那次约会你迟到了40分钟。

Hā ha wǒ jì dé nà cì yuē huì nǐ chí dào le sì shí fēn zhōng.

Ha, ha, I remember that you were late for forty minutes for that date.

B:对。你那天一整天都特别生气。不过后来,我给你买了好多礼物。总算把你哄开心了。

Duì. Nǐ nà yī zhěng tiān dōu tè bié shēng qì. Bù guò hòu lái, wǒ gěi nǐ mǎi le hǎo duō lǐ wù. Zǒng suàn bă nǐ hǒng kāi xīn le.

Right. You were really mad for the whole day. But afterwards, I bought you a lot of gifts and finally made you happy.

A:呵呵,是。你后来的表现还算是不错。哈哈

Hē he, shì. Nǐ hòu lái de biǎo xiàn hái suàn shì bù cuò. Hā ha.

Yes, what you did afterwards was pretty good. Ha ha.

Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:

照片:photo

动物园:zoo

动物:animal

园:park

记得:remember

迟到:be late

约会:date

生气:mad

一整天:the whole day

后来:afterwards

买了:bought

好多:a lot of

礼物:gifts

总算:finally/eventually

哄:say some sweet words to make someone happy

表现:performance

不错:pretty good

Cultural/Grammar note:

In Chinese when you add ‘了’ to the end of a verb, such as ‘看了’, ‘听了’, it usually means past tense.

In Chinese, ‘哄’ is not a negative word. It means ‘to say some sweet words or do some nice things to make someone happy’. But ‘哄骗’ (‘hoax’ in English) is a negative word, which can mean ‘to tell lies to make someone happy’.

Mandarin Chinese learning resources we recommend:

italki
 Using Italki, a unique system of learning Mandarin Chinese where you interact with real teachers, is widely recognised as an effective way to learn a new language! You’ll make more progress and learn how native Chinese speakers really speak. Plus, Italki is more affordable than offline tutors, offline schools and software, and is convenient to use at your own pace and place!

Keats Chinese School
Keats Chinese School, which was founded in 2004, is one of the top Mandarin Chinese language schools in China, offering both one-on-one immersion Mandarin courses and small group Chinese classes. Located in Kunming, Keats develops personalised exercises and materials for students to meet their learning goals and requirements and can arrange a student visa for its 16 week course.


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