People in China love to match-make—that is, when someone they know needs a boyfriend or girlfriend, they try to help pair them up with other singles. If you know how to talk about or suggest this in Mandarin Chinese, you can play match-maker too. Or, you never know, you may find yourself matched up with someone you like and develop a relationship with them that leads to a long term situation!
In this Podcast, you will learn:
(i) To talk about who is single and who is married
(ii) How to suggest to someone that they might need a life partner
Dialogue:
Having lunch, two friends are talking:
（在饭馆）
(Zài fàn guǎn)
(at the restaurant)
A:哎，你知道圆圆现在是单身么？
A: Āi, nǐ zhī dào Yuán Yuán xiàn zài shì dān shēn me?
Hey, do you know if Yuan Yuan is still single?
B:她……好像不是单身，听说刚谈了个男朋友，正热恋呢。
B: Tā……hǎo xiàng bù shì dān shēn, tīng shuō gāng tán le gè nán péng yǒu, zhèng rè liàn ne.
She doesn’t seem to be single. I heard that she recently got a boyfriend. They are madly in love.
A：那小惠有男朋友么？
A: Nà Xiǎo Huì yǒu nán péng yǒu me?
Then does Xiao Hui have a boyfriend?
B:有啊。小惠和她男朋友已经在一起1年了。你到底要干嘛啊，打听来打听去的。
B: Yǒu a. Xiǎo Huì hé tā nán péng yǒu yǐ jīng zài yī qǐ yī nián le. Nǐ dào dǐ yào gàn má a, dǎ tīng lái dǎ tīng qù de.
Yes, Xiao Hui and her boyfriend have been together for about one year. What on earth are you on about? Asking about this and that.
A:咳，我这儿有个朋友，男的，单身，想让我给他介绍个女朋友。你结婚了，是不可能了。还有谁呢？
A: Hāi, wǒ zhè’er yǒu gè péng yǒu, nán de, dān shēn, xiǎng ràng wǒ gěi tā jiè shào gè nǚ péng yǒu. Nǐ jié hūn le, shì bù kě néng le. Hái yǒu shuí ne?
I have a friend, a man who is still single. He wants me to introduce a girlfriend to him. You are married, and not one of the possibilities. Who else?
B: 对了，娜娜呀！她半年前离婚了。
B: Duì le, Nà Na ya! Tā bàn nián qián lí hūn le.
Oh, I know, Na Na! She got divorced six months ago.
Chinese words and phrases mentioned in this Podcast:
关系：relationship
单身：single
刚：start
谈男朋友：date a man
热恋：madly in love
在谈恋爱：in a romantic relationship
分手：break up
在一起：be together
到底：on earth
要干嘛：what do you want?
打听：ask about, inquire
打听来打听去的：poke around
男的：man
介绍个女朋友：introduce a girlfriend to him
已婚／结婚了：married
不可能：impossible
还有谁：who else
对了：right, yeah
半年前：half a year
离婚了／离异：divorced
Cultural/Grammar note:
To describe someone is married, you can say:
她已婚／她结婚了。
Tā yǐ hūn/ tā jié hún le.
‘已婚’ is a little more formal than ‘结婚了’.
To say you are divorced, you can say:
我离婚了／离异。
Wǒ lí hūn le/ lí yì.
‘离异’ is more formal than ‘离婚了’.
Mandarin Chinese learning resources we recommend:
