Level 1 - Lesson 4
This lesson stays in one classroom check-in scene. Teacher Wang checks which students are together, and the class reads short roster numbers aloud.
Contains 3 words
you (polite)
everyone
good; hello
Contains 7 words
Contains 7 words
Contains 13 words
您好。
Nín hǎo.
Hello. (polite)
大家好。
Dàjiā hǎo.
Hello, everyone.
你们好。
Nǐmen hǎo.
Hello, you all.
我们是同学。
Wǒmen shì tóngxué.
We are classmates.
他们是朋友。
Tāmen shì péngyou.
They are friends.
Situation: Before class, Meimei introduces two groups of students to Teacher Wang.
美美
Meimei
王老师，您好。
Teacher Wang, hello.
Using 两 before people
Use 两人 (liǎng rén) for a quantity of two people. Use 二 (èr) when reading the digit 2 in a roster number.
Count two people
Use 两 (liǎng), followed by 人 (rén), when the quantity is two people.
plural marker
you all
we; us
they; them
they; them (female group)
it
they; them (things or animals)
very; quite
yes/no question particle
to be
friend
classmate
who
and what about...?
zero
one
two
three
four
five
six
seven
eight
nine
ten
two
number
他们两人。
Tāmen liǎng rén.
There are two of them.
号码是零。
Hàomǎ shì líng.
The number is zero.
号码是一二三四。
Hàomǎ shì yī èr sān sì.
The number is one-two-three-four.
号码是五六七八。
Hàomǎ shì wǔ liù qī bā.
The number is five-six-seven-eight.
它是九。
Tā shì jiǔ.
It is nine.
它们是九、十。
Tāmen shì jiǔ, shí.
They are nine and ten.
王老师
Teacher Wang
你好，美美。她们是谁？
Hello, Meimei. Who are they?
美美
Meimei
她们是我的同学。
They are my classmates.
王老师
Teacher Wang
你们好。
Hello, everyone.
Situation: Meimei asks Fangfang who a group of students are and how Fangfang knows them.
美美
Meimei
他们是谁？
Who are they?
方方
Fangfang
他们是我们的同学。
They are our classmates.
美美
Meimei
他们是你的朋友吗？
Are they your friends?
方方
Fangfang
是，他们是我的朋友。
Yes, they are my friends.
Situation: Teacher Wang checks Meimei's number and corrects the digits.
美美
Meimei
我的号码是一二三四吗？
Is my number one-two-three-four?
王老师
Teacher Wang
不是，你的号码是五六七八。
No. Your number is five-six-seven-eight.
美美
Meimei
五六七八吗？
Five-six-seven-eight?
王老师
Teacher Wang
是，五六七八。
Yes, five-six-seven-eight.
Situation: Meimei and Fangfang look at number cards and correct the order before class.
美美
Meimei
它们是九、十吗？
Are they nine and ten?
方方
Fangfang
不是，它们是八、九。
No, they are eight and nine.
美美
Meimei
它们是八、九吗？
Are they eight and nine?
方方
Fangfang
是，它们是八、九。
Yes, they are eight and nine.
他们两人 (tāmen liǎng rén) means “the two of them.”
Use 两 (liǎng) before 人 (rén) because this is a quantity of people.
他们两人。
The two of them.
Use 二 (èr) when reading the digit 2; this is not a quantity before 人 (rén).
号码是二。
The number is two.
我们两人。
The two of us.
他们两人。
The two of them.
号码是二。
The number is two.
Dialogue 02: Two Classmates, Turn 4
Confirming the pair
是，他们两人是我们的朋友。
Yes, the two of them are our friends.
Chinese uses two different words for “two” in this lesson. Use 两 (liǎng) before 人 (rén) when two is a quantity of people: 两人 (liǎng rén), “two people.” Use 二 (èr) when you say the number 2 by itself or read it as a digit.
In the roster-style phrase 他们两人 (tāmen liǎng rén), 他们 (tāmen) identifies the group and 两人 (liǎng rén) says that the group contains two people. Do not replace 两 (liǎng) with 二 (èr) in this people-quantity pattern.
