HSK 2Lesson 9
This lesson follows Wang Yixue and Liu Ming while they shop for pants, compare nearby drink options, and say how long a walk took.
You will learn to talk about shopping, nearby places, drinks, and how long an action lasts.
The learner will be able to understand and use 没有 (méiyǒu) to describe differences between things. They will master the use of 离 (lí) to express spatial or temporal distance, and master the use of the complement of duration (1) to describe how long an action lasts.
Part 1 · 13 new words
Contains 7 words
broken; bad
beside; next to
boy
like this; this kind of
height; stature
that; so; to that degree
tall; high
Contains 6 words
entrance; doorway
coffee
Part 2 · 12 phrases
儿子的裤子坏了。
Our son's pants are worn out.
没有你上次买的那条好看。
It is not as good-looking as the one you bought last time.
旁边那个男孩儿就穿了这样的裤子。
The boy next to us is wearing this kind of pants.
儿子的个子没有他那么高。
Our son is not as tall as him.
门口有家奶茶店。
There is a milk tea shop at the entrance.
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远。
The coffee shop is a bit far from here.
咖啡店离这儿很近。
The coffee shop is very close to here.
Part 3 · 3 conversations
In a store, Wang Yixue and Liu Ming look at pants for their son.
王一雪Wang Yixue
儿子的裤子坏了，我们给他买条新的吧。
Our son's pants are worn out. Let's buy him a new pair.
刘明Liu Ming
你看，旁边那个男孩儿穿这样的裤子。
Look, the boy next to us is wearing this kind of pants.
王一雪Wang Yixue
Part 4 · 3 points
Comparative Sentences (3)
Use A + 没有méiyǒu + B + adjective, optionally with 那么nàme before the adjective, to say that A has less of a quality than B.
Compare a lower degree
A does not reach B's degree of the quality.
to be away from; from
week
near; close
to walk; to go on foot
我去买杯奶茶。
I'm going to buy a cup of milk tea.
离星期天还有两天。
There are two days until Sunday.
这周刘明休息。
Liu Ming is off this week.
商店里的衣服没有大商场里的好看。
The clothes in the store were not as good-looking as the ones in the big mall.
我们走路走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
他个子那么高，穿上很好看。
He is that tall, so they look good when he puts them on.
刘明Liu Ming
儿子的个子没有那么高，我们再看看吧。
Our son is not that tall. Let's keep looking.
Inside the mall, Wang Yixue and Liu Ming confirm that a nearby drink shop sells both milk tea and coffee before choosing different drinks.
王一雪Wang Yixue
门口有家奶茶店，离这儿近吗？
There is a milk tea shop at the entrance. Is it close to here?
刘明Liu Ming
很近，那家店也有咖啡，我们走路去吧。
It's very close. That shop also has coffee, so let's walk there.
王一雪Wang Yixue
好，我去买杯奶茶。你呢？
Okay. I'll go buy a milk tea. What about you?
刘明Liu Ming
我这周想少喝奶茶，买杯咖啡吧。
I want to drink less milk tea this week, so I'll buy a coffee.
Before walking to a farther coffee shop, Liu Ming checks the time so the pair can work out how long the walk takes.
王一雪Wang Yixue
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远，我们走路去吧。
The coffee shop is a little far from here. Let's walk there.
刘明Liu Ming
好。我看一下手表，现在两点十分。
Okay. Let me check my watch. It's 2:10 now.
王一雪Wang Yixue
到了。现在两点半，我们走了多长时间？
We're here. It's 2:30 now. How long did we walk?
刘明Liu Ming
我们走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
那么nàme can be omitted in a neutral comparison. Do not add 不bù before the adjective; 没有méiyǒu already carries the negative comparison.
In sentences
Name both sides
儿子的个子没有他那么高。
Our son is not as tall as him.
他tā is the comparison standard, and 那么高nàme gāo is the degree of height our son does not reach.
Make a neutral comparison without 那么
这条裤子没有你上次买的那条好看。
These pants are not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.
你上次买的那条nǐ shàng cì mǎi de nà tiáo is the comparison standard. The adjective 好看hǎokàn follows it directly because 那么nàme is optional here.
Leave out a clear standard
儿子的个子没有那么高。
Our son is not that tall.
The preceding turn has already identified the tall boy, so the listener can recover the missing comparison standard.
没有你上次买的那条好看。
It is not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.
This is a negative comparison, not a statement that A does not possess B. Put the item being judged before 没有méiyǒu, the comparison standard after it, and the quality at the end: A + 没有méiyǒu + B + adjective. You may add 那么nàme before the adjective to point explicitly to B's degree: 儿子的个子没有他那么高érzi de gèzi méiyǒu tā nàme gāo, ‘Our son is not as tall as him.’ A neutral comparison can omit 那么nàme: 这条裤子没有你上次买的那条好看zhè tiáo kùzi méiyǒu nǐ shàng cì mǎi de nà tiáo hǎokàn, ‘These pants are not as good-looking as the pair you bought last time.’ When the comparison standard has just been stated and cannot be misunderstood, B may instead be left out, as in 儿子的个子没有那么高érzi de gèzi méiyǒu nàme gāo. Omitting 那么nàme and omitting B are two different choices.
Verb 离
Use 离lí to measure how far one place is from another or how much time remains until a reference time.
Locate A from B
Describe the distance between two places from B as the reference point.
离lí does not by itself mean ‘far.’ The final expression tells the listener whether the distance is near or far.
Count down to a reference time
Say how much time remains between now and a named time.
In this time pattern, 离lí begins the countdown phrase; do not use the place A + 离 + place B order.
In sentences
Ask whether it is close
咖啡店离这儿近吗？
Is the coffee shop close to here?
近吗jìn ma asks about the distance while the A–离–B order stays unchanged.
Describe time remaining
离星期天还有两天。
There are two days until Sunday.
星期天xīngqītiān is the reference time, and 还有两天hái yǒu liǎng tiān states the temporal distance remaining.
Describe the distance
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远。
The coffee shop is a little far from here.
有点儿远yǒudiǎnr yuǎn supplies the distance judgment; 离lí only links the two places.
离lí links a point to a reference point for spatial or temporal distance. For places, put the place you want to locate first: place A + 离lí + place B + 近jìn, 远yuǎn, or another distance expression. 咖啡店离这儿很近kāfēidiàn lí zhèr hěn jìn means ‘The coffee shop is very close to here.’ To ask, keep the same order and use 近吗jìn ma, 远吗yuǎn ma, or 多远duō yuǎn. For time, use 离lí + reference time + 还有hái yǒu + duration to count the remaining distance from now: 离星期天还有两天lí xīngqītiān hái yǒu liǎng tiān, ‘There are two days until Sunday.’ The words after
Complement of Duration (1)
Put a duration after the completed action to answer ‘for how long?’; repeat the verb when the activity's object is named first.
Measure the action
The duration after the completed action answers ‘how long did it last?’
Ask 多长时间duō cháng shíjiān to request the missing duration. Do not place the duration before the action as if it were the time when the action happened.
In sentences
Action with no object
我们走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
Because 走zǒu has no object here, the duration follows 走了zǒu le directly.
Simple object after the duration
我学了两年汉语。
I studied Chinese for two years.
The duration 两年liǎng nián comes before the simple object 汉语Hànyǔ.
Verb-object activity named first
我们走路走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
走路zǒulù names the activity, then 走了二十分钟zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng measures it.
A duration complement measures an action, not the time when it happened. With no object, use verb + 了le + duration, as in 我们走了二十分钟wǒmen zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng. With a simple object after the duration, use verb + 了le + duration + object, as in 我学了两年汉语wǒ xué le liǎng nián Hànyǔ. If the object or verb-object activity comes first, repeat the verb before 了le and the duration: 我们走路走了二十分钟wǒmen zǒulù zǒu le èrshí fēnzhōng. The first 走路zǒulù names the activity; the repeated 走zǒu receives the duration. Use the lesson's forms to report a completed or bounded stretch, with 了le attached to the action being measured.
Dialogue 3 · Walking to a Farther Coffee Shop · Turn 1
Say it is a little far
咖啡店离这儿有点儿远，我们走路去吧。
The coffee shop is a little far from here. Let's walk there.
咖啡店place A离distance link这儿place B有点儿远distance description
Why it matters · The full place A + 离lí + place B + distance pattern motivates the decision to walk.
Dialogue 3 · Walking to a Farther Coffee Shop · Turn 4
Answer with a duration
我们走路走了二十分钟。
We walked for twenty minutes.
走路verb-object activity走了repeated measured verb二十分钟duration
Why it matters · The answer replaces the duration question with 二十分钟èrshí fēnzhōng and repeats 走zǒu after the activity 走路zǒulù.
