HSK 3Lesson 11
It is Sunday evening and Annie is studying with Xiaoxue, Liu Ming and Li Wen for Monday's test. They are starving, there is one pack of instant noodles in the kitchen, and Liu Ming's phone won't turn on, so Annie orders takeout.

You will learn to order takeout on your phone, say whether a place is clean and its food fresh, add drinks to an order, and count bites, times, run-throughs and calls.
Part 1 · 11 new words
Contains 7 words
takeout; food delivery
instant noodles
drink; beverage
mineral water
bottle
beer (loanword)
convenient; suitable
Contains 4 words
fresh (experience, food etc); freshness
clean; neat
Part 2
Part 3 · 10 phrases
老师说这课要读三遍,我读了五遍才懂。
The teacher said to read this lesson three times, and I needed five before I understood.
我在楼下叫了他两声,他才听见。
I called him twice from downstairs before he heard me.
我们在手机上点了外卖,送外卖的人二十分钟就到了。
We ordered takeout on the phone, and the delivery person was here in twenty minutes.
天晚了,不想做饭,就吃一包方便面,真方便。
Instant noodles are convenient, but eating them every day isn’t great.
饭馆里的饮料很贵,一杯要十二块。
Drinks in a restaurant are expensive, twelve yuan a cup.
超市里的矿泉水两块钱,比饭馆里的便宜很多。
Part 4 · 4 conversations
It is eight o'clock on Sunday evening in Liu Ming and Li Wen's flat. The four of them are studying for tomorrow's test and everyone is hungry.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
都八点了,我饿坏了!你们家里有吃的吗?
It’s already eight and I’m starving! Is there anything to eat at your place?
刘明Liu Ming
Part 5 · 1 point
口、回、遍、声
After a verb, a number and 口kǒu, 回huí, 遍biàn or 声shēng say how many bites, times, run-throughs or calls.
Verb + number + measure word
The measure word after the verb counts the action: a bite, a time, a run-through or a call.
time (a whole action from start to end)
sound; a call (also the count for calls and sounds)
那年,我的歌一出来——大家知道我的名字。
That year, when my song came out—everyone knew my name.
“以前的歌最好。”从那以后,你说了又说。
“The old song was the best.” From then on, you said it again and again.
你说想我?新歌不要,只要以前的歌。
You say you miss me? You do not want a new song, only the old one.
你前面站着现在的我——你还问:“以前的我呢?”
Standing in front of you is the current me—and still you ask, “What about the old me?”
你要以前,我要以后,
You want the past; I want what comes after,
以前的歌结束了,你还不让我走。
The old song ended, and still you will not let me leave.
你说“以前最好”——我听见“别走”,
You say, “The past was best”—I hear, “Do not leave.”
你爱以前的歌,还是要我一直不变?
Do you love the old song, or do you want me to remain unchanged?
每次新歌一来,你问:“以前的歌呢?”
Every time a new song arrives, you ask, “What about the old song?”
不像以前,怎么办?你着急。
It is not like before—what now? You get anxious.
再来一次,对你很方便;
One more time is very convenient for you;
这个方法对你很方便——对我,合适吗?
This method is very convenient for you—but is it suitable for me?
根据以前的歌,我的得分是九十九:
Based on the old song, my score is ninety-nine:
少的一分——叫“现在”。
The missing point—is called “the present.”
想得到你的高分,就不能做今天的我?
To get your high score, can I not be who I am today?
你喜欢的是我,还是不变的我?
Is it me you like, or the me who does not change?
“最好”两个字,你说得太多——都变脏了;
The two characters “the best”: you have said them too much—they have grown dirty;
每个“真好”后面,站着两个字:“再来”。
Behind every “really good” stand two characters: “again.”
你说这是喜欢,我听见“不让我变”;
You call this liking me; I hear, “Do not let me change.”
你想要的不是我,是那一年。
What you want is not me; it is that year.
你要以前,我要以后,
You want the past; I want what comes after,
以前的歌结束了,你还不让我走。
The old song ended, and still you will not let me leave.
你说“以前最好”——我听见“别走”,
You say, “The past was best”—I hear, “Do not leave.”
你爱以前的歌,还是要我一直不变?
Do you love the old song, or do you want me to remain unchanged?
每次新歌一来,你问:“以前的歌呢?”
Every time a new song arrives, you ask, “What about the old song?”
不像以前的歌,还是要我一直不变?
It is not like the old song—and still you want me to remain unchanged?
不只是你——我也说过“再来”。
It is not only you—I have said “again” too.
你要以前?我说好;要多少?我都给。
You want the past? I say yes. How much? I will give it all.
你一说“最好”,我就回到老方法;
As soon as you say “the best,” I return to the old method;
你得到想听的,我得到你的“好”。
You get what you want to hear; I get your “good.”
自己的打算?不要。你的喜欢?我要。
My own plans? I do not want them. Your liking? I want it.
不合适?我知道。决定还是我做的。
Not suitable? I know. I still made the decision.
大概不是怕没有人听,
It probably is not that I am afraid no one will listen;
是怕听完,没有人说“好”。
I am afraid that after listening, no one will say “good.”
新歌要怎样才好?我问你,不问自己;
What does the new song need to be like to be good? I ask you, not myself;
你一问“以前呢?”我马上再唱以前的歌。
As soon as you ask, “What about before?” I immediately sing the old song again.
你的问题解决了,我的问题才开始:
Your problem is solved; mine is only beginning:
我一直唱昨天,今天谁来唱?
I keep singing yesterday—who will sing today?
一半是你,一半是我。
Half is you; half is me.
你要以前的歌,我要你的“好”。
You want the old song; I want your “good.”
现在我决定——以前的歌还在,
Now I decide—the old song is still there,
但是我的以后,我自己唱。
But what comes after for me, I will sing myself.
你要以前,我要以后,
You want the past; I want what comes after,
以前的歌还在,我也往前走。
The old song is still there; I am moving forward too.
你说“以前最好”——我听过太久,
You say, “The past was best”—I have heard it for too long.
这次不是“再来”,是新歌。
This time it is not “again”; it is a new song.
新歌要怎样才好?这次我决定。
What does the new song need to be like to be good? This time, I decide.
现在的我——就在你前面。
The current me—is right in front of you.
你再问以前?
You ask about the past again?
不只唱以后。
I do not sing only what comes after.
Mineral water costs two yuan at the supermarket, much cheaper than in a restaurant.
爸爸晚饭喝一杯啤酒,可是要开车的时候不喝。
Dad has a beer with dinner, but not when he has to drive.
早上去超市,才能买到新鲜的鱼和菜。
You can only get fresh fish and vegetables if you go to the supermarket in the morning.
水果要洗干净再吃,孩子的手也要洗干净。
Wash fruit clean before you eat it, and wash the kids’ hands clean too.
这家店很方便,从我家走路五分钟就到。
This shop is convenient: it’s a five-minute walk from my home.
Let me look... there’s only one pack of instant noodles.
李文Li Wen
一包?四个人,一人一口就没了。
One pack? Four of us, and it’s gone in a bite each.
安妮Annie
方便面是很方便,可是明天要考试,我想吃点儿好的。
Instant noodles are convenient, but we have a test tomorrow and I want something decent.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
那个我吃过好几回了,不想再吃。
I’ve had that so many times, I don’t want it again.
李文Li Wen
点外卖吧!
Let’s order takeout!
刘明Liu Ming
我的手机坏了。安妮,你来点吧。
My phone is broken. Annie, you order.
Annie opens a takeout app on her phone and the others crowd around her to read what people say about the restaurants.
安妮Annie
好,我来点。这家有很多人说菜很新鲜。
Okay, I’ll order. Lots of people say the food at this place is fresh.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
干净吗?上次点的那家,我不想再点了。
Is it clean? I don’t want to order from the place we tried last time.
安妮Annie
有人说里面很干净,他们吃了好几回都没事。
Someone says it’s very clean inside, and they’ve eaten there lots of times and been fine.
刘明Liu Ming
好,就这家。要写房间号吧?二零二。
Good, this one. You need the room number, right? 202.
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
你看,要等五十分钟!
Look, it says fifty minutes!
刘明Liu Ming
没关系,我把这课再读一遍就到了。
No problem, I’ll read this lesson once more and it’ll be here.
安妮Annie
你们想吃点儿什么?我来点。
What do you feel like eating? I’ll order.
Li Wen comes back from the kitchen just as Annie is adding drinks to the order.
安妮Annie
喝的呢?大家喝矿泉水吗?
What about drinks? Does everyone want water?
刘小雪Liu Xiaoxue
我要甜的!
I want something sweet!
刘明Liu Ming
再来一点儿啤酒吧,吃饭怎么能没有啤酒?
Add a little beer too; how can you have a meal without beer?
李文Li Wen
不行!明天考试,今天不喝啤酒。
No way! We have a test tomorrow, no beer today.
刘明Liu Ming
就一口,一口也不行吗?
Just a sip, not even a sip?
李文Li Wen
一口也不行!
Not even a sip!
安妮Annie
听李文的。三个人喝矿泉水,喝完的瓶子给他换钱,小雪要一杯饮料。
Listen to Li Wen. Three of us have water, and the empty bottles go to him to sell; Xiaoxue wants one soft drink.
The food should be here by now. Annie's phone rings, and the delivery person has a problem.
安妮Annie
喂?……什么?送到二零二了?我们是三零二啊!
Hello? ...What? You delivered to 202? We’re 302!
刘明Liu Ming
二零二是我们去年的房间……我写错了,对不起!
202 was our room last year... I wrote it wrong, sorry!
安妮Annie
你上星期在咖啡店丢了东西,是李文回来给你开的门。今天是房间号,下次呢?
Last week you lost your things at the café and Li Wen came back to let you in. Today it’s the room number, so what’s next?
李文Li Wen
门口有人!我去开门。
Someone’s at the door! I’ll get it.
邻居Neighbor
你们好,这是你们的外卖吧?送外卖的人在我门口叫了好几声,我一看,上面写的是你们的名字。
Hi, this is your takeout, right? The delivery guy called out at my door several times, and when I looked, it had your names on it.
安妮Annie
是我们的!太谢谢您了,真不好意思。
It’s ours! Thank you so much, I’m really sorry.
邻居Neighbor
没事,快吃吧,菜还是热的。
No problem, eat up, the food is still hot.
In the second scene Liu Ming says 再读一遍zài dú yí biàn: he will read the whole lesson from the start once more while they wait.
In sentences
口: a bite
我渴了,想喝一口水。
I’m thirsty and want a sip of water.
For food and drink, in small amounts.
回: a time
他去过两回西安。
He has been to Xi’an twice.
Like 次cì in spoken Chinese.
遍: a full run
这课我已经读了三遍。
I’ve read this lesson through three times.
The whole thing from start to finish.
声: a call
你叫他一声,他就听见了。
Call him once and he’ll hear you.
A pronoun comes before the measure word.
这个菜很好吃,你尝一口吧。
This dish is very tasty; have a bite.
这本书很好看,我已经读了三遍。
This book is great and I’ve already read it three times.
A:你去过西安吗? B:去过两回,都是去玩儿。
A: Have you been to Xi’an? B: Twice, both times for fun.
我哥哥在楼下叫了我一声,我就出去了。
My brother called me once from downstairs, so I went out.
刘明写错了房间号,送外卖的人在门口叫了好几声。
Liu Ming wrote the wrong room number, so the delivery person called out at a door several times.
Chinese counts actions with measure words after the verb. 口kǒu counts bites and sips: 尝一口cháng yì kǒu. 回huí counts times, like 次cì in speech: 去过两回qù guo liǎng huí. 遍biàn counts a whole action from start to finish: 读一遍dú yí biàn is to read it all the way through once. 声shēng counts sounds and calls: 叫一声jiào yì shēng. The form is verb + number + measure word. With a noun object, the noun comes after the measure word: 吃一口饭chī yì kǒu fàn. A pronoun object comes right after the verb: 叫他一声jiào tā yì shēng. The key constraint is that 遍biàn means the whole process, so it is not for visits or occasions. A common mistake is to use it for those: ✗ 我去过西安两遍wǒ qù guo Xī'ān liǎng biàn; say ✓ 我去过西安两回wǒ qù guo Xī'ān liǎng huí. Another is the place of a pronoun: ✗ 叫一声他jiào yì shēng tā; say ✓ 叫他一声jiào tā yì shēng.