HSK 3Lesson 13
On a Sunday morning Yixue has a plan: ride bikes to the Summer Palace and take a boat. Annie can hardly ride, the map points the wrong way for three hundred meters, and Jiayue turns up last, as always.
You will learn to name vehicles and parts of the street, ask and give directions with a map, say how far something is in meters, and count things with the right measure word.
Part 1 · 13 new words
Contains 5 words
car; automobile
bicycle; bike
boat; vessel
to ride (a bike or horse)
classifier for vehicles
Contains 5 words
street; road
crossing; intersection (of roads)
Contains 3 words
direction; orientation
map
Part 2 · 8 phrases
他有三辆自行车，可是上班只骑最小的那辆。
He has three bikes, but he only rides the smallest one to work.
星期天早上我骑车去爷爷家，要骑二十分钟。
On Sunday morning I ride to Grandpa’s, and it takes twenty minutes.
上班的路不远，骑自行车比开汽车快。
The way to work is short, and riding a bike is faster than driving a car.
过马路要走到路口，看着红绿灯再走。
To cross the road, walk to the crossing and look at the traffic light before you go.
别在马路上看手机，站在路边看。
Don’t look at your phone in the middle of the road; stand at the side to look.
这条街上有银行、药店，还有一家书店。
Part 3 · 4 conversations
On Sunday morning the four friends meet at the campus gate. Yixue has a plan for the day, and Annie does not like it.
王一雪Wang Yixue
今天不坐汽车，我们骑自行车去颐和园！怎样走，我都写好了。
No car today, we’re riding bikes to the Summer Palace! I’ve written down how to get there.
安妮Annie
骑自行车？我几乎不会骑，上星期才学。
Bikes? I can hardly ride; I only learned last week.
Part 4 · 1 point
把、双、张、种、层、封、页、辆、节、所、班、段、头、句
A measure word fits the kind of thing: 辆liàng for vehicles, 条tiáo for streets and other long things, 把bǎ for chairs and things with a handle.
Number + measure word + noun
The measure word between the number and the noun depends on the kind of noun.
traffic light
curb; roadside; wayside
street
rice; meter (classifier)
This street has a bank, a pharmacy and also a bookstore.
我看着地图走，可是还是走错了方向。
I followed the map but still went the wrong way.
银行离这儿一百米，走路两分钟。
The bank is a hundred meters from here, a two-minute walk.
李文Li Wen
没关系。这辆太高了，你骑那辆小的。
It’s fine. This one is too tall, so you ride that small one.
王一雪Wang Yixue
红色的那辆吧！家月说，她在路上等我们。
The red one! Jiayue says she’ll wait for us on the way.
安妮Annie
她等我们？
She’s waiting for us?
李文Li Wen
每次都是我们等她。走吧，你骑慢一点儿，我跟在你后边。
It’s always us waiting for her. Let’s go; ride slowly and I’ll stay right behind you.
Ten minutes down the road Annie notices that the crossing from the plan has not appeared.
王一雪Wang Yixue
我手机里的地图说，往前骑，到路口往右。
The map on my phone says go straight on and at the crossing turn right.
安妮Annie
我们骑了五分钟了，怎么还没看见路口？
We’ve been riding for five minutes; why haven’t we seen the crossing?
李文Li Wen
一雪，你是不是把方向看错了？
Yixue, did you read the direction wrong?
王一雪Wang Yixue
不会吧？真的错了！颐和园在那边，我们走错方向了！
No way! It really is wrong; the Summer Palace is over there and we’ve gone the wrong way!
安妮Annie
上次你的九种，第九家店没开门；今天你的路，方向又错了！
Last time the shop for your ninth thing was closed; today your route is wrong again!
王一雪Wang Yixue
才三百米！往回骑吧。
Only three hundred meters! Let’s ride back.
李文Li Wen
慢点儿，看着路。怎样走最快，让我来看地图。
Slow down and watch the road. I’ll look at the map to see how to go fastest.
At the big street the group has to cross. Jiayue is nowhere to be seen.
王一雪Wang Yixue
这就是那条大街。路口的红绿灯在哪儿？
This is that big street. Where’s the traffic light at the crossing?
李文Li Wen
在前边。现在不能过，我们在路边等。
Up ahead. We can’t cross right now, so we wait at the side of the road.
安妮Annie
这条马路好多车，我有点儿怕。
There are so many cars on this road. I’m a bit scared.
李文Li Wen
别怕，能过的时候我们一块儿过，我走在你旁边。
Don’t be, we’ll cross together when we can, and I’ll walk next to you.
王一雪Wang Yixue
家月呢？她说她在路口等我们啊。
Where’s Jiayue? She said she’d wait for us at the crossing.
白家月Bai Jiayue
我在这儿！对不起，我看地图，看错了方向。
I’m here! Sorry, I read the map and got the direction wrong.
王一雪Wang Yixue
又是地图！走吧！
The map again! Let’s go!
At last the friends reach the water and rent a small boat. Yixue is quite proud of herself.
王一雪Wang Yixue
看，船在那边！这一次，我没写错！
Look, the boat’s over there! This time I didn’t write it wrong!
李文Li Wen
对，我们坐这条船。大家坐好，别动。
Right, we’re taking this boat. Everybody sit down and don’t move.
安妮Annie
啊！船动了！
Ah! The boat moved!
白家月Bai Jiayue
安妮，别动，你再动我们都要下水了！
Annie, stay still, move again and we’ll all be in the water!
安妮Annie
你们看我，骑车还行，坐船几乎要下水了！
Look at me, riding was okay, but on the boat I almost went in!
王一雪Wang Yixue
你们笑什么？我写的都是对的啊！
What are you laughing at? What I wrote is all right!
李文Li Wen
只对了一半。回去的路，让我来看地图。
Only half right. For the way back, let me read the map.
In the first scene Li Wen says 这辆太高了zhè liàng tài gāo le: he points to the bike with 辆liàng, because it is a vehicle.
In sentences
辆: vehicles
路边有三辆汽车。
There are three cars at the roadside.
Cars, bikes, buses.
条: streets
这条街上有银行。
There’s a bank on this street.
Streets, roads, boats.
把: with a handle
这把椅子太高了。
This chair is too tall.
Chairs and things you hold.
路边有三辆汽车，司机都不在。
There are three cars at the roadside and none of the drivers are there.
他家门口这条街不长，只有两百米。
The street outside his home is short, only two hundred meters.
A：你想坐哪种船？ B：我想坐小的那种。
A: Which kind of boat do you want? B: I’d like the small kind.
这把椅子太高了，小孩儿坐不了。
This chair is too tall, and kids can’t sit on it.
安妮今天骑的是一辆小小的红色自行车。
Annie is riding a small red bike today.
In Chinese a number needs a measure word before the noun, and which one depends on the kind of thing. 辆liàng is for vehicles: 一辆自行车yí liàng zìxíngchē, 三辆汽车sān liàng qìchē. 条tiáo is for long things, including streets, roads and boats: 一条街yì tiáo jiē, 一条马路yì tiáo mǎlù. 把bǎ is for chairs and things you hold by a handle: 一把椅子yì bǎ yǐzi. 种zhǒng counts kinds: 两种船liǎng zhǒng chuán. The key constraint is that you cannot swap these freely: each noun goes with its own measure word, and the general 个ge is not right for a car. A common mistake is to pick one that does not fit the shape: ✗ 三条汽车sān tiáo qìchē; say ✓ 三辆汽车sān liàng qìchē. And ✗ 一辆马路yí liàng mǎlù; say ✓ 一条马路yì tiáo mǎlù.
