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Where Are You Come From

M: Pengyoumen, huanying dao Xianzai Xue Hanyu. Wo shi ML

S: Wo shi Stuart. We’re in the bar with Mary and Li xiansheng. Mary is a teacher, laoshi, and
some of her foreign students are joining us. I wonder where they’re from? Try to pick out 学
生 XUE SHENG, xuesheng, which means ‘student’.

MARY: My students are here! 我的学生来了, wo de xuesheng lai le.

FOREIGNERS: Hi Mary, hi guys. Ni men hao!

MARY: They’re all learning Putonghua. 他们都在学普通话，tamen dou zai xue putonghua. Hey
guys, let me introduce Zhao Manli and Stuart. 让我介绍赵曼丽和 Stuart, rang wo jieshao Zhao
Manli he Stuart. You know Mr. Li. 你们认识李先生, nimen renshi Li xiansheng.

S/ML: Nimen hao!

M: We want to ask Mali de xuesheng what nationality they are.

S: One way of asking this is, 你是哪国人?

M: 哪国人. Na, NA, na, which. Na guo, which country. Ren REN ren, ren, is person. So ‘Ni shi
na guo ren?’ You are which country person? Ni shi na guo ren. Say it, everybody. Ni shi na
guo ren?

S: Hen hao. By the way, some people say NEI instead of Na. Nei is more colloquial. Now, try
to pick out the words for Canadian, American and British.

MARY: This is Bill. 这是 Bill, zhe shi Bill.

M: Bill, ni hao! 你是哪国人, ni shi na guo ren?

BILL: Canadian.我是加拿大人, wo shi Jianada ren.

M: Jianada ren.

MARY: Zhe shi Susanna.

S: Ni hao! 你是哪国人, ni shi nei guo ren?

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SUSANNA: American, 我是美国人， wo shi Meiguo ren.

MARY: Zhe shi Violet.

M: Violet, ni hao. 你是哪国人, ni shi nei guo ren?

VIOLET: British. 我是英国人, wo shi Yingguo ren.

M: Na hao. Yi ge Jianada ren, yi ge Meiguo ren, he yi ge Yingguo ren. Altogether, yi gong, san
ge ren.

S: Let’s see if you’re still concentrating! If ren is person, and jianada ren means ‘a Canadian’,
what does Jianada mean?

M: Dui le. Canada, 加拿大 JIA’NADA jianada. Say Canada, then Canadian. Right. Jianada,
jianadaren.

S: And America is 美国, literally, ‘beautiful country’, meiguo MEI GUO meiguo. 3rd tone 2nd
tone. Try it, meiguo, meiguo. Now, American. Meiguo ren, meiguo ren. Hen mei! Beautiful.
Hen mei, hen mei.

M: And we’ve already learnt Britain, or England: 英国, yingguo, and Yingguo ren, yingguo
ren.

S: And we have lots of Aussies, Kiwis, and Irish here. So, and try to get the tones right….

M: Australia. 澳大利亚 AO DA LI YA, aodiliya, aodiliya.

S: New Zealand. 新西兰 XIN XI LAN, xinxilan, xinxilan.

M: Ireland. 爱尔兰 AI ER LAN, aierlan, aierlan.

S: And now its gongke, homework time.

M: Write out in pinyin, I am Canadian, wo shi jianada ren, or use your own country if you
know it.

S: Then write out he is, American, Australian, Irish, British, and, a New Zealander or New
Zealanders.

M: Then ask different questions: ‘what nationality are you , he or she, and they?’ And give all
the different answers you can think of, I, we, they, etc., and out loud. Very important.

S: Out loud. Zai jian.

Coryright 2007 cchello.com