Getting Taller, not Fatter #5

In the previous post, we were dissecting the ChinesePod elementary lesson: Getting Taller (Not Fatter).

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Here is our next sentence:

对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.

duì: correct
gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall
pàng: fat

Literally: Right, right, right. As Uncle same tall, as Uncle same fat!
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!

This is a self-deprecating joke by Uncle to little Doudou: Right, you'll be as tall as me, and as fat!

The Chinese often repeat a syllable for emphasis. In this case, Duì duì duì would be similar to someone quickly saying "right, right, right" in English.

Next, we encounter a construction we covered in the previous post:

gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo
as tall as uncle

gēn: as (compared to)
shūshu: uncle
yīyàng: same
gāo: tall

Again, this is an high-frequency construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.

gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng
as fat as uncle

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Reading Quiz

Without reviewing the lesson above, what do the following characters mean?

胖 answer

高 answer

样 answer

一 answer

叔 answer

跟 answer

对 answer

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Writing Quiz

Without reviewing the lesson above, write the following characters:

pàng answer

gāo answer

yàng answer

yī answer

shū answer

gēn answer

duì answer

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So far we have covered:

豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.

叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!

豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!

豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.

对对对。跟叔叔一样高，跟叔叔一样胖。
Duì duì duì. Gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo, gēn shūshu yīyàng pàng.
That's right, that's right. Just as tall as uncle and just as fat as uncle!

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再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James

Getting Taller, not Fatter #4

We've been dissecting the ChinesePod elementary lesson: Getting Taller (Not Fatter).

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Here is our next sentence:

豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Literally: Doudou in the future will as compared to uncle same tall.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.

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豆豆
Dòudou
dòu means bean. Dòudou is a nickname that translates approximately to little bean. The entire character 豆 is a radical. So you would look it up in the Chinese dictionary using the radical 豆 + 0 strokes.

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以后
yǐhòu
yǐhòu usually means after; in this example it's more correctly translated as in the future.

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跟叔叔一样
gēn shūshu yīyàng
as tall as uncle
This is an important construction that means as ??? as ???. In English, we place the adjective first: as fast as Brian, as smart as the teacher, etc. In Mandarin, the person, place, or thing being compared to is placed first, then the adjective.

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So far we have covered:

豆豆，这是叔叔，快说叔叔好
Dòudou, zhè shì shūshu. Kuài shuō shūshu hǎo.
Doudou, this is Uncle. Hurry up and say hello to Uncle.

叔叔好!
Shūshu hǎo!
Hello, Uncle!

豆豆，真乖！一年没见，长高了很多!
Dòudou, zhēn guāi! ī nián měi jiàn. zhǎng gāo le hěn duō.
Doudou, so well-behaved! I haven't seen you in a year. You've grown taller!

豆豆以后要跟叔叔一样高
Dòudou yǐhòu yào gēn shūshu yīyàng gāo.
Doudou will be as tall as uncle someday.

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再 见!（zài jiàn!)
James