你听得懂吗?
nǐ tīngdedǒng ma ?
Do you understand?
This is not a lesson about the disappointment we felt on buying a copy of The Matrix Reloaded at our
local DVD store back in 2003 only to end up watching a pirated copy of Johnny Mnemonic (the dolphin
scene was especially excruciating the second time around). But it's pretty close. Because sometimes
you'll find a good movie, only to find it completely unwatchable because the subtitles are all in Russian.
So our Chinese lesson for today is about living with disappointment, but only in part. It's also about
learning different ways to ask simple questions, so if you're sick of ending every question with the sound
"ma", you're going to love what we do today. So go ahead and make some popcorn and hit play. You'll
be an elementary student in no-time, and will have some popcorn in the meanwhile. Try doing that in a
physical classroom.
nǐ tīngdedǒng ma ?
Do you understand?
tīngbùdǒng 。
I don't understand.
tāmen yǒu méiyǒu zhōngwén zìmù ?
Do they have Chinese subtitles?
méiyǒu 。
No.
māde 。
Damn.
nǐ
you
pronounyǒu
to have
verbméiyǒu
not to have
verbyǒu méiyǒu
to have or not to have
questionzhōngwén zìmù
Chinese subtitles
nounma
(question particle)
question