Year 8 Chinese: Nationalities, Languages, and Personal Profiles

Year 8 Chinese Revision: Countries, Nationalities, and Languages

  • The following 8 primary countries, their nationalities, and corresponding languages are the focus of this curriculum:

  • Australia

    • Country: 澳大利亚 (Àodàlìyà)

    • Nationality: 澳大利亚人 (Àodàlìyàrén)

    • Language: 英语 (Yīngyǔ - English)

  • China

    • Country: 中国 (Zhōngguó)

    • Nationality: 中国人 (Zhōngguórén)

    • Language: 汉语 (Hànyǔ - Chinese)

  • United Kingdom (Great Britain)

    • Country: 英国 (Yīngguó)

    • Nationality: 英国人 (Yīngguórén)

    • Language: 英语 (Yīngyǔ - English)

  • United States of America

    • Country: 美国 (Měiguó)

    • Nationality: 美国人 (Měiguórén)

    • Language: 英语 (Yīngyǔ - English)

  • Canada

    • Country: 加拿大 (Jiānádà)

    • Nationality: 加拿大人 (Jiānádàrén)

    • Language: 英语 (Yīngyǔ - English) or 法语 (Fǎyǔ - French)

  • Germany

    • Country: 德国 (Déguó)

    • Nationality: 德国人 (Déguórén)

    • Language: 德语 (Déyǔ - German)

  • Japan

    • Country: 日本 (Rìběn)

    • Nationality: 日本人 (Rìběnrén)

    • Language: 日语 (Rìyǔ - Japanese)

  • New Zealand

    • Country: 新西兰 (Xīnxīlán)

    • Nationality: 新西兰人 (Xīnxīlánrén)

    • Language: 英语 (Yīngyǔ - English)

  • Vocabulary and Pinyin Reference for Revision:

  • 国家 (Guójiā): Country

  • 哪国人 (Nǎ guó rén): What nationality / Which country's person

  • 语言 (Yǔyán): Language

  • 说 (Shuō): To speak

  • 会 (Huì): Can / be able to (learned skill)

  • 一点儿 (Yīdiǎnr): A little bit

Core Sentence Structures and Grammar

  • Determining Nationality:

  • Question: 你是哪国人? (Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén? - What is your nationality?)

  • Answer: 我是澳大利亚人。 (Wǒ shì Àodàlìyàrén. - I am Australian.)

  • Yes/No Questions Regarding Identity:

  • Standard Format: 你是日本人吗? (Nǐ shì Rìběnrén ma? - Are you Japanese?)

  • Affirmative/Negative Format: 你是不是日本人? (Nǐ shì bùshì Rìběnrén? - Are you or are you not Japanese?)

  • Negative Answer: 我不是日本人。 (Wǒ bùshì Rìběnrén. - I am not Japanese.)

  • Language Proficiency Questions:

  • Question: 你会说汉语吗? (Nǐ huì shuō Hànyǔ ma? - Can you speak Chinese?)

  • Alternative Question: 你会不会说汉语? (Nǐ huì bù huì shuō Hànyǔ? - Can you [or can you not] speak Chinese?)

  • Affirmative Answer: 我会说汉语。 (Wǒ huì shuō Hànyǔ. - I can speak Chinese.)

  • Negative Answer: 我不会说汉语。 (Wǒ bù huì shuō Hànyǔ. - I cannot speak Chinese.)

  • Interrogatives/Question Words:

  • 谁 (Shuí): Who

  • 几 (Jǐ) + Measure Word: How many (e.g., 几个朋友 - how many friends)

Vocabulary for People and Honorifics

  • Titles and Terms of Address:

  • 先生 (xiānsheng): Mr. / Gentleman

  • 太太 (tàitai): Mrs. / Lady

  • 小姐 (xiǎojiě): Miss / Young lady

  • 老师 (lǎoshī): Teacher (e.g., 王老师 - Teacher Wang)

  • Family Members:

  • 父亲/爸爸 (fùqīn/bàba): Father

  • 母亲/妈妈 (mǔqīn/māma): Mother

  • 哥哥 (gēge): Older brother

  • 姐姐 (jiějie): Older sister

  • 弟弟 (dìdi): Younger brother

  • 妹妹 (mèimei): Younger sister

Extensive Translation Practice Exercises

  • English to Chinese Character Translation Tasks:

  1. Keiko is Japanese. She can speak Japanese and English.

    • (Keiko 是日本人。她会说日语和英语。)

  2. Lan Lan is Chinese. She can speak Chinese and a little English.

    • (兰兰是中国人。她会说汉语和一点儿英语。)

  3. Mary is Australian. She can speak English. She can also speak a little Chinese.

    • (马丽是澳大利亚人。她会说英语。她也会说一点儿汉语。)

  4. David can't speak Japanese. He can speak Chinese.

    • (大卫不会说日语。他会说汉语。)

  5. What nationality is Linda? Is she Canadian?

    • (琳达是哪国人? 她是加拿大人吗?)

  6. Are you German? No, I am not. I am English. But I can speak a little German.

    • (你是德国人吗? 不是, 我不是。我是英国人。但是我会说一点儿德语。)

  7. Is she American? No, she isn't. She is from New Zealand.

    • (她是美国人吗? 不是, 她不是。她是新西兰人。)

  8. What nationality is Tony? Is he Greek?

    • (Tony 是哪国人? 他是希腊人吗?)

  9. Pierre is French. He can speak French. He can also speak English and Chinese.

    • (Pierre 是法国人。他会说法语。他也会说英语和汉语。)

  10. My mother is Italian. She can speak Italian. She can also speak German.

    • (我妈妈是意大利人。她会说意大利语。她也会说德语。)

Reading Comprehension Case Studies

  • Case Study 1: Wang Dalan (Lanlan)

  • Name: Wang Dalan; nicknamed "Lanlan."

  • Age: 13 years old.

  • Residence: Lives in Australia, describing it as a very large and good country.

  • Family Structure: 4 people and a pet cat.

    • Father: Chinese; profession: Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctor (TCM).

    • Mother: British; profession: University teacher (subjects: French).

    • Elder Sister: 15 years old; a very good middle school student. She speaks Chinese and a little Japanese.

  • Social Life: She has many Australian classmates and one American classmate (her best friend).

  • Language Note: The American friend speaks American English and not Australian English.

  • Education: Her school offers Chinese and French. Her Chinese teacher is Chinese; the French teacher is Australian. Dalan likes learning foreign languages.

  • Case Study 2: Zhang Lanlan

  • Age: 15 years old.

  • Family: 5 people (Father, Mother, one elder sister, one elder brother).

  • Nationalities: Father is Chinese; Mother is German.

  • Home Life: Lives in Australia. The father speaks Chinese. The mother does not speak German. The entire family speaks English at home.

  • Case Study 3: David (Dàwèi)

  • Zodiac: Year of the Ox (Shǔ niú).

  • Occupation: Middle school student.

  • Nationality: Canadian. Both parents are also Canadian.

  • Friends: Best friend is Lili, who is a New Zealander. Lili's mother is a doctor; Lili speaks Japanese.

  • Case Study 4: Xiaoling (Xiǎolíng)

  • Age: 25 years old.

  • Occupation: Teacher.

  • Family Details: Father, mother, younger sister, elder brother, and a dog named Xiaoming (Small Brightness). Her parents were born in the Year of the Monkey.

  • Nationalities: Father is Canadian; Mother is Japanese.

  • Language Use: Her sister speaks Japanese. Xiaoling and her brother speak English.

  • Case Study 5: Li Jieli (Lǐ Jiélì)

  • Age: 15 years old.

  • Nationality: Chinese. Father is Chinese; Mother is Australian.

  • Proficiency: Speaks both English and Chinese very well.

  • Pet: Has a bird that can say "Hello" (Nǐ hǎo) and "Goodbye" (Zàijiàn).

  • Sibling: One older brother who speaks English well but Chinese poorly.

Teacher-Student Language Mapping (Worksheet 2)

  • Students & Languages:

  • Li Ming: Studying English (Yīngyǔ).

  • Baoluo: Studying French (Fǎyǔ).

  • Make (Mark): Studying Indonesian (Yìníyǔ).

  • Linda: Studying German (Déyǔ).

  • Tianzhong Xiaojie (Miss Tanaka): Studying Japanese (Rìyǔ).

  • Teachers:

  • Wang Laoshi (Teacher Wang): Teaching Chinese (Hànyǔ).

  • Lin Xiaojie (Miss Lin).

  • Zhang Taitai (Mrs. Zhang).

  • Leinuwa Xiansheng (Mr. Leinuwa).

  • Shimisi Xiansheng (Mr. Smith).

  • Lini Taitai (Mrs. Lini).

  • Kelaiyin Xiansheng (Mr. Kelaiyin).

Occupational and Zodiac Data for Target Profiles

  • Fangfang: 15 years old; Chinese; Middle School Student; Zodiac: Horse.

  • Tony: 42 years old; New Zealander; Japanese Teacher; Zodiac: Goat.

  • Chris: 25 years old; Australian; Doctor; Zodiac: Ox.

  • Amanda: 17 years old; British; University Student; Zodiac: Rabbit.

  • Kate: 38 years old; American; Nurse; Zodiac: Dragon.

Additional Vocabulary and Phrases

  • 对不起 (duìbuqǐ): Sorry

  • 没关系 (méi guānxi): No problem / It doesn't matter

  • 得 (de): Particle used after verbs to indicate degree/manner (e.g., 说得很好 - speaks very well)

  • 也 (yě): Also

  • 大 (dà): Big

  • 喜欢 (xǐhuān): To like

  • 可爱 (kě'ài): Cute

  • 医生 (yīshēng): Doctor

  • 老师 (lǎoshī): Teacher