Chinese Language Learning Program Lesson 144 – Interjections in Chinese

Chinese Language Learning Program

Lesson 144 – Interjections in Chinese

Hello, everyone. Welcome back. This is Baixue’s Chinese Language Learning Program. Last time we had a tongue twister to practice how to pronounce simple vowel - ü. Today, we will talk about  interjections in Chinese.

tàn cí

 叹 词(interjections)

An interjection is a word that can express an exclamation, a response or a call. For example:

wèi,   én,   a,    āi  yā,    ó,    ō.

 喂     嗯    啊    哎  呀    哦    噢

1.   Grammatical features;

These Interjections have no concrete meaning. They only indicate sounds to draw attention, surprise, admiration or some kinds of feeling and they can not be used as a sentence element.

Interjections are quite independent and have no grammatical relationship with other parts of the sentence.

Interjections usually are at the beginning of the sentences.

2.   Functions

·       喂 is used when answering a phone call. For example:

wèi, qǐng wèn nǐ zhǎo shuí?

  喂,    请    问   你   找     谁？

(Hello, could you please tell me who you are looking for?)

wèi, qǐng wèn nǐ shì shuí?

 喂,    请     问   你  是   谁？

(Hello, who is speaking?)

wèi, qǐng wèn nǐ shì bái xuě ma?

 喂,    请     问   你 是   白   雪   吗？

(Hello, are you Bai Xue? )

·             哎呀 or 啊indicates surprise. For example:

āi yā, nǐ méi shì ba.

哎呀,  你  没   事  吧!

(Oops, are you ok?)

āi yā, zěn me huì zhè yàng?

哎呀,   怎   么   会   这    样？

(Oh, how could this happen?)

a,  wǒ de shǒu.

啊, 我  的    手。(Oh, my hand.)

·     啊 indicates admiration. For example:

à, zhè fú huà zhēn piào liang a!

啊, 这  幅  画     真     漂     亮   啊!

(Wow, this painting is so beautiful!)

· 哦,噢indicates realization and understanding. For example:

 ó, wǒ míng bái le. 

哦, 我     明    白 了。(Oh, I see.)

ó, yuán lái shì nǐ a.

哦,  原   来   是 你 啊。(Oh, it’s you.)

Ō,  yuán lái shì zhè yàng!

噢，原     来  是   这    样。(Oh, that is what [how] it is.)

· 哎 is used to say hello when friends meet each other. For example:

 āi, nǐ hǎo. nǐ qù nǎ'er?

哎, 你   好,  你 去  哪儿？

(hi, how are you? Where are you going?)

·     嗯，唉indicates response. For example:

nǐ zhī dào le ma?

你  知   道 了  吗？ (Do you get it?)     

én, wǒ zhī dào le.

嗯,  我   知  道   了。(Yes, I get it.)

nǐ kuài diǎn huí lái.

你   快    点    回  来。

(Please come back as soon as possible.)

āi, wǒ mǎ shàng jiù dào le.

唉, 我   马     上     就   到 了。

(Well, I will be back soon.)

āi, zhè ge rén zhēn kě lián.

唉,  这   个 人     真    可  怜。

(What a pity, this person is really poor.)

3.   Some times, the same interjection can express different feelings when it is with different tones. For example:

(1).  When 啊with the first tone, ā, indicates astonishment or admiration. For example,

 ā, tiān qíng le.

啊, 天     晴   了。(Ah, it is sunny.)

(2). When 啊with the second tone or third tone, á or ǎ, indicates a further inquiry. For example:

 á,  nǐ shuō shén me?

啊, 你    说      什    么？(Ah?What did you say?)

ǎ,  zhè shì zěn me huí shì?

啊,  这   是  怎   么   回   事？

(Ah? What’s going one?)

(3). When 啊with the fouth tone, à, indicates a response or admiration. For example:

 à, hǎo ba.

啊,  好  吧。(Ah, all right.) (a response)

 à, tài piào liang le.

啊,太    漂     亮   了。(Ah, it is so pretty.) (admiration)

Ok, that is all for today.

xiè  xiè!

 谢   谢 ! (Thanks!)

xià  cì  jiàn

 下  次  见!  (See you next time!)