Grammar 1: How to Ask Where in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 ·HSK 1
Grammar 1: How to Ask Where in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 · HSK 1
There are two ways of how to ask where in Chinese: 哪儿/哪里 nǎr/nǎlǐ. If we have to say their difference, 哪儿 is slightly more common in spoken Chinese.
Most commonly, we use 哪儿/哪里 to ask "where is something?" With questions like this, we use the word zài 在 (①v. to be in/on/at + somewhere ②prep. in/on/at + somewhere), following this structure:
Subject + 在 + 哪儿/哪里
For example:
nǐde nánpéngyou zài nǎr
你的男朋友在哪儿？
where is your boyfriend
nà jiā cháyè diàn zài nǎlǐ
那家茶叶店在哪里？
where is that "jia" (of) tea-leaf shop
Be careful that the position of nǎr/nǎlǐ 哪儿/哪里 differs depending on which member of sentence it functions as - whether it is the Subject, the Object or some other member.
哪儿/哪里 as the Subject
nǎr yǒu Píngguǒ shāngdiàn
哪儿有苹果商店？
where exist (an) Apple Store
哪儿/哪里 as the Object
nǐ nǚpéngyou jīntiān qù nǎr
你女朋友今天去哪儿？
your girlfriend today go (to) where
哪儿/哪里 as the Attribute
nǎlǐ de fēijīpiào piányi
哪里的飞机票便宜？
where's plane tickets (are) cheap
哪儿/哪里 as the Adverbial
nǐmen zài nǎlǐ chīfàn
你们在哪里吃饭？
where do you guys eat at
Grammar 2: Phrase 哪里哪里 in Chinese · HSK 1
In traditional Chinese culture, being modest is considered a virtue. So instead of "xièxie 谢谢 thank you" as a response to a compliment, we can say "nǎli nǎli 哪里哪里".
The phrase 哪里哪里 literally means "where-where", basically saying "I don't see where the compliment is coming from." The reason behind it is that traditionally, "refusing" someone's compliment is considered an act of being modest.
For example:
A: nǐde nǚ péngyou tài piàoliang le
你的女朋友太漂亮了！
your girlfriend (is) so pretty
B: nǎlǐ nǎlǐ
哪里哪里！
where-where
A: nǐde nán péngyou fēicháng shuài
你的男朋友非常帅！
your boyfriend (is) very handsome
B: nǎlǐ nǎlǐ
哪里哪里！
where-where
Grammar 3: Pretty, Beautiful and Handsome in Chinese · HSK 1
The most common words for pretty, beautiful and handsome in Chinese are: piàoliang 漂亮 and shuài 帅.
帅 is used for boys and men as to describe "good-looking" or "handsome".
Compared with 帅, 漂亮 has a broader meaning in Chinese. It is used for girls and women to describe "pretty" or "beautiful" in Chinese.
Apart from that, 漂亮 can also be used to describe a lot of other things, such as rooms, clothing, hair, paintings and scenery. Just like in English "beautiful" can be used to describe people and also a lot of other things.
For example, with words that we've learned before:
piàoliang de nǚ péngyou
漂亮的女朋友
beautiful girlfriend
piàoliang de fángjiān
漂亮的房间
beautiful room
piàoliang de fángzi
漂亮的房子
beautiful house
piàoliang de xuéxiào
漂亮的学校
beautiful school
piàoliang de yīfu
漂亮的衣服
beautiful clothes
Or with words that we haven't learned before:
piàoliang de huà
漂亮的画
beautiful painting
piàoliang de chéngshì
漂亮的城市
beautiful city
piàoliang de yánsè
漂亮的颜色
beautiful color
piàoliang de fēngjǐng
漂亮的风景
beautiful scenery