About This Lesson
Use Talking about listening to music to practice Chinese conversation, pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, and quizzes.
Dialogue
A
你听音乐吗？
Nǐ tīng yīnyuè ma? Do you listen to music?
B
我在空闲时间听音乐。
Wǒ zài kòngxián shíjiān tīng yīnyuè. I listen in my free time.
A
你喜欢什么音乐？
Nǐ xǐhuan shénme yīnyuè? What kind of music do you like?
B
我喜欢慢歌。
Wǒ xǐhuan màn gē. I like slow songs.
A
你用耳机吗？
Nǐ yòng ěrjī ma? Do you use headphones?
B
我想放松的时候就用耳机。
Wǒ xiǎng fàngsōng de shíhou jiù yòng ěrjī. I use them when I want to relax.
A
我可以听点东西吗？
Wǒ kěyǐ tīng diǎn dōngxi ma? Can I hear something?
B
我放一首安静的曲子。
Wǒ fàng yì shǒu ānjìng de qǔzi. I'll play a quiet track.Word by Word
你
你 means “you” in the questions 你听音乐吗？, 你喜欢什么音乐？, and 你用耳机吗？. It comes before the action or preference being asked about. Use it when addressing one person directly.
听
听 means “listen to” in 听音乐 and “hear” in 听点东西. The intended meaning comes from what follows: music is something to listen to, while something can be heard. It commonly appears before the thing being heard or listened to.
音乐
音乐 means “music” in 你听音乐吗？ and 我在空闲时间听音乐。. It is the object after 听 in these lines. Use it when talking generally about music rather than one specific song.
吗
吗 marks a yes-or-no question at the end of 你听音乐吗？ and 你用耳机吗？. It turns the preceding statement into a question without changing the word order. Use it at the end when asking whether someone does something.
我
我 means “I” or “me” in 我在空闲时间听音乐。 and the other statements spoken by B. It appears before the action or preference being expressed. Use it to identify yourself as the person doing or wanting something.
在
在 marks the time setting in 我在空闲时间听音乐。, meaning that the listening happens during that time. It comes before the time expression 空闲时间. Use it before a time or place setting when saying where or when an action occurs.
空闲
空闲 means “free” or “unoccupied” in 空闲时间, referring to time when the speaker is not busy. It modifies 时间 to form the expression 空闲时间. Use it before a noun when describing available time.
时间
时间 means “time” in 空闲时间. Together with 空闲, it identifies the period when the speaker listens to music. It can follow a describing word to specify what kind of time is meant.
喜欢
喜欢 means “like” in 你喜欢什么音乐？ and 我喜欢慢歌。. It expresses a preference and comes before the thing that is liked. Use it with an object such as 慢歌 or with a question asking what someone likes.
什么
什么 asks “what kind of” or “what” in 什么音乐, as part of 你喜欢什么音乐？. It comes before 音乐 to ask which music the person likes. Use it before a noun when asking for information about that noun.
慢歌
慢歌 means “slow songs” in 我喜欢慢歌。. It names the kind of music the speaker likes. 慢 describes 歌, so the expression can be used after 喜欢 to state this preference.
用
用 means “use” in 你用耳机吗？ and 我想放松的时候就用耳机。. It describes using headphones for listening. It comes before the thing being used, as in 用耳机.
耳机
耳机 means “headphones” in 你用耳机吗？ and 我想放松的时候就用耳机。. It is the object after 用. Use it when referring to the headphones used for listening.
想
想 means “want to” in 我想放松的时候, expressing the speaker’s wish to relax. It comes before the action 放松. Use 想 before an action when describing what someone wants to do.
放松
放松 means “relax” in 我想放松的时候. Here it names the activity the speaker wants to do. It follows 想 and appears before 的时候 to form the time expression for when the speaker wants to relax.
的
的 links 放松 to 时候 in 放松的时候, making the preceding action part of a time expression meaning “when relaxing” or “when I want to relax.” Here it helps connect a modifying phrase to 时候. Use it in a pattern such as an action followed by 的时候 when describing when something happens.
时候
时候 means “when” or “time” in 放松的时候. The full expression refers to the time when the speaker wants to relax. It commonly follows a phrase that describes an action or situation.
就
就 shows the resulting action in 我想放松的时候就用耳机。, meaning that the speaker uses headphones when that condition occurs. It connects the time condition with the action that follows. Use it before the resulting action in a pattern like 放松的时候就用耳机.
可以
可以 means “can” or “may” in 我可以听点东西吗？. It asks whether the speaker is allowed or able to hear something. It comes before the action phrase 听点东西 and can be used when making a request.
点
点 means “a little” or “some” in 听点东西, making the request less specific than simply naming an amount. It comes before 东西 and after 听. Use it in this position when referring to a small or unspecified amount of something.
东西
东西 means “something” in 听点东西. In this dialogue it refers to something to hear, without specifying exactly what it is. It follows 点 in 听点东西 and can refer generally to an unspecified thing.
放
放 means “play” in 我放一首安静的曲子。, where the speaker will play a musical track. The meaning comes from the music context and the following phrase 一首安静的曲子. Use it before a song or musical piece when saying that you will play it.
首
首 is the classifier used for a song or musical piece in 一首安静的曲子. It comes after the number 一 and before the description of the piece. Use it when counting songs or similar musical works.
安静
安静 means “quiet” in 安静的曲子, describing the track that will be played. It comes before 的曲子 to modify the musical piece. Use it before a noun when describing something as quiet.
曲子
曲子 means “musical piece” or “track” in 一首安静的曲子. It is the thing being played after 放 and is counted with 首. Use it when referring to one particular piece of music.
Grammar Points
什么 + 名词
什么曲子？
shénme qǔzi?Which track?
什么放在名词前表示“what/which”，用来询问具体的人、事物或选择。
主语 + 形容词
曲子安静。
qǔzi ānjìng.The track is quiet.
中文形容词可以直接作谓语，不需要像英语一样使用 be 动词。
Chinese Vocabulary
点东西
phrase
diǎn dōngxi
something; a little something
耳机
noun
ěrjī
headphones
放
verb
fàng
play; put on
放松
verb
fàngsōng
relax
空闲时间
noun
kòngxián shíjiān
free time
慢歌
noun
màn gē
slow song
什么
det
shénme
what; which
时候
noun
shíhou
when; time
听
verb
tīng
listen
喜欢
verb
xǐhuan
like
音乐
noun
yīnyuè
music
用
verb
yòng
use
Quiz
Spelling
Tap the letters to spell the word.
free time
Show Answer
空闲时间something; a little something
Show Answer
点东西headphones
Show Answer
耳机like