Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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上面 · 里面 · 旁边 — Which Side of the Table
描述具体方位 — 咖啡在桌子上
上面 is not 'on' — it is a noun, the table's top side. Say exactly where things are: 在 + place + 上面 / 里面 / 旁边.
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Memory hook
在 + 桌子（的）+ 上面 — three right, one wrong
Where exactly?
Tap any line. Every sentence is the same machine: thing + 在 + somewhere + which side of it.
Tap any line to hear it
Memory hook
上面的桌子 ≠ 桌子的上面
Listen, then say听一听，说一说
No pressure — just making it stick.
Where is the wallet?
What does the speaker want to know?
Your turn — say it
我在地铁站外面等你。
I'll wait for you outside the metro station.
Your turn — say it
我的手机呢？
Where's my phone?
Two pictures, four rounds看图说位置
One room, three rounds: the side, the whole place, the sentence out loud. Then the picture from class, where every thing has an owner.
Round 1: which side第一关：A 在 B 的____
No pressure — just making it stick.
咖啡在桌子的____。
Kāfēi zài zhuōzi de ____.
The coffee is on top of the table.
猫在桌子的____。
Māo zài zhuōzi de ____.
The cat is under the table.
苹果在冰箱的____。
Píngguǒ zài bīngxiāng de ____.
The apple is inside the fridge.
狗在椅子的____。
Gǒu zài yǐzi de ____.
The dog is under the chair.
椅子在桌子的____。
Yǐzi zài zhuōzi de ____.
The chair is beside the table.
椅子在桌子和冰箱的____。
Yǐzi zài zhuōzi hé bīngxiāng de ____.
The chair is between the table and the fridge.
Round 2: the whole place第二关：A 在____
No pressure — just making it stick.
书在____。
Shū zài ____.
The book is on the table.
钱包在____。
Qiánbāo zài ____.
The wallet is on the chair.
The cat is under the table.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
The water is in the fridge.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
狗在____。
Gǒu zài ____.
The dog is under the chair.
苹果在____。
Píngguǒ zài ____.
The apple is in the fridge.
Round 3: say it第三关：你来说
No pressure — just making it stick.
Your turn — say it
猫在桌子的下面。
The cat is under the table.
Your turn — say it
咖啡在桌子上。
The coffee is on the table.
Your turn — say it
苹果在冰箱里面。
The apple is in the fridge.
Your turn — say it
椅子在桌子和冰箱的中间。
The chair is between the table and the fridge.
Round 4: whose thing, and where第四关：谁的东西在哪里
No pressure — just making it stick.
Tom的狗在椅子的____。
Tom de gǒu zài yǐzi de ____.
Tom's dog is on the chair.
Ally的猫在椅子的____。
Ally de māo zài yǐzi de ____.
Ally's cats are under the chair.
Claire的包在桌子的____。
Claire de bāo zài zhuōzi de ____.
Claire's bag is under the table.
Karan的杯子在Lily的杯子的____。
Karan de bēizi zài Lily de bēizi de ____.
Karan's cup is beside Lily's cup.
Marry的手机在____。
Marry de shǒujī zài ____.
Marry's phone is on the sofa.
Taylor的手机在____。
Taylor de shǒujī zài ____.
Taylor's phone is on the table.
Eric's cat is on the chair.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Valerie的面包在____。
Valerie de miànbāo zài ____.
Valerie's bread is on the table.
Memory hook
左边的桌子 ≠ 桌子的左边
Which table, which side第五关：左边的桌子，还是桌子的左边
No pressure — just making it stick.
咖啡在____的上面。
kā fēi zài ____ de shàng miàn。
The coffee is on top of the left-hand table.
猫在左边的桌子的____。
māo zài zuǒ biān de zhuō zi de ____。
The cat is under the left-hand table.
椅子在桌子的____。
yǐ zi zài zhuō zi de ____。
The chair is to the left of the table.
书在____的上面。
shū zài ____ de shàng miàn。
The book is on top of the right-hand table.
狗在右边的桌子的____。
gǒu zài yòu biān de zhuō zi de ____。
The dog is under the right-hand table.
冰箱在桌子的____。
bīng xiāng zài zhuō zi de ____。
The fridge is to the right of the table.
The chair is to the left of the left-hand table.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
冰箱在哪儿？____
bīng xiāng zài nǎr？____
Where is the fridge?
Describe the room
Draw a lot and answer out loud or in writing — one sentence per thing, the way you'd tell a friend where their stuff is.
3 topics are too many — you answer the ones you draw. Two questions per lot.
Tap “Draw”: the tube shakes and two questions come out. Say them or type them, save, and send the file to your teacher.
▸ All 3 topics (for the teacher in class)
图里的猫和狗在哪里？用「……在……的……」说两句。
Where are the cat and the dog? Two sentences, each built as ……在……的……
图里的东西都在哪里？说五句，上面、下面、里面、旁边、中间都用一次。
Where is everything in the picture? Five sentences — use 上面, 下面, 里面, 旁边 and 中间 once each.
上课那张图里，每样东西是谁的、在哪里？说五句，比如：Claire的包在桌子的下面。
In the class picture, whose is each thing and where is it? Five sentences, like Claire的包在桌子的下面.
记Class notes
Notes for the whole lesson go here and save as you type.
This lesson's characters
Two pointers and a face.
up; above
指a pointer
There is no object to draw — up is an idea — so the oldest writers drew a line and set a mark above it. The whole character is a pointer saying higher than this. It runs your calendar too: 上个月 is the month above, because Chinese lists run downward like a ledger — so above means earlier.
down; below
指a pointer
The same line, mark below: lower than this. 上 and 下 are a matched pair of pointers, and everything they touch pairs up too — 上面 and 下面, top and underside; 上个月 and 下个月, last month and next. Point up and down a Chinese page and you are also pointing backwards and forwards through time. That is the whole trick of the calendar words.
face; side, surface
象drawn from life
A face: the oldest form is an outline drawn around a single eye — one feature standing for the whole. From face came surface and side, which is the 面 in 上面, 里面, 对面: the top face, the inner face, the facing side. And the noodles? Those were 麵, wearing a wheat radical, until simplification handed their job to this same shape. The 面 on the menu and the 面 in 上面 are one character with two lives — the 只-and-几 story again.
Take these with you
Everything worth taking away. Tap any line to hear it.
Words 生词
Characters 汉字
Before you go课后回顾
- Inventory one room out loud: three things, three sentences — ……在桌子上面，……在沙发上，……在冰箱里面。
- 上面 is a place, not 'on' — the table's top side, somewhere your coffee can sit. Believe that one fact and the 的 rules follow by themselves.
- Something missing? You now own both tools: 我的钱包在哪里？ asks; 我的钱包呢？ asks with feeling.