Basic Grammar: all 87 lessons free
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呢 (2) — Mind You, Still, As Much As That
语气助词「呢」（二）— 他还在睡觉呢
他还在睡觉呢, 坐公交车要一个多小时呢, 离放假还有两个多月呢: 呢 on the end of a statement underlines it and nudges the listener — mind you.
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Memory hook
Statement + 呢 = underline it, nudge the listener
Mind you
Three from the deck, then the questions it asks. Hear how 呢 leans the sentence towards you.
Tap any line to hear it
Underline it画一条下划线
No pressure — just making it stick.
他还在睡觉____，别叫他。
Tā hái zài shuìjiào ____, bié jiào tā.
He's still asleep, mind you — don't wake him.
You are still on the bus. Which reply matches the frame?
The bus takes more than an hour, you know.
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
离放假还有两个多月____！
Lí fàngjià hái yǒu liǎng gè duō yuè ____!
There are still two whole months till the holiday!
Your turn — say it
他还在睡觉呢。
He's still asleep, mind you.
她还在做什么____？——她还在洗碗呢。
Tā hái zài zuò shénme ____? — Tā hái zài xǐwǎn ne.
What is she still doing? — She's still doing the dishes.
Add the right piece to each line — 呢 or the words it underlines.
Tap a word to fill the next gap; tap a filled sentence to clear it. Every word is used once.
Word bank
0/5Long waits, in pictures看图说等待
No pressure — just making it stick.
Four long waits from the deck. Match each picture, then say the sentence with 呢 on the end.
Tap a picture, then choose its word. Picked wrong? Tap that picture and choose again. Match all the cards to finish.
Your turn — say it
坐公交车要一个多小时呢。
The bus takes more than an hour, you know.
There are still two whole months till the holiday!
Tap the tiles in order — it checks itself when the sentence is complete. Tap a placed tile to take it back.
Your sentence
Your turn — say it
我还在路上呢，马上就到。
I'm still on the way — be right there.
This lesson's characters
Three from the long waits: the holiday you count down to, and the bus that takes an hour.
to release, to put; (放假) to have a holiday
形meaning + sound
方 for the sound and 攵, a hand with a stick, for the doing: to drive off, to let go. 放 is to put down (放在桌子上), to release, to play (放音乐), and 放假 is the school or office letting you go — a holiday. 离放假还有两个多月呢！ is the sentence of every Chinese office in the long stretch before October.
holiday (jià); false (jiǎ)
形meaning + sound
A person 亻 beside 叚, to borrow: what is borrowed is not truly yours — false, read jiǎ, as in 假的, fake. Read jià it is borrowed time — a holiday: 放假, 请假 to ask for leave, 暑假 the summer break. The same character calls a knock-off bag fake and calls Friday afternoon free.
to cross; to hand over
象drawn from life
A person with legs crossed — the oldest 交 is a figure standing with crossed shins. Crossing became meeting and exchange: 交朋友 is to make friends, 交钱 is to hand over money, and 公交车 is the public-交-vehicle — the bus that carries everyone across the city. 坐公交车要一个多小时呢.
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
- Send one text today with the tail: 我还在路上呢 / 还在开会呢. Notice how much friendlier it reads than the bare sentence.
- Two 呢s now: 你呢？ asks, 还在睡觉呢 underlines. Same character, and the second one asks for nothing but your attention.
- Start your own countdown with the exclamation: 离……还有……呢！ Everyone in China is doing the same.