Read the names and various actions found in the home environment

The House (家里 / jiā lǐ)

Furniture and Appliances

Actions in the Home

Here is a dialogue from the textbook. Read it carefully and notice how the words for rooms and actions are used.

Conversation:

小敏: 妈妈，你在做什么？ Xiǎomǐn: Mother, what are you doing?

妈妈: 我在切包菜。 Māma: I am cutting cabbage.

小敏: 好，我在洗水果。 Xiǎomǐn: Good, I am washing fruits.

妈妈: 给我盐。 Māma: Give me salt.

小敏: 好，给你！水果洗好了。 Xiǎomǐn: Good, here you go! The fruits are washed.

妈妈: 饭已经做好了。 Māma: The food is already cooked.

Understanding the dialogue:

• 做什么 (zuò shénme) means "to do what"
• 在 (zài) shows an action happening right now
• 好了 (hǎole) means "finished" or "done"

Read these sentences and identify the action word in each:

1. 我在厨房做饭。 — I am cooking in the kitchen.
2. 妈妈在切菜。 — Mother is cutting vegetables.
3. 我在洗水果。 — I am washing fruits.
4. 我们在吃饭。 — We are eating food.

Answer key:

1. 做饭 (zuòfàn) — to cook
2. 切 (qiē) — to cut
3. 洗 (xǐ) — to wash
4. 吃 (chī) — to eat

Read this short passage about a house:

我家很大，有客厅、三个房间、厨房、厕所和卫生间。 Wǒ jiā hěn dà, yǒu kètīng, sān gè fángjiān, chúfáng, cèsuǒ hé wèishēngjiān.

My house is big. It has a living room, three rooms, a kitchen, a toilet, and a bathroom.

客厅里有电视和沙发。 Kètīng lǐ yǒu diànshì hé shāfā.

In the living room there is a television and a sofa.

Key points:

• 有 (yǒu) means "there is" or "to have"
• 里 (lǐ) means "inside" or "in"
• 和 (hé) means "and"

• Chinese words for home rooms: 房间 (fángjiān), 客厅 (kètīng), 厨房 (chúfáng), 院子 (yuànzi)
• Common actions: 做 (zuò), 吃 (chī), 洗 (xǐ), 切 (qiē)
• Use 在 (zài) to show an action is happening now
• Use 有 (yǒu) to say what exists in a place
• Use 里 (lǐ) to show something is inside a place

In Tanzania, a student can use these Chinese phrases when visiting a Chinese friend's home or when speaking with Chinese traders in local markets. For example, if you visit a Chinese restaurant in Dar es Salaam, you can say "我在厨房外面" (wǒ zài chúfáng wàimiàn — I am outside the kitchen) or ask "厨房在哪里?" (chúfáng zài nǎlǐ? — Where is the kitchen?) to find your way around.