LESSON X Divisions of Time. More Adverbs

“An hour” in Chinese is ih °tien tsoong (一點鐘) or ih kuh tsoong-deu (一個鐘頭). Literally “one point of the clock.” This is a foreign division of time. The Chinese divide the day into twelve periods of two hours each, known as z-zung (時辰). Now, the divisions into hours has become very familiar.

Ih °tien tsoong may also mean “one o’clock,” and the other hours are indicated in the same way by the change of the numeral. Thus “Two o’clock” is °liang °tien tsoong (兩點鐘). Two hours would be °liang kuh tsoong deu (兩個鐘頭) or °liang °tien tsoong koong foo (兩點鐘功夫). “Three o’clock” is san °tien tsoong (三點鐘), etc.

“A day” is usually ih nyih 一日. The character nyih literally means “sun.” In speaking of the heavenly body, in the colloquial, deu is added to the nyih, making the expression nyih-deu (日頭). Sometimes the word thien (天), meaning “Heaven,” is used for “day.” Thus san thien means “three days.” No classifier is introduced between the numeral and the nyih or the thien. Thus we have for “four days” s° nyih (四日) or s° thien (四天).

“A week” is ih kuh °li-pa° (一個禮拜) or ih °li-pa° (一禮拜). This, of course, is a foreign division of time which has been adopted into Chinese. It takes its name from the name of Sunday, which is usually °li-pa°-nyih (禮拜日). Lit. “the day of ceremonial worship.” °Li means ceremony, pa° is to worship. The other days of the week are formed with the addition of the numerals as follows: Monday is °li-pa°-ih (禮拜一). Tuesday is °li-pa°-nyi°. Wednesday is °li-pa°-san. Thursday °li-pa°-s°. Friday °li-pa°-°ng and Saturday °li-pa°-lok.

A new way of expressing the days of the week is by the use of the words sing-ji (星期) meaning the star period. Thus: Sunday is sing-ji nyih (星期日), Monday, sing-ji ih (星期一), Tuesday, sing-ji nyi° (星期二), and so on for the other days.

“A month” is ih kuh nyoeh (一個月). Lit. “a moon.” The Chinese year is made up of twelve lunar months. The first month is called tsung nyoeh (正月), the second, nyi° nyoeh (二月), the third, san nyoeh (三月) and so forth.

“A year” is ih nyien (一年). No classifier is used between the numeral and the word “year”, nyien.

“How many?” or “How much?” is °kyi-hau°? (幾化). Thus °kyi-hau° nyung le? (幾化人來) means “How many men came?” °Kyi-hau° °s (幾化水) means “How much water?”

°Kyi is often used without the hau°. In such cases it is followed by the classifier of the noun. Thus “How many men came?” might be °kyi kuh nyung le? (幾個人來). “How many horses have you?” noong° °yeu °kyi tsak °mo? (儂有幾隻馬).

“Where?” is °‘a-°li (那裏). Thus “Where are you going?” is noong° tau° °‘a- °li chi°? (儂到那裏去). “Where are you?” is noong° la°-°‘a-°li? (儂拉那裏).

Sa° meaning “what” with di°-faung meaning “place” also expresses “Where?” Thus sa° di°-faung? (啥地方). We also have sa° dzang-hau°? (啥塲化) meaning “What place?” or “Where?” but this refers to a more circumscribed area than di°- faung. We also have sa° °‘oo-daung° (啥戸蕩) used much in the same way as sa° dzang-hau°.

VOCABULARY

A fish, ih diau ng 一條魚.

To return, °tsen-le 轉來, Lit. To come back; °tsen-chi° 轉去, Lit. To go back.

To come out or forth, tsheh-le 出來.

To go out, tsheh chi° 出去.

To thank, zia° 謝.

Near, °jung 近.

To-day, kyung-tsau 今朝.

Yesterday, zau-nyih 昨日.

A painter, ih kuh tshih-ziang° 一個漆匠.

Thus, zeh-ke° 實蓋 or zeh-ke°-nung 實蓋能.

Then (used as a conjunction), nan-meh 難末.

Only, pi-koo° 必過.

South, nen 南.

Immediately, zieu° 就.

Time, z-‘eu° 時候, zung-kwaung 辰光 or koong-foo 工夫.

But, dan°-°z 但是, dok-°z 獨是.

EXERCISES

(Translate into English)

(1) °Tshing sien-sang ming-tsau °kyeu °tien-tsoong le.

(2) Kyung-tsau °z °li-pa°-ih, ming-tsau °z °li-pa°-nyi°.

(3) Di°-kuk nyoeh °yeu san-seh nyih.

(4) Ih °li-pa° °yeu tshih nyih.

(5) Noong°-kuh bang-°yeu dzu° la° sa° di°-faung? La° dzung °li. La° dzung °li, sa° dzang-hau°? °Jung nen mung.

(6) °Ngoo-kuh tau noong° faung° la°-°‘a-°li?

(7) Zau-nyih °ngoo dok-ts °ng °tien-tsoong su, nan-meh tsheh-chi° °tseu loo°.

(8) °Kyi °pung su °z noong°-kuh °lau °kyi °pung °z yi-kuh?

(9) I-kuh nyung °yeu °kyi-kuh ‘eu-°ts? Yi pih-koo° °yeu ih-kuh.

(10) Noong° tau°-ts Tsoong-kok °kyi-kuh nyoeh tse? °Ngoo le-ts san kuh nyoeh.

(11) Noong° °kyi-z iau° °tsen-chi°? °Li-pa°-san iau° °tsen-chi°.

(12) °Zaung-°he °kyi-z °tsen-le kuh? Zau-nyih °tsen-le kuh.

(13) Noong° we°-sa°-°lau ’veh tsheh-chi° °tseu °tseu? °Iung-we° m-meh koong-foo °lau.

(14) Zia° zia° noong° chi° °tshing i-sung le.

(15) °Ngoo dok-°hau-ts su zieu° iau° chuh van.

(16) °Z zeh-ke° va°? °Z zeh-ke° kuh.

(一) 請先生明朝九點鐘來.

(二) 今朝是禮拜一, 明朝是禮拜二.

(三) 第個月有三十日.

(四) 一禮拜有七日.

(五) 儂個朋友住拉啥地方? 拉城裏. 拉城裏啥場化? 近南門.

(六) 我個刀儂放拉那裏?

(七) 昨日我讀之五點鐘書, 難末出去走路.

(八) 幾本書是儂個佬幾本是伊個?

(九) 伊個人有幾個兒子? 伊必過有一個.

(十) 儂到之中國幾個月哉? 我來之三個月.

(十一) 儂幾時要轉去? 禮拜三要轉去.

(十二) 上海幾時轉來個? 昨日轉來個.

(十三) 儂爲啥佬勿出去走走? 因爲無沒工夫佬.

(十四) 謝謝儂去請醫生來.

(十五) 我讀好之書就要吃飯.

(十六) 是實蓋否? 是實蓋個.

(Translate into Chinese)

(1) Where have you put my shoes?

(2) I put them in the box.

(3) I do not want to study on Sunday, but I will study on Monday.

(4) How many weeks are there in a month?

(5) How many peaches have you eaten?

(6) How many dollars did you give your servant?

(7) What time is it now?

(8) Where do you live?

(9) When you have bought the fish, return immediately.

(10) The guest will stay here four months, and then will return.

(11) Please tell the painter to come.

(12) The teacher, having taught for three hours, left immediately.

(13) Why do you do it this way? Because the teacher told me to do it thus.

(14) I wish to do it, but I have no time to do it.

(15) Go see what time it is now.

(一) 我個鞋子儂放拉那裏?

(二) 我放拉箱子裏.

(三) 禮拜日勿要讀書, 禮拜一佬讀個.

(四) 一個月有幾個禮拜?

(五) 儂吃之幾隻桃子?

(六) 儂撥之儂個用人幾塊洋錢?

(七) 現在是幾點鐘?

(八) 儂住拉啥地方?

(九) 買好之魚就轉來.

(十) 客人要住四個月, 難末轉去哉.

(十一) 謝謝儂叫漆匠來.

(十二) 先生教之三點鐘工夫, 就轉去.

(十三) 儂爲啥實蓋做? 因爲先生教我實蓋做.

(十四) 我要做個, 但是無沒工夫.

(十五) 去看現在幾點鐘.

Notes.

(1) “Thank you” is expressed by repeating the Zia°. Thus “Thank you” is Zia°-zia° noong°. In speaking to an equal or superior, the Noong° would be dropped. Often in Chinese when you ask a person to do a thing for you, you preface the request by thanking the person. Thus Zia°-zia° noong chi° tan °ngoo-kuh san° le (謝謝儂去擔我個傘來) means “Thank you, go bring my umbrella.”

(2) Koong-foo has the double sense of “work” or “time.” Thus: Tsoo° koong-foo means to do work. But M-meh koong-foo means “I have no time.” You never say Sa° koong-foo, meaning “What time?” but Sa s-‘eu°? or Sa° zung-kwaung? In asking what time it is by the clock the usual expression is °Kyi °tien-tsoong?

(3) The force of the question in the third sentence of the First Exercise is due to the fact that some Chinese months have thirty days and some have twenty-nine. A month of thirty days is called Doo° nyoeh (大月), “a large month,” and one with twenty-nine days is called a small month °Siau nyoeh (小月). In order to make the seasons come right, an intercalary month is put in about every three years. This in Chinese is called Nyung° nyoeh (閏月).

(4) Notice the elliptical form of expression in the seventh sentence of the First Exercise. Literally it means “Yesterday I read five hours’ book.”

(5) In the third sentence of the Second Exercise the Chinese idiom is peculiar. You say °Li-pa° nyih ’veh iau° dok su, °li-pa°-ih °lau dok kuh. Literally “Sunday not want to study, Monday and study.”

(6) In the eleventh sentence of the Second Exercise, the “please” should be translated Zia°-zia° noong°.