This is a simple segment but it’s great for practicing pronunciation. Learn how to pronounce 这 in Chinese. “zhè” could be misleading. Listen to what 这 sounds like! It’s closer to “zhèi” in terms of pinyin, but “zhèi” is not proper pinyin, I am only using it to highlight 这 doesn’t sound like “zhè” (in pinyin) in spoken Chinese!
Mandarin transcript (in pinyin and characters) for Peppa Pig S01E43 “Tidy Up” Part 4:
- qiáoqiáo wǒ zhǎodào le shénme
- kǒnglóng
- méicuò, shì yìběn kǒnglóng gùshì shū
- zhèiběn shì qiáozhì de lìtǐ kǒnglóng shū
- zhèige shì yìtóu bàwánglóng, zhīdào ma
- bàwánglóng hǎobàng
- shuō dé duì
- zhèi tóu kǒnglóng jiào léilóng
- zhèishì léilóng
- duì, méicuò
- háiyǒu zhèi tóu, tā de míngzi jiào sānjiǎolóng
- zhèishì sānjiǎolóng
- niàn dé hǎo, qiáozhì
- qiáozhì zuì xǐhuan kǒnglóng le
- 瞧瞧我找到了什么
- 恐龙
- 没错，是一本恐龙故事书
- 这本是乔治的立体恐龙书
- 这个是一头霸王龙，知道吗
- 霸王龙好棒
- 说得对
- 这头恐龙叫雷龙
- 这是雷龙
- 对，没错
- 还有这头， 它的名字叫三角龙
- 这是三角龙
- 念得好，乔治
- 乔治最喜欢恐龙了
The video player above requires Javascript to run properly. You can binge-watch the full video on the official Peppa Pig Chinese Dub Youtube channel.
Show Notes for Learn Chinese with Peppa Pig Season 01 Episode 43 Part 4
qiáoqiáo wǒ zhǎodào le shénme
瞧瞧 我 找到 了 什么
Look at what I’ve found
- 瞧瞧 = qiáoqiáo, to look at. Very similar to 看看 but I think it’s slightly more colloquial and it sounds more like “come and look!” “check this out!”. Personally I rarely use this instead of 看看, so it’s a matter of personal habit. Read my article on repeating verbs in Chinese.
- 我 = wǒ, I.
- 找 = zhǎo, to find
- 到 = dào, to arrive, to achieve
- 了 = le, indicating past tense
- 找到了 = zhǎodào le, to have found, or found.
- 什么 = shénme, what
kǒnglóng
恐龙
Dinosaur
méicuò, shì yìběn kǒnglóng gùshì shū
没错 ， 是 一本 恐龙 故事 书
That’s right, this is a dinosaur story book
- 没错 = méicuò, that’s right
- 是 = shì, is (the subject is committed in this sentence, it would be “This is a…”)
- 一 = yì, one, I think the tone of 一 really depends on the context, just listen for it. In this case, it’s closer to the fourth descending tone.
- 本 = běn, the measure word for 书
- 故事 = gùshì, story
- 书 = shū, book
- 故事书 is usually used in the context of children’s book.
zhèiběn shì qiáozhì de lìtǐ kǒnglóng shū
这本 是 乔治 的 立体 恐龙 书
This is George’s 3D dinosaur book.
- 这 = zhèi, this. Note that you can use 这 on its own or 这 + measure word to refer to something. I think 这 + measure word is more natural than 这 on its own, and you’ll see plenty of examples in this part.
- 乔治 = qiáozhì, George Pig
- 的 = de, indicating belonging
- 立体 = lìtǐ, three-dimensional
zhèige shì yìtóu bàwánglóng, zhīdào ma
这个 是 一头 霸王龙 ， 知道 吗
This is a T-Rex, do you know?
- 头 = tóu, a common measure word for large animals
- 龙 = lóng, by itself it refers to dragons, but it’s also used in names of dinosaurs
- 霸王龙 = bàwánglóng, T-Rex, literally Overlord Dinasour
- 知道 = zhīdào, to know
- 吗 = ma, turns a statement to a question. ”知道吗？“ is short for “你知道吗？“
bàwánglóng hǎobàng
霸王龙 好棒
T-Rex is awesome
- 好棒 = hǎobàng, great, awesome. I think 好棒 sounds very childish.
shuō dé duì
说 得 对
You said it right
- 说 = shuō, to speak
- 对 = duì, correct
- 得 turns an adjective into an adverb, in this case “correct” becomes “correctly”.
- Note that 说的对 is also valid. 说的对 means the content of what one said is correct. 说得对 means you said it in the correct way.
- In practice though, they sound really similar. The reason why I used 得 instead of 的 here is Daddy Pig’s “de” sounds closer to the second rising tone. You would never use the second tone to say 的 (either neutral or forth decreasing tone), but you often would use the second tone to say 得. However, I’d say the tone is close to neutral in both 说的对 or 说得对.
zhèi tóu kǒnglóng jiào léilóng
这 头 恐龙 叫 雷龙
This dinosaur is called Brontosaurus.
- 叫 = jiào, to call. A 叫”A‘s name” is just saying the name of A is “A’s name”.
- 雷 = léi, thunder
- I must admit I just Google Translated 雷龙 here.
zhèishì léilóng
这是 雷龙
This is Brontosaurus.
duì, méicuò
对 ， 没错
Right, that’s correct.
háiyǒu zhèi tóu, tā de míngzi jiào sānjiǎolóng
还有 这 头, 它 的 名字 叫 三角龙
And this one, its name is Triceratops.
- 它 = tā, it
- 名字 = míngzi, name
- 三角龙 = sānjiǎolóng, Triceratops, literally Triangle Dinosaur.
zhèishì sānjiǎolóng
这是 三角龙
This is Triceratops.
niàn dé hǎo, qiáozhì
念 得 好 ， 乔治
Well said, George
- 念 = niàn, to read aloud
- 念得好 is similar to 说得对
qiáozhì zuì xǐhuan kǒnglóng le
乔治 最 喜欢 恐龙 了
George likes dinosaurs the most.
- 最 = zuì, most, very very much
- 喜欢 = xǐhuan, to like
- 了 = le, Techinially 乔治最喜欢恐龙 is grammatically complete, but it doesn’t sound right unless the 了 is added at the end. I’d say 乔治喜欢恐龙 sounds just right. It is just “Geroge likes dinosaurs”. But 乔治最喜欢恐龙了 highlights the 最 and the 了 is essential in “最喜欢了”. I’d loosely interpret 了 as a type of affirmation.