Learn Mandarin: Peppa Pig S01E46 Part 2

Mandarin transcript (in pinyin and characters) for Peppa Pig S01E46 “At the Beach” Part 2:

• wǒmen lái wánr zhèige shātānqiú ba
• kànqǐlai néng wánr
• zhēnshi gè búcuò de shātān qiú
• qiáozhì, nǐ lái rēng qiú, ránhòu wǒ lái zhuī tā ba
• qiáozhì, jiēzhù lóu
• ò, zāogāo, qiáozhì tài xiǎo le jiē búzhù qiú
• méishì de, qiáozhì

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• 我们来玩儿这个沙滩球吧
• 看起来能玩儿
• 真是个不错的沙滩球
• 乔治，你来扔球，然后我来追它吧
• 乔治，接住喽
• 哦，糟糕，乔治太小了接不住球
• 没事的，乔治

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Show Notes for Learn Chinese with Peppa Pig Season 01 Episode 46 Part 2

wǒmen lái wánr zhège shātānqiú ba
我们 来 玩儿 这个 沙滩球 吧
Let’s play this beach ball!

• 我们 = wǒmen, we
• 来 = lái, to come. 
• 玩 = wán, to play.
• 这个 = zhèigè, this
• 沙滩 = shātān, sand beach
• 球 = qiú, ball
• people + 来 + verb + 吧 is a common expression to suggest a group of people to do something. You can see similar usages in S01E51 Part 6 and S01E51 Part 5.

kànqǐlai néng wánr
看起来 能 玩儿
It looks like it is still good for playing. 

• 看 = kàn, to look
• 看起来 = kànqǐlai, it looks like. Check the deep dive post on 起来.
• 能 = néng, able to 
• Here Daddy Pig is surprised the beach ball is still bouncy. He described it as “能玩儿” even though technically the ball is not “able to play” but “can be (used for) playing”.
• This structure is pretty common in colloquial Chinese to express an object is usable or a method is viable. I would usually add a “还 = hái, still” before 能 to emphasize something is still usable.  You’d use the object + (还) 能 + verb, where the verb is the action you apply to use the object. I will give a few examples with fairly literal translations:
  • 这菜刀还能用 = zhè càidāo hái néng yòng. This cooking knife can still be used. (Probably an old knife.)
  • 这车还能开 = zhè chē hái néng kāi. This car can still be driven (Probably an old car, or a car that was recently in an accident)
  • 这饭还能吃 = zhè fàn hái néng chī. This food can still be eaten (This can be used in a few different scenarios depending on the context. It could mean the food has been in the fridge for a while or the food is edible even though the cook’s ability is questionable.) 
  • 这钱能挣 = zhè qián néng zhēng. The money can be made (this way). The interpretation of this is actually quite tricky. The emphasis is actually on the legitimacy of the method of making money. Say if you’re attempting to money off starving children, somebody would tell you that 这钱不能挣.

zhēnshi gè búcuò de shātān qiú
真是 个 不错 的 沙滩 球
What a good beach ball!

• 真是 = zhēnshi, indeed, used in exclamation, also see S01E04 Part 2
• 个 = gè, the measure word for a ball, the measure word for a ball, and many things. If you’re not sure what measure words to use, just use 个. Typically you add the count before the measure word but when it’s one you can omit the ”一”.
• 不错的 = búcuò, literally “not incorrect” but it means decent/pretty good
• You can say 真是个不错的主意 = zhēnshi gè bùcuò de zhǔyì, what a good idea. 
• You may often hear somebody use “真不错” to comment on something is good, usually in the sense that it’s a pleasant surprise. Using my recent real life example, my travel cancellation insurance actually paid out, my mom commented ”真不错”.

qiáozhì, nǐ lái rēng qiú, ránhòu wǒ lái zhuī tā ba
乔治 ， 你 来 扔 球 ， 然后 我 来 追 它 吧
Geroge, how about you throw the ball, and then I chase after it?

• 乔治 = qiáozhì, George Pig
• 你 = nǐ, you
• 扔 = rēng, to throw
• 然后 = ránhòu, and then
• 我 = wǒ, I
• 追 = zhuī, to chase after
• 它 = tā, it
• Note that you see 来…吧 sentence structure again. This is a bit more complicated than the earlier sentence, but the underlying structure is exactly the same. 

qiáozhì, jiēzhù lóu
乔治 ， 接住 喽
George, catch it! 

• 接 = jiē, to receive / to catch
• 接住 = jiēzhù, to catch and hold

ò, zāogāo, qiáozhì tài xiǎo le jiē búzhù qiú
哦 ， 糟糕 ， 乔治 太 小 了 接 不住 球
Oh no, George is too small to catch the ball

• 哦，糟糕 = ò, zāogāo. Oh no! I’d say the use of “哦” here sounds foreign. You can use ”糟糕” on its own.
• 太 = tài, excessively
  小 = xiǎo, small
• 太 + adjective +了 太 + adjective + 了 is a super commonly used structure, you can practically use it for any adjective. See more examples here S01E51 Part 1 and S01E09 Part 5
• 接不住 = jiē búzhù, couldn’t not catch. This is similar to how 看到 = kànjiàn is saw, and 看不到 is didn’t see, you can find their usages in S01E09 Part 2 and S01E09 Part 3

méishì de, qiáozhì
没事 的 ， 乔治
It’s alright, Geroge.

• 没事（的) = méishì (de), alright. Dropping 的 would be totally okay.