Lesson 8 of Integrated Chinese in finally out, and it focuses on “School Life.”

Both sections of this lesson are “letters,” so we’ll focus on something a little less conversational this time: the verbs 希望 (xīwàng) and 祝 (zhù). To do this, we’ll take a queue from Chinese students of English.

When speaking with Chinese people in English, I frequently hear statements like, “I wish you will have a good time,” and “I hope I can win the lottery.” These sentences sound odd to speakers of English because our expectations are tied in to the verb form we use. Generally, we hope for the possible and wish for the (nearly) impossible. In everyday spoken Chinese, though, they tend to just use 希望 (xīwàng). That’s what makes it annoying for Chinese speakers to have to figure out which verb to use in English under which circumstances.

Ah, but surely the Chinese have a word for “wish!” Well, yes, they do. They actually have a special word for “wish” as in “wish you happiness” or “wish you a merry Christmas.” That verb is 祝 (zhù). Frequently this type of well-wishing starts off with “祝你…” (zhù nǐ…), meaning “wish you….” You will also Chinese people translating this directly into English as an awkward subject-less sentence , as in “wish you a happy weekend.”

Anyway, we hope you are keeping up in your studies, and we wish you all the best!

And for the rest of this lesson’s vocabulary, here is your new Lesson 8 vocabulary list PDF:

• IC Level 1, Lesson 8 Vocabulary

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-John Pasden