lesson 3 — a
Here are some Chinese words that use the sounds above:
1. cha = tea. 2. Fan = rice or “a meal.” 4. mian = noodles. 5. cai = vegetables 6. mian bao = bread
I recommend that you now create your own Chinese dictionary. One way is to take a notebook, and write the letters A through Z on 26 different pages. On the cover, write “English/Chinese Dictionary.” Then, if there are enough pages left, write A through Z again starting at the back, and on the back cover, write “Chinese/English dictionary.” In the Chinese dictionary part, you will not need to include the letters i, o, and u, because there are not any Chinese words that start with those letters.
Begin by turning to the page for “t” in the English section, and write the word “tea,” then on the right side of the page write “cha.” In the Chinese section, turn to the page for “c” and write :”cha,” then at its right write “tea.” Continue in this way for all 6 of the words introduced above.
PRINT AND ASK A CHINESE SPEAKER TO READ FOR YOU:: All these examples include the sound “a”
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Please read this for me, OK? 请帮我读,好吗? 請幫我`讀好嗎
| Simplified characters 简体字 | Traditional char 繁體字 | Pinyin spelling | English meaning |
| 茶杯 | 茶杯 | Cha bei | Tea cup |
| 茶带 | 茶帶 | Cha dai | Tea bag |
| 泡茶 | 泡茶 | Pao cha | Brew tea |
| 白饭 | 白飯 | Bai fan | White rice |
| 八杯茶 | 八杯茶 | Ba bei cha | Eight cups tea |
| 三碗面 | 三碗麵 | San wan mian | Three bowls noodles |
| 要爱妈妈 | 要愛媽媽 | Yao ai ma ma | Should love mother |
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Now here are some more words for your dictionary: (optional)
7. dai (pronounced “dye”) = bag 8. ba = eight. 9. bei (pronounceed A, as in “eight.”) = cup. 10. pao = brew, like pouring hot water onto tea\
11. bai (pronounced “bye”) = white. 12. san = three. 13. wan = bowl. 14. yao = want 15. ai (pronounced I) = love 16. mama = mama