VCE Chinese Language Culture Society flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

您 versus 你

您 is the polite second-person pronoun used with elders, superiors or strangers; 你 is the everyday informal form used with peers, friends and family.

Face (面子)

A person's social reputation and dignity in Chinese interaction. Giving face raises someone's standing; causing someone to lose face damages relationships and may require repair.

Indirect refusal

A polite way of declining, using hedges such as 我再考虑一下, 看看吧 or 有点难 instead of a blunt 不行. It protects the other person's face.

Self-lowering honorifics

Humble terms speakers use for themselves or their own group, such as 家父 (my father), 敝校 (my school) and 寒舍 (my home), which elevate the listener by contrast.

Compliment deflection

The customary response to praise, using 哪里哪里, 过奖了 or 还行吧 to show modesty. Direct acceptance with 谢谢 is increasingly common among younger speakers.

Address term 老/小 + surname

Prefixing 老 (old) or 小 (young) to a surname, as in 老王 or 小李, signals familiarity and peer closeness rather than literal age in many workplace settings.

Gift-offering formula

Phrases such as 一点小意思 or 不成敬意 downgrade a gift's value as a politeness ritual; the recipient may refuse twice before accepting.

Active listenership markers

Short responses such as 对啊对啊, 是吗 and 真的吗 show the listener is engaged. Overlapping speech with these markers often signals interest, not rudeness.

Discourse markers for structure

Words like 首先, 其次, 最后 sequence points; 然而 and 但是 signal contrast; 因此 and 所以 mark consequence; 总之 introduces a summary.

Semantic radicals

Meaning-bearing components of characters: 氵 relates to water, 讠 to speech, 忄 to emotion, 疒 to illness, 钅 to metal, 木 to wood. They help infer unfamiliar words.

Evaluative adverbs

Adverbs revealing the writer's stance: 竟然 and 居然 convey surprise or disapproval; 幸亏 and 好在 convey relief; 恐怕 and 未必 convey hedged doubt.

Cheng-yu in context

Four-character set phrases, usually evaluative or summarising. Their literal gloss often misleads, so readers should judge their function from the surrounding clause.

Ellipsis of subject

Chinese frequently omits subject and object when recoverable. Readers track the most recent plausible referent across clauses to identify who performs each action.

Rhetorical question 难道…吗

A construction expecting no answer, used to challenge or emphasise a point. It often signals irony or strong stance in argumentative and satirical texts.

Letter closing conventions

Formal letters end with 此致 followed by 敬礼 on a new line; personal letters use wishes such as 祝身体健康 or 祝好, reflecting the relationship's register.

Notice versus advertisement

A 通知 states official information with date, recipient and issuer; an 广告 promotes a product using persuasive slogans and prices. Layout and purpose distinguish them quickly.

两 versus 二

Both mean two. 两 is used before measure words (两个人, 两本书); 二 appears in counting, ordinals, dates and larger numbers (第二, 二月, 二十).

Essay three-part structure

A Chinese argumentative essay uses 引言 to state the thesis, 本论 for two or three supported points, and 结论 to restate and extend the position.

Written register lexis

Formal writing prefers 因此, 此外, 综上所述, 日益 and 显著. Colloquial items such as 挺, 特别 and 差不多 are avoided in academic essays.

Persuasive devices

Common argumentative techniques include 举例 (examples), 对比 (contrast), 引用 (quotation), 数据 (statistics) and 反问 (rhetorical questions) to strengthen a claim.

Speech signposting

Oral presentations open with 大家好 and 今天我演讲的题目是…, then use 首先, 其次 and 最后 so listeners can follow the structure without rereading.

Measure word agreement

Nouns pair with specific measure words: 一位老师, 一封邮件, 一场比赛, 一篇作文, 一项政策. Incorrect pairing is treated as a clear language error.

Cohesive linking phrases

Phrases such as 不仅如此, 与此同时, 相比之下, 由此可见 and 换言之 connect paragraphs explicitly and signal addition, simultaneity, contrast, inference and restatement.

Summary writing rules

Retain the main claim and key supporting evidence; delete examples, repetition and decoration; preserve the original stance and register without adding personal opinion.

Chinese punctuation

、 separates listed items, ， separates clauses, 。 ends sentences, “” or 「」 mark quotations, and -- introduces explanation or emphasis in written Chinese.

Mandarin four tones

Mandarin distinguishes syllables by tone: mā (mother, high level), má (hemp, rising), mǎ (horse, falling-rising), mà (scold, falling), plus a neutral tone.

Aspect particles 了/过/着

These mark aspect rather than tense: 了 for completed action, 过 for past experience, 着 for an ongoing state, independent of when the event occurs.

把 and 被 constructions

把 fronts a definite object before the verb (我把书看完了); 被 marks passive voice (书被他看完了). Both require the verb to carry a result or complement.

Simplified versus traditional

Simplified characters are standard in mainland China and Singapore; traditional characters are used in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Texts may require recognising both forms.

Festival foods

Spring Festival features 饺子 and 年糕; Lantern Festival has 汤圆; Dragon Boat Festival has 粽子; Mid-Autumn Festival has 月饼. Foods carry reunion and auspicious meanings.

Confucian core values

孝 (filial piety), 礼 (propriety), 仁 (benevolence), 关系 (relationships) and 和谐 (harmony) underpin expectations about family duty, respect and social order in Chinese societies.

Kinship specificity

Chinese distinguishes side and age: 哥哥/弟弟 for older/younger brother, 姐姐/妹妹 for sisters, 伯伯/叔叔 for father's older/younger brother, unlike English 'brother' or 'uncle'.