WACE Chinese: Second Language ATAR flashcards

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

Listening: gist vs detail

First listening pass identifies topic, speakers, setting and purpose; second pass captures numbers, times, reasons and stated opinions. Answer detail items only after gist is fixed.

两 versus 二

Use 两 before measure words and in counting pairs (两个人, 两点, 两本书). Use 二 in numbers, dates and ordinals (二十, 二月, 第二). Mixing them is a common oral error.

多 as approximate number

Placed after a round number plus measure word, 多 means 'more than': 三十多岁 (in his thirties), 十多个 (more than ten). Placed before the number it is incorrect.

Tone sandhi: 不 and 一

Both change to second tone before a fourth tone: 不是 bú shì, 一个 yí ge, 不去 bú qù. Before other tones 不 stays fourth and 一 becomes fourth (一天 yì tiān).

Conversational repair phrases

Formulas that keep an exchange going: 请再说一遍 (please repeat), 您的意思是…吗 (do you mean), 我换个说法 (let me rephrase). They demonstrate interaction strategies in speaking tasks.

Formal versus informal address

您, 请问, 麻烦你 and surname-plus-title mark formal or service register; 你, 喂 and given names mark peer register. Consistent register across an exchange is assessed.

Speaking criteria components

Oral assessment typically separates pronunciation and intonation, vocabulary range, grammatical accuracy, fluency and coherence, and content fulfilment. Each criterion needs independent evidence in a response.

Hedged opinion markers

我觉得…吧, 可能, 说不定 and 也许 soften a claim; 一定, 肯定 and 绝对 mark certainty. Listening items about speaker attitude depend on distinguishing these levels.

Skimming sequence for reading

Read the title, the first sentence of each paragraph and the closing sentence first. This establishes topic, structure and writer purpose before detail questions are attempted.

因为…所以 pattern

A cause–effect frame: the clause after 因为 gives the reason, the clause after 所以 gives the result. Either half can be omitted, but the remaining half still signals the relation.

虽然…但是 pattern

A concession frame: 虽然 introduces an admitted fact, 但是 introduces the contrasting main point. Both halves normally appear in formal writing; 但是 cannot pair with 因为.

只有…才 pattern

Marks an exclusive condition: only if the 只有 clause holds does the 才 clause follow. It is stronger than 如果…就, which allows other routes to the result.

Zero anaphora in Chinese

Chinese often omits a subject once established. The reader must track the most recently salient noun phrase; misassigning an omitted subject is a frequent comprehension error.

通知 text features

A notice states 标题, 时间, 地点, 内容, 发出者 and 日期. Reading items ask who must act, by when, and where; all four details are usually explicit.

Inference item rule

The correct answer to an inference question is supported by explicit textual evidence. Options requiring outside knowledge or contradicting a stated detail are distractors.

Radicals as meaning cues

The radical narrows a character's meaning field: 氵 water, 讠 speech, 忄 emotion, 扌 hand action, 木 wood. The remaining component often hints at pronunciation.

Context definitions in text

Writers gloss unfamiliar terms with apposition (…，也就是…), examples (比如, 例如) or negation (不…). These structures supply meaning without a dictionary.

日记 structure

A diary entry opens with date and weather, narrates events in time order, and closes with personal reflection or feeling. First-person voice and past-time markers dominate.

书信 structure

A letter contains 称呼 (addressee), body paragraphs, 祝语 (closing wishes), 署名 (signature) and 日期. Formal letters use 尊敬的; informal letters use 亲爱的 or given names.

Aspect markers 了, 过, 着

了 marks completion or changed state, 过 marks past experience, 着 marks a continuing state. Omitting them leaves narrative time ambiguous in written production.

的, 地, 得 distinction

的 links a modifier to a noun (我的书), 地 links an adverbial to a verb (慢慢地走), 得 links a verb to its complement (跑得快). Confusing them is a frequent written error.

Sequencing connectives

首先, 然后, 接着, 最后 order events; 因此 and 所以 mark result; 然而 and 可是 mark contrast; 总之 and 总的来说 close an argument. They raise coherence scores in writing.

Chinese punctuation conventions

Chinese text uses full-width marks ，。？！：； and quotation marks “ ”. English commas and periods inside Chinese sentences are treated as punctuation errors in written tasks.

Measure word matching

Nouns select classifiers: 个 general, 位 people politely, 本 books, 张 flat objects, 件 matters or clothing, 条 long objects, 次 occurrences. Wrong classifiers reduce grammatical accuracy.

Time and place before verb

Chinese word order places time and place phrases before the verb: 我昨天在学校看见他. Placing them after the verb copies English order and is marked as an error.

把 construction

把 moves a definite object before the verb to show disposal or result: 把书放在桌子上, 把作业做完了. The verb must carry a complement or particle; a bare verb is ungrammatical.

被 passive

被 marks a passive with an optional agent: 他被老师批评了. The verb usually takes a result complement or 了; 被 sentences typically describe something undesirable or completed.

是…的 emphasis

This frame highlights time, place or manner of a completed event: 我是昨天来的 (it was yesterday I came). It is not a general past tense marker.

Comparison structures

比 compares (A 比 B 大), 没有 states inequality (A 没有 B 那么高), 跟…一样 states equality, 越来越 marks increase over time. 比 never takes 很 before the adjective.

Chinese festival vocabulary

春节 pairs with 拜年, 红包, 饺子; 中秋节 with 月饼 and 团圆; 端午节 with 粽子 and 龙舟; 清明节 with 扫墓. Each festival carries its own lexical set.

Simplified versus traditional characters

Mainland China uses simplified forms (国, 学); Taiwan, Hong Kong and many diaspora communities use traditional forms (國, 學). Recognising both is part of cultural and language knowledge.

Indirect refusal strategies

Direct refusal risks loss of face. Softeners include 可能不太方便, 我再想想, 下次吧. Recognising indirect refusal is tested in listening and cultural-understanding items.