MATSEC SEC Chinese (Mandarin) flashcards

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

但是 / 可是 / 不过

Contrastive conjunctions meaning 'but, however'. In listening and reading, the speaker's real opinion usually follows one of these markers, so the answer to an opinion question sits after them.

先…然后…最后

Sequence markers meaning 'first… then… finally'. They establish the order of events, so questions asking what happened first or last are answered by tracking these words rather than by sentence length.

差点儿

Adverb meaning 'almost, nearly'. With an unwanted outcome it means it nearly happened; with a desired outcome it usually means it did not happen. A frequent listening trap.

一点儿也不

Pattern meaning 'not at all'. 一点儿 means 'a little' and 也不 negates it completely. Distinguish it from 有点儿, which means 'a bit' and usually carries a negative tone.

填空题 listening strategy

For gap-fill listening items, predict the word class from the blank: a verb needs an object, a time expression needs 在 or 从, and a number must match its classifier such as 个, 位 or 张.

第二个人回答

In two-speaker dialogues, the second speaker normally answers the first speaker's question. Answers to comprehension questions therefore usually belong to speaker B, not speaker A.

根据短文

Question stem meaning 'according to the passage'. It signals that the answer must be found inside the text, so outside knowledge and personal opinion are wrong even when they seem true.

主要讲什么

Stem asking for the main idea. The answer is usually carried by the first or last sentence of the paragraph, not by a detail in the middle.

Distractor: over-general word

Options containing 都, 总是, 一定, 所有 or 从来 are often wrong because they generalise beyond the passage. Correct options usually keep the passage's limited wording.

Radicals 氵 讠 忄 扌

Semantic components signalling meaning: 氵 water or liquid, 讠 speech and language, 忄 emotion and mind, 扌 hand action. They help guess an unknown word's meaning from context.

只有…才

Pattern meaning 'only if… then'. The condition after 只有 is necessary; the result after 才 follows from it. It often appears in notices and rules, where it marks a requirement.

通知类阅读要点

For notices and advertisements, the decisive details are date, time, place, price, and conditions such as 免费 for students only or 请提前报名. Scan for these before reading the questions.

书信格式

Chinese letter layout: 亲爱的… or 您好！ to open, body paragraphs, then 此致 敬礼 or 祝好, followed by the writer's name and date at the end.

看图写话结构

Picture-composition frame: 时间, 地点, 人物, 动作, 感受. Write one paragraph per stage so the composition has a clear beginning, middle and end.

叙事四要素

Narrative essentials: 时间 (time), 地点 (place), 人物 (people), 事情 (event), plus cause, process and result. Including all four in the opening sentence prevents an unclear composition.

标点占格规则

In grid paper each punctuation mark occupies one square: 。，？！： and quotation marks. A punctuation mark may not begin a line, so it is placed at the end of the previous line.

字数控制

The stated character minimum is a floor, not a target. Aim for roughly twenty percent above the minimum and always finish the ending, since an incomplete composition loses structure marks.

连接词 首先 接着 最后

Sequencing connectives placed at the start of a clause, followed by a comma. They raise coherence marks by making the order of ideas explicit to the reader.

了 vs 过

了 marks a completed action or a change of state; 过 marks past experience, that something has been done at least once. Both follow the verb, never precede it.

的 地 得

的 links a modifier to a noun (我的书); 地 turns an adverb before a verb (慢慢地走); 得 follows a verb to introduce a complement (跑得很快).

比 comparison

A 比 B + adjective, optionally with 一点儿, 得多 or 多了. The adjective after 比 never takes 很. Negation uses 没有 B 那么 + adjective.

把 construction

把 moves a definite object before the verb and requires a result or particle after it: 我把作业做完了. A bare verb directly after 把 is ungrammatical.

被 passive

被 marks passive voice and may be replaced by 让, 叫 or 给 in speech: 书被他拿走了. Like 把, it needs a result, particle or complement, not a bare verb.

二 vs 两

二 is used in counting, dates and numbers above ten; 两 is used before a classifier: 两个人, 两本书. Saying 二个人 is a common error.

会 能 可以

会 is learned ability; 能 is physical possibility or permission under conditions; 可以 is permission or feasibility. They overlap but are not interchangeable in exam items.

又 vs 再

又 describes a repeated action that has already happened; 再 describes one that will happen again in the future. Time reference decides which one is correct.

才 vs 就

才 stresses lateness or effort ('only then, as late as'); 就 stresses earliness or ease ('already, right away'). The pair contrasts expectation in the same sentence.

Phonetic components

Character components hinting pronunciation: 清 qīng, 请 qǐng, 情 qíng, 晴 qíng share the phonetic 青. Recognising it lets you guess the sound of an unfamiliar character.

Third-tone sandhi

Two third tones in sequence: the first becomes second tone in speech. 你好 nǐ hǎo is pronounced ní hǎo, and 很好 is pronounced hén hǎo.

Neutral tone

Some syllables lose their original tone and are pronounced light and short: the particles 了, 吗, 呢, 的, 得, and the second syllable of 谢谢, 妈妈.

zh ch sh vs z c s

Retroflex initials zh, ch, sh curl the tongue tip back; z, c, s are flat alveolar sounds. Mixing them changes words such as 四 sì and 是 shì.

请再说一遍

Interaction phrase meaning 'please say it again'. It is the standard repair strategy in the oral exam when a question is not understood, and it keeps the conversation in Chinese.