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💻 会 (huì) & 一点儿 (yī diǎn er) - Abilities and Technology

Master expressing abilities with 会, use 一点儿 for small degrees, and learn essential technology vocabulary for modern life

Chinese lesson from Tuesday, June 10, 2025

📚 Part A - Essential Learning

Master expressing abilities and small degrees. This section covers everything you need for talking about skills, technology, and varying levels of competence.

Perfect for beginners and essential concepts

📚 Key Phrase: 我的网卡吗？ (wǒ de wǎng kǎ ma?)

📖

Grammar Focus

💪 会 (huì) - Can/Know How To
会 expresses learned abilities and skills. It's different from 能 (can/able to) - 会 means you know how to do something!
Ability pattern: Subject + 会 + Verb + Object
• 我会说中文 (wǒ huì shuō zhōng wén) - I can speak Chinese
• 你会修电脑吗？(nǐ huì xiū diàn nǎo ma?) - Can you fix computers?
• 她会编程 (tā huì biān chéng) - She can program
• 我们会写汉字 (wǒ men huì xiě hàn zì) - We can write Chinese characters
你妈妈会说中文吗？
nǐ mā ma huì shuō zhōng wén ma?
Can your mom speak Chinese?
📏 一点儿 (yī diǎnr) - A Little Bit
一点儿 expresses a small degree or amount. It can be used with adjectives, verbs, or to modify abilities!
Degree patterns:
• 会 + 一点儿 + Verb - 我会一点儿编程 (wǒ huì yī diǎnr biān chéng) (I can program a little)
• Adjective + 一点儿 - 有一点儿卡 (yǒu yī diǎnr kǎ) (a little slow)
• 一点儿 + 也不 + Verb - 一点儿也不会 (yī diǎnr yě bù huì) (can't at all)
我会说一点儿汉语
wǒ huì shuō yī diǎnr hàn yǔ
I can speak a little Chinese
💻 Technology Vocabulary
Modern Chinese includes many technology terms. Some are borrowed from English, others are uniquely Chinese!
Tech vocabulary:
• 网 (wǎng) - internet/network
• 网卡 (wǎng kǎ) - network card
• 电脑 (diàn nǎo) - computer
• 编程 (biān chéng) - programming
• 科技 (kē jì) - technology
你的网有一点儿卡
nǐ de wǎng yǒu yī diǎnr kǎ
Your internet is a little slow
我的网卡吗？
wǒ de wǎng kǎ ma?
My network card?
¿Mi tarjeta de red?

词汇 Vocabulary Practice

Practice writing the phrases from today's Chinese lesson!

我的网卡吗？
wǒ de wǎng kǎ ma?
English:
My network card?
Español:
¿Mi tarjeta de red?
科技卡脖子
kē jì qiā bó zi
English:
Technology is choking us
Español:
La tecnología nos asfixia
你的网有一点卡
nǐ de wǎng yǒu yī diǎn kǎ
English:
Your internet is a bit slow
Español:
Tu internet está un poco lento
我也刚起床
wǒ yě gāng qǐ chuáng
English:
I also just woke up
Español:
Yo también acabo de levantarme
你妈妈会说中文吗？
nǐ mā ma huì shuō zhōng wén ma?
English:
Can your mom speak Chinese?
Español:
¿Tu mamá sabe hablar chino?
我妈妈会说西班牙语
wǒ mā ma huì shuō xī bān yá yǔ
English:
My mom can speak Spanish
Español:
Mi mamá sabe hablar español
我会说一点儿汉语
wǒ huì shuō yī diǎnr hàn yǔ
English:
I can speak a little Chinese
Español:
Sé hablar un poco de chino
你会说法语吗？
nǐ huì shuō fǎ yǔ ma?
English:
Can you speak French?
Español:
¿Sabes hablar francés?
你会修电脑吗？
nǐ huì xiū diàn nǎo ma?
English:
Can you fix computers?
Español:
¿Sabes arreglar computadoras?
你会修车吗？
nǐ huì xiū chē ma?
English:
Can you fix cars?
Español:
¿Sabes arreglar carros?
你会编程吗？
nǐ huì biān chéng ma?
English:
Can you program?
Español:
¿Sabes programar?
我会一点儿编程
wǒ huì yī diǎnr biān chéng
English:
I can program a little
Español:
Sé un poco de programación
你会写汉字吗？
nǐ huì xiě hàn zì ma?
English:
Can you write Chinese characters?
Español:
¿Sabes escribir caracteres chinos?
我会写汉字
wǒ huì xiě hàn zì
English:
I can write Chinese characters
Español:
Sé escribir caracteres chinos
你的网有一点儿卡
nǐ de wǎng yǒu yī diǎnr kǎ
English:
Your internet is a little slow
Español:
Tu internet está un poquito lento
这个词怎么写？
zhè ge cí zěn me xiě?
English:
How do you write this word?
Español:
¿Cómo se escribe esta palabra?
这个字怎么写？
zhè ge zì zěn me xiě?
English:
How do you write this character?
Español:
¿Cómo se escribe este carácter?
不好意思，我不会写这个词
bù hǎo yì si, wǒ bù huì xiě zhè ge cí
English:
Sorry, I can't write this word
Español:
Lo siento, no sé escribir esta palabra
不好意思，我不会写这个字
bù hǎo yì si, wǒ bù huì xiě zhè ge zì
English:
Sorry, I can't write this character
Español:
Lo siento, no sé escribir este carácter
我一点儿也不会
wǒ yī diǎnr yě bù huì
English:
I can't do it at all
Español:
No sé nada en absoluto

文化 Cultural Insights

💻 Technology has become deeply integrated into Chinese daily life, and tech vocabulary evolves rapidly. The verb 卡 (kǎ) originally meant 'stuck' but now commonly describes slow internet or laggy computers. Chinese people are very direct about their abilities - saying 我一点儿也不会 (I don't know at all) is perfectly acceptable and not considered rude. In Chinese culture, being modest about your skills is valued, so people often say 会一点儿 (I know a little) even when they're quite skilled. The phrase 科技卡脖子 reflects a modern concern about technology dependency that's common worldwide!

🎯 Part B - Advanced Practice

Ready to master abilities and technology talk? This section includes immersive reading practice about tech troubles, cultural insights into Chinese attitudes toward technology, and hands-on exercises with ability expressions and degree modifiers.

For students ready to dive deeper

📖 Reading Practice

📱 小李的技术问题 - Xiao Li's Tech Problems

Xiǎo Lǐ gāng qǐ chuáng, kě shì tā de diàn nǎo yǒu wèn tí.
小李刚起床，可是他的电脑有问题。
Tā de wǎng yǒu yī diǎnr kǎ, bù néng shàng wǎng.
他的网有一点儿卡，不能上网。
Tā wèn péng yǒu: "Nǐ huì xiū diàn nǎo ma?"
他问朋友："你会修电脑吗？"
Péng yǒu shuō: "Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ yī diǎnr yě bù huì."
朋友说："不好意思，我一点儿也不会。"
"Dàn shì wǒ mā ma huì! Tā huì xiū hěn duō dōng xi."
"但是我妈妈会！她会修很多东西。"
Xiǎo Lǐ hěn gāo xìng: "Zhēn de ma? Tā huì biān chéng ma?"
小李很高兴："真的吗？她会编程吗？"
"Huì yī diǎnr. Tā hái huì shuō sān zhǒng yǔ yán!"
"会一点儿。她还会说三种语言！"
"Tài bàng le! Wǒ zhǐ huì shuō zhōng wén hé yīng yǔ."
"太棒了！我只会说中文和英语。"
Kě shì kē jì yǒu shí hou zhēn de hěn má fan.
可是科技有时候真的很麻烦。
Zuì hòu, tā men fā xiàn zhǐ shì wǎng xiàn méi yǒu chā hǎo!
最后，他们发现只是网线没有插好！

📝 Vocabulary from this reading:

问题
wèn tí
Problem, issue
上网
shàng wǎng
Go online, surf the internet
语言
yǔ yán
Language
麻烦
má fan
Troublesome, annoying
发现
fā xiàn
Discover, find out
网线
wǎng xiàn
Network cable
插好
chā hǎo
Plug in properly

📚 Additional Learning Content

🗣️ Language Names in Chinese
Learn how to say different languages in Chinese - essential for international communication!
Language vocabulary:
• 中文/汉语 (zhōng wén/hàn yǔ) - Chinese
• 英语 (yīng yǔ) - English
• 西班牙语 (xī bān yá yǔ) - Spanish
• 法语 (fǎ yǔ) - French
• 日语 (rì yǔ) - Japanese
• 德语 (dé yǔ) - German
• 俄语 (é yǔ) - Russian
🔧 Repair and Fix Vocabulary
Essential verbs for talking about fixing and repairing things in daily life.
Repair vocabulary:
• 修 (xiū) - fix/repair
• 修电脑 (xiū diàn nǎo) - fix computers
• 修车 (xiū chē) - fix cars
• 修手机 (xiū shǒu jī) - fix phones
• 修理 (xiū lǐ) - repair (noun/verb)
• 坏了 (huài le) - broken
💻 Modern Tech Slang
Understanding how Chinese speakers talk about technology in daily life.
Tech slang:
• 卡 (kǎ) - slow/laggy (originally 'stuck')
• 网速 (wǎng sù) - internet speed
• 死机 (sǐ jī) - computer crash
• 重启 (chóng qǐ) - restart
• 黑屏 (hēi píng) - black screen
• 蓝屏 (lán píng) - blue screen

作业 Homework & Practice

📝 Homework for next class:

1. 💪 Ability Practice: Create 8 sentences using 会 (huì) about different skills you have

2. 📏 Degree Expressions: Practice using 一点儿 (yī diǎnr) in 6 different ways (with verbs, adjectives, negatives)

3. 💻 Tech Vocabulary: Describe your tech setup using new vocabulary (网 (wǎng), 电脑 (diàn nǎo), 编程 (biān chéng), etc.)

4. 🗣️ Language Skills: Ask 5 people about language abilities using 会说...吗？(huì shuō...ma?)

5. ❓ How-to Questions: Create 6 questions using 怎么 (zěn me) about writing, speaking, or doing things

💡 Real-life Challenge: Find one tech problem you have and describe it using Chinese vocabulary from today's class!

Practice Checklist:

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