Level 4 · Lesson 14

别忘了！
Don't forget!

别着急，别迟到，别忘了带书。我们去公园吧！

别 and 不要 tell someone not to do something; 吧 turns an order into a suggestion.

听 · Listen

明天有考试
 李明 —  明天有考试，我很着急。 
There's an exam tomorrow. I'm really anxious.  
 安娜 —  别着急，你已经学了很多。 
Don't worry — you've already learnt a lot.  
 李明 —  我不看电视了，我要学习。 
I'm not watching TV any more; I'm going to study.  
 安娜 —  明天别迟到，老师会生气。 
Don't be late tomorrow — the teacher will be annoyed.  
 李明 —  我不会迟到。 
I won't be late.  
 安娜 —  也别忘了带书。 
And don't forget to bring your book.  
 李明 —  好吧。考试以后我们去哪儿？ 
All right. Where shall we go after the exam?  
 安娜 —  我们去公园吧！ 
Let's go to the park!  

讲解 · Explanation

别着急。不要着急。

To tell someone not to do something, put 别 in front of the verb: 别着急 (bié zháojí), 别迟到 (bié chídào), 别抽烟 (bié chōuyān). 不要 says exactly the same thing in a fuller, slightly firmer voice — signs and parents prefer 不要, friends say 别. Careful with this 不要: it is a prohibition aimed at the listener, not the negative of 要 'intend'. For that, last lesson's 不想 is the word you want.

别忘了带书。

When you warn someone against something that might happen, a 了 closes the warning: 别忘了 (bié wàng le), 别喝多了 (bié hē duō le). It is not a past marker here — nothing has happened yet. Read it le, light and short, never liǎo. 别忘了 is the single most useful phrase in this lesson: 别忘了带书, 别忘了吃饭 (bié wàng le chī fàn).

我们去公园吧！

吧 at the end of a sentence takes the edge off it. With 我们 it makes a suggestion — 我们去公园吧 'let's go to the park'. With 你 it softens an order into an invitation — 你休息吧 (nǐ xiūxi ba) 'why don't you rest'. On its own, 好吧 is 'all right then', agreeing with a small sigh. 吧 is neutral tone, so it never carries a tone mark.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
别	don't	spoken form: 别着急！
不要	don't	fuller form of 别; on signs and notices
吧	particle: let's, why don't you	neutral tone, always sentence-final
生气	to get angry	老师会生气
着急	to be anxious, be in a hurry	着 is read zháo here, not zhe
考试	exam; to sit an exam	明天有考试

练习 · Practice

你的朋友很着急。 Tell your friend not to worry, in the everyday spoken way.

我们去公园 ______ ！ You are suggesting it, not asking about it.

______ 忘了带书！ Fill in the one-syllable spoken 'don't'.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Don't be late tomorrow.'

别、不要、吧、生气、着急 Match each word to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

别着急！别忘了！我们去公园吧！

Say four 别 sentences aloud to an imaginary friend who is late for an exam: 别着急，别迟到，别忘了带书，别生气. Then make three suggestions with 吧 for what the two of you will do afterwards — 我们去公园吧，我们吃饭吧，我们休息吧 — and hear how much friendlier they sound than the same sentences without it.