Level 7 · Lesson 3

词性
Parts of speech

汉语的词不会变样子，词性要看位置和用法。

With no endings to go by, a Chinese word shows its class by where it stands and what can attach to it.

读 · Read

英语里，teach 和 teacher 长得不一样，一看就知道谁是谁。汉语没有这种办法：“工作”永远是“工作”，一个样子。“他在银行工作”里，工作是做的事；“我有工作”里，工作是你有的东西。字没变，音没变，可是两句话里的“工作”不是一类。那我们怎么分？看它站在哪儿，看它前后能跟什么。

In English, teach and teacher look different and you can tell them apart at a glance. Chinese has no such device: 工作 is always 工作, one shape. In 他在银行工作 it is something you do; in 我有工作 it is something you have. Not a stroke has changed, not a sound — yet the two are not the same class of word. So how do we tell? By where the word stands, and by what may stand next to it.

讲解 · Explanation

拿三个你早就会的词来试：书、忙、喝。前面加“很”：很忙可以，很书不行，很喝也不行。前面加“三本”：三本书可以，三本忙不行。后面加一个东西：喝茶可以，书茶不行。三个词，三种表现——所以它们是三类词。这个“类”，就叫词性。

Take three words you have known for months: 书, 忙, 喝. Put 很 in front: 很忙 works, 很书 and 很喝 do not. Put 三本 in front: 三本书 works, 三本忙 does not. Put a thing after: 喝茶 works, 书茶 does not. Three words, three behaviours — three classes. That class membership is what 词性 means.

每一类词都有自己的特点和自己的用法，学会了一个，就等于学会了一大批。你知道“书”能说“三本书”，你就知道“笔”“杂志”“词典”也能这样说，因为它们是一类。分类不是为了好看，是为了让你少记东西。

Each class has its own features and its own usage, so learning one member teaches you a whole batch. Once you know that 书 goes with 三本, you know 笔, 杂志 and 词典 do too, because they belong together. Classification is not decoration — it is there so that you have less to memorise.

回到“工作”。它有两种词性，不是因为它变了样子，而是因为它站在了两个不同的位置。这样的词汉语里不少：“学习”也一样——“我学习汉语”和“他的学习很好”。所以问一个词是什么词性，一定要连着句子问，不能只看词本身。这些类都有名字，第九级和第十级会一个一个地讲。

Back to 工作. It has two word classes not because it changed shape but because it stood in two different places. Chinese has plenty of these: 学习 behaves the same way in 我学习汉语 and 他的学习很好. So never ask what class a word is without a sentence around it. Each class has a name, and levels 9 and 10 will take them one at a time.

规则 · The rules

汉语的词不会变样子，所以词性要看它能站在哪儿、能跟什么词一起用。

规则 1

“很忙”可以说，“很书”不能说；“三本书”可以说，“三本忙”不能说。

You can say 很忙 but not 很书; you can say 三本书 but not 三本忙. The word never changes — only the company it keeps.

问词性要连着句子问：同一个词站在不同的位置，词性可以不同。

规则 2

“他在银行工作”和“我有工作”里的“工作”，样子一样，词性不一样。

The 工作 of 他在银行工作 and the 工作 of 我有工作 are written alike and said alike, and belong to two classes. A word out of its sentence has no class to report.

生词 · Vocabulary

词	Meaning	注 · Note
词性	part of speech, word class	问词性要连着句子问
分类	to classify; classification	给词分类
用法	usage, the way a word is used	这个词有两种用法
特点	distinguishing feature	每一类词都有自己的特点
位置	position, place	词在句子里的位置

练习 · Practice

下面哪一个可以说？ Which of these is possible Chinese?

“他在银行工作”和“我有工作”里的“工作”： The 工作 in 他在银行工作 and in 我有工作 —

“三本 ________”可以说，“三本忙”不能说。 Fill in a word that 三本 can count.

排一排。 Arrange the words: 'Word class depends on position.'

词性、分类、用法、特点、位置 Match each term to its meaning.

用一用 · Use it

拿五个你熟的词：茶、看、高兴、朋友、快。给每一个做两个小测试——前面能不能加“很”？前面能不能加“三个”？然后把它们分成几堆。你分出来的堆，就是词性；名字以后再给。

Take five familiar words: 茶, 看, 高兴, 朋友, 快. Run two small tests on each — can 很 go in front? can 三个 go in front? — and sort them into piles. The piles you end up with are the word classes. The names for them can wait.