名词
Nouns

第一级你就说“我是学生”，第三级你说“一本书”“三张桌子”，第六级你说“中国的文化”。“学生、书、桌子、文化”这些词都在做同一件事——给一个人、一样东西、一个想法起名字。这样的词叫名词。你从来没有说过“很书”，也没有说过“桌子过”，可是没有人教过你不要这么说。这一课就是把你已经守着的那条规则写下来。

In level 1 you said 我是学生; in level 3, 一本书 and 三张桌子; in level 6, 中国的文化. 学生, 书, 桌子, 文化 are all doing one job — naming a person, a thing, an idea. Such a word is a 名词. You have never once said 很书 or 桌子过, and nobody ever told you not to. This lesson simply writes down the rule you have been keeping all along.

这是从意思上说的，方便，可是不够可靠：“休息”也是一件事，它却是动词。所以我们还要两条从用法上说的规则。

That is the meaning-based definition. It is handy but not safe: 休息 also names a kind of event, yet it is a verb. So we need two more rules, stated from behaviour instead.

要用这条规则，别忘了量词：不说“三书”，要说“三本书”。有两种名词平常不数：专有名词（北京、李明）本来只有一个，抽象名词（文化、历史）也不好数。它们仍然是名词，因为别的规则都合。

To use this test, remember the classifier: not 三书 but 三本书. Two kinds of noun are not normally counted — proper nouns (北京, 李明), because there is only one, and abstract nouns (文化, 历史). They are still nouns, because every other test comes out right.

这两条一起用，就能把名词跟形容词、动词分开：“很高兴”能说，所以“高兴”不是名词；“吃过”能说，所以“吃”不是名词。要小心一个地方：“春天了！”里的“了”是句尾的“了”，说的是天气变了，不是给名词加动词记号。

Use the two together and nouns fall away from adjectives and verbs: 很高兴 is fine, so 高兴 is no noun; 吃过 is fine, so 吃 is no noun. One thing to watch: the 了 of 春天了 is the sentence-final 了 you met in level 4 — it reports a change in the weather, and it is not a verb marker pinned on a noun.

分这三种，是为了说明方便，不是又立了三条规则。“书”“老师”这样的普通名词最多；专有名词写拼音的时候要大写，前边一般不加数量短语；抽象名词看不见摸不着，可是照样能说“一个办法”“三种意见”。三种都是名词，因为上面两条用法规则，它们都合。

Splitting nouns three ways is a convenience for talking about them, not three more rules. Common nouns like 书 and 老师 are the great majority; proper nouns take a capital letter in pinyin and rarely take a number-and-classifier phrase; abstract nouns cannot be pointed at, yet 一个办法 and 三种意见 are perfectly ordinary. All three are nouns, because both behaviour tests above come out the same for each.