Just like every dish needs the right spices to really bring out the flavor, so too does your Chinese. These phrases will help you to make your Chinese sound much more "flavorful", so let's get started with today's lesson!
雖然- even though；often used in conjunction with 但是
suī rán dàn shì
他雖然來美國十年了，但是還不敢講英文。
tā suī rán lái měi guó shí nián le ，dàn shì hái bù gǎn jiǎng yīng wén 。
Even though he's been in America for ten years, he still isn't confident speaking English.
其實- actually
qí shí
我的室友是牙醫。奇怪是他的牙齒其實不太好。
wǒ de shì yǒu shì yá yī 。qí guài shì tā de yá chǐ qí shí bù tài hǎo 。
My roommate is a dentist. The weird thing is, his teeth are actually pretty bad.
實在- really
shí zài
最近我們茶點生意特別好，我實在不敢相信了啦！
zuì jìn wǒ men chá diǎn shēng yì tè bié hǎo ，wǒ shí zài bù gǎn xiàng xìn le lā ！
Recently, our tea store's business has been so good, I really can't believe it!
不但。。。也是- not only, but also
bù dàn ………..yě shì
我的師父不但厲害，也是謙虛的。
wǒ de shī fù bù dàn lì hài ，yě shì qiān xū de 。
My master isn't just really talented, he's also humble.
幾乎- nearly
jǐ hū
我的朋友幾乎都有小孩子了。
wǒ de péng yǒu jǐ hū dōu yǒu xiǎo hái zǐ le 。
Nearly all of my friends have kids now.
隨便- do as you wish
suí biàn
不要在路邊隨便玩。
bù yào zài lù biān suí biàn wán 。
Don't goof around by the road.
結果- result
jié guǒ
他說不想去看醫生，結果早上起來發現他死掉了。
tā shuō bù xiǎng qù kàn yī shēng ，jié guǒ zǎo shàng qǐ lái fā xiàn tā sǐ diào le 。
He said he didn't want to go to see a doctor; in the morning I discovered that he was dead.
而且- and also
ér qiě
那間房子很高，而且很豪華。
nà jiān fáng zǐ hěn gāo ，ér qiě hěn háo huá 。
That house is really tall, and also luxurious.
而已- that's all, only
ér yǐ
不要對你的姊姊太兇，他就是想跟你玩而已。
bù yào duì nǐ de zǐ zǐ tài xiōng ，tā jiù shì xiǎng gēn nǐ wán ér yǐ 。
Don't be too mean to your nephew, he just wants to play with you.
That's it for today, you have your new vocabulary and your examples, so start practicing owning them. Before you know it, your Chinese will taste much better!
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