Lesson 8: Back to Work

Target Audio

Listen to the dialogue 5 times before moving on. Don’t try to understand everything — just let the sounds wash over you.

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Vocabulary

New words for this lesson. Hover over pinyin to see characters.

Pinyin	Meaning	Characters
JĪNTIĀN	today	今天
mínGTIĀN	tomorrow	明天
zuóTIĀN	yesterday	昨天
XĪNGQĪ	week	星期
TIĀN	day	天
shànGBĀN	to go to work	上班
xiàBĀN	to get off work	下班

Numbers:

Pinyin	Meaning	Characters
YĪ	one	一

Other:

Pinyin	Meaning	Characters
Jiàn	to see, to meet	見

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Pattern Practice

Practice these patterns out loud. The goal is automatic production.

Statements (7)

1. Today + shì + day:

JĪNTIĀN Shì XĪNGQĪYĪ。 Today is Monday.

2. Today + adjective:

JĪNTIĀN hěn mánG！ Today is busy!

3. Tomorrow + action:

wǒ mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN。 I go to work tomorrow.

4. Tomorrow + negative + action:

wǒ mínGTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN。 I don’t go to work tomorrow.

5. Yesterday + adjective:

zuóTIĀN wǒ hěn mánG。 Yesterday I was busy.

6. Every day (tiāntiān) + action:

TIĀNTIĀN shànGBĀN！ Work every day!

7. Tomorrow + jiàn (farewell):

mínGTIĀN Jiàn！ See you tomorrow!

Questions & Answers (3)

Q1: JĪNTIĀN XĪNGQĪ jǐ？ — What day is today? A1: JĪNTIĀN XĪNGQĪYĪ。 — Today is Monday.

Q2: nǐ mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN ma？ — Do you work tomorrow? A2: wǒ mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN。 — I work tomorrow.

Q3: zuóTIĀN nǐ mánG ma？ — Were you busy yesterday? A3: zuóTIĀN wǒ hěn mánG。 — Yesterday I was busy.

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Pinyin Target Story

Read while listening. Focus on connecting sounds to meaning.

1. JĪNTIĀN Shì XĪNGQĪYĪ。 Today is Monday.

2. JĪNTIĀN XĪNGQĪ jǐ？ What day is today?

3. JĪNTIĀN XĪNGQĪ jǐ？ What day is today?

4. JĪNTIĀN XĪNGQĪYĪ。 Today is Monday.

5. wǒ mínGTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN。 I don’t work tomorrow.

6. wǒ mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN。 I work tomorrow.

7. JĪNTIĀN hěn mánG！mínGTIĀN yě hěn mánG！ Today is busy! Tomorrow is also busy!

8. TIĀNTIĀN shànGBĀN！ Work every day!

9. zuóTIĀN wǒ hěn mánG。 Yesterday I was busy.

10. mínGTIĀN Jiàn！ See you tomorrow!

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Comprehension Check

Choose the best answer based on the story.

1. What day is today?

A) zuóTIĀN (yesterday) B) XĪNGQĪYĪ (Monday) C) mínGTIĀN (tomorrow)

2. Lily says she…

A) mínGTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN (doesn't work tomorrow) B) mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN (works tomorrow) C) JĪNTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN (doesn't work today)

3. Kevin says he…

A) mínGTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN (doesn't work tomorrow) B) mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN (works tomorrow) C) zuóTIĀN shànGBĀN (worked yesterday)

4. Boss Wang says…

A) mínGTIĀN Bù mánG (tomorrow not busy) B) zuóTIĀN hěn mánG (yesterday was busy) C) TIĀNTIĀN shànGBĀN (work every day)

5. Kevin says yesterday he was…

A) hěn mánG (very busy) B) Bù mánG (not busy) C) hěn hǎo (very good)

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Pinyin Production

Test your ability to produce the sounds. Type pinyin with tone marks (e.g., nǐhǎo) or tone numbers (e.g., ni3hao3).

Multiple Choice (5)

1. “today” =

A) JĪNTIĀN B) mínGTIĀN C) zuóTIĀN

2. “tomorrow” =

A) JĪNTIĀN B) mínGTIĀN C) zuóTIĀN

3. “yesterday” =

A) JĪNTIĀN B) mínGTIĀN C) zuóTIĀN

4. “to go to work” =

A) shànGBĀN B) xiàBĀN C) GŌNGZuò

5. “week” =

A) TIĀN B) XĪNGQĪ C) JĪNTIĀN

Typing (5)

6. Today is Monday.→

7. I work tomorrow.→

8. Yesterday I was busy.→

9. Work every day!→

10. See you tomorrow!→

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Character Reader

Read the characters. Sound out each one, then check with the colored version below.

Plain Text

今天是星期一。
今天星期幾？
今天星期幾？
今天星期一。
我明天不上班。
我明天上班。
今天很忙！明天也很忙！
天天上班！
昨天我很忙。
明天見！

Colored by Tone

今天是星期一。
今天星期幾？
今天星期幾？
今天星期一。
我明天不上班。
我明天上班。
今天很忙！明天也很忙！
天天上班！
昨天我很忙。
明天見！

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Character Production

Now produce the characters from memory.

Multiple Choice (5)

1. “today” =

A) 今天 B) 明天 C) 昨天

2. “tomorrow” =

A) 今天 B) 明天 C) 昨天

3. “yesterday” =

A) 今天 B) 明天 C) 昨天

4. “to go to work” =

A) 上班 B) 下班 C) 工作

5. “week” =

A) 天 B) 星期 C) 今天

Typing (5)

6. Today is Monday.→

7. I work tomorrow.→

8. Yesterday I was busy.→

9. Work every day!→

10. See you tomorrow!→

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Listen Again

Play the dialogue three more times. Listen 1: Just listen. Listen 2: Follow along mentally. Listen 3: Try to anticipate the next word.

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Navigation

← Lesson 7 Home Lesson 9 →

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Answers

1. B

2. A

3. B

4. C

5. A

6. A

7. B

8. C

9. A

10. B

11. A

12. B

13. C

14. A

15. B

Typing:

• 1: jīntiān shì xīngqīyī
• 2: wǒ míngtiān shàngbān
• 3: zuótiān wǒ hěn máng
• 4: tiāntiān shàngbān
• 5: míngtiān jiàn
• 6: 今天是星期一
• 7: 我明天上班
• 8: 昨天我很忙
• 9: 天天上班
• 10: 明天見

Click to reveal answers

Comprehension Check

1. B) XĪNGQĪYĪ (Monday)
2. A) mínGTIĀN Bù shànGBĀN (doesn’t work tomorrow)
3. B) mínGTIĀN shànGBĀN (works tomorrow)
4. C) TIĀNTIĀN shànGBĀN (work every day)
5. A) hěn mánG (very busy)

Pinyin Production

MC: 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-A, 5-B

Typing: 6. jīntiān shì xīngqīyī 7. wǒ míngtiān shàngbān 8. zuótiān wǒ hěn máng 9. tiāntiān shàngbān 10. míngtiān jiàn

Character Production

MC: 1-A, 2-B, 3-C, 4-A, 5-B

Typing: 6. 今天是星期一 7. 我明天上班 8. 昨天我很忙 9. 天天上班 10. 明天見