GCSE Mandarin: House, Home and Local Area Revision Guide

Key vocabulary: the home

• 房子 (fángzi) — house
• 公寓 (gōngyù) — flat / apartment
• 卧室 (wòshì) — bedroom
• 客厅 (kètīng) — living room
• 厨房 (chúfáng) — kitchen
• 浴室 (yùshì) — bathroom
• 花园 (huāyuán) — garden

Key vocabulary: the local area

• 城市 (chéngshì) — city
• 镇 (zhèn) — town
• 公园 (gōngyuán) — park
• 商店 (shāngdiàn) — shop
• 附近 (fùjìn) — nearby

Grammar point: describing location with 在

The verb 在 (zài) means 'to be located at/in' and is placed between the subject and the place: 我的房子在伦敦 (wǒ de fángzi zài Lúndūn) — 'My house is in London'. It can also be used with 附近 to describe something being near another place: 我家在公园附近 (wǒ jiā zài gōngyuán fùjìn) — 'My home is near the park'.

Grammar point: saying what there is with 有

To describe what exists in a place, use the pattern place + 有 + noun, which is the equivalent of 'there is/are' in English. For example: 公园附近有一个商店 (gōngyuán fùjìn yǒu yí gè shāngdiàn) — 'There is a shop near the park'. Notice that the place comes first, unlike the English word order.

Describing your local area

Combine these structures to build fuller sentences for the speaking and writing exams, e.g. 我家在一个小镇，镇上有一个公园和几个商店 (wǒ jiā zài yí gè xiǎo zhèn, zhèn shàng yǒu yí gè gōngyuán hé jǐ gè shāngdiàn) — 'My home is in a small town; the town has a park and a few shops'.

Common mistakes

• Using 是 instead of 在 to say where something is located — 在 is the correct verb for location.
• Putting the noun before 有 when saying 'there is/are' — the place must come first.
• Confusing 公园 (gōngyuán, park) with 公寓 (gōngyù, flat) — the pinyin looks similar but the tones and meanings differ.