Chinese Conversation · Level 3
86 words
Chinese word
那
Pronunciation
Pinyinnà
Meaning
- pronounthat
Example
那是我的书。nà shì wǒ de shū
That is my book.
More examples
请把那个给我。qǐng bǎ nà ge gěi wǒ
Please give me that one.
Core concept
Points to something already known and can open the next step in a conversation.
Common phrases
那个nà ge
that one
那些nà xiē
those
Similar words
这zhè: Refers to a person, thing, or idea that is close by or in the present situation.
那个nà ge: Refers to one specific person or thing, especially in informal speech.
这里zhè lǐ: Refers to the place the speaker is in or a place close to the speaker.
那里nà lǐ: Refers to a place that is far away or has already been mentioned.
Definition in Chinese
用于指代前文或听者已知的事物或人，在口语中也常作表示承接或推断的语气词（相当于“那么”）。yòng yú zhǐ dài qián wén huò tīng zhě yǐ zhī de shì wù huò rén zài kóu yǔ zhōng yě cháng zuò biǎo shì chéng jiē huò tuī duàn de yǔ qì cí xiāng dāng yú nà me
Word origin
那 (nà, "that") began as a word for pointing to a distant or already known person or thing, and spoken Chinese later extended it to introduce a conclusion or response.
Usage tips
- In conversation, the same word can point back to a known thing or introduce a response meaning "then" or "in that case."