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Level A · Beginner

At the library

Xiaoyu borrows some books; the one she was after is already out. Chen Hao waits for her in the quiet, upstairs.

What you learn to do

  • borrowing from a library
  • asking how many books and for how long
  • learning that a book is already out
  • asking whether you can read on the premises

  1. Xiaoyu

    您好，我想借书。

    Nín hǎo, wǒ xiǎng jiè shū.

    Hello, I would like to borrow some books.

  2. The librarian

    有借书证吗？

    Yǒu jièshūzhèng ma ?

    Do you have a library card?

  3. Xiaoyu

    有，给您。一次可以借几本？

    Yǒu, gěi nín. Yī cì kěyǐ jiè jǐ běn ?

    I do, here it is. How many can I borrow at a time?

  4. The librarian

    五本，可以看一个月。

    Wǔ běn, kěyǐ kàn yī gè yuè.

    Five, for a month.

  5. Xiaoyu

    这两本我要。中国历史那本在哪儿？

    Zhè liǎng běn wǒ yào. Zhōngguó lìshǐ nà běn zài nǎr ?

    I will take these two. Where is the one on Chinese history?

  6. The librarian

    有人借走了，下个星期来看看。

    Yǒu rén jiè zǒu le, xià gè xīngqī lái kànkan.

    Someone has borrowed it, come back and look next week.

  7. Xiaoyu

    好。这里可以看书吗？

    Hǎo. Zhè lǐ kěyǐ kàn shū ma ?

    I see. Can I read here?

  8. The librarian

    可以，二楼很安静。

    Kěyǐ, èr lóu hěn ānjìng.

    You can, the second floor is very quiet.

  9. Chen Hao

    那我就在二楼等你。

    Nà wǒ jiù zài èr lóu děng nǐ.

    Then I will wait for you up there.

  10. Xiaoyu

    好，我十分钟就上去。

    Hǎo, wǒ shí fēnzhōng jiù shàngqù.

    Good, I will be up in ten minutes.

Vocabulary to remember

  • 借 jiè to borrow, to lend
  • 书 shū book
  • 本 běn (measure word for books and notebooks)
  • 借书证 jièshūzhèng library card
  • 历史 lìshǐ history
  • 安静 ānjìng quiet, peaceful
  • 楼 lóu building, floor
  • 次 cì time, (measure word for occurrences)
  • 星期 xīngqī week
  • 等 děng to wait

Language points

借 says both sides of a loan

我借你的书 means I am borrowing it from you; 我借你一本书 means I am lending you one. The verb does not change, the construction decides: with 的, you take from someone; with two objects, you give to someone. To remove all doubt you add a direction, 借给你 to lend, 跟你借 to borrow.

本, the measure word for anything with pages

五本 counts five books, five notebooks, five magazines: anything you leaf through. It is never skipped between the number and the noun. Note that the same character on its own means "root, origin", whence 本来, originally, and 日本, the root of the sun.

To give back is 还, with a different reading

The character 还 is read *hái* when it means "still", and *huán* when it means "to give back": 还书 to return a book, 还钱 to repay money. Two words in one sign, and nothing in the writing separates them. Context decides, and a reader who hesitates gives himself away when he reads aloud.

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