送礼物 Giving a Gift in Chinese

明天míngtiān是shì妈妈māma的de生日shēngrì，我wǒ想xiǎng送sòng她tā一yí件jiàn礼物lǐwù。

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, and I want to give her a gift.

我wǒ不bù知道zhīdào买mǎi什么shénme，所以suǒyǐ问wèn了le姐姐jiějie。

I didn't know what to buy, so I asked my older sister.

姐姐jiějie说shuō：“妈妈māma每měi天tiān早上zǎoshang都dōu喝hē茶chá，你nǐ送sòng她tā一些yìxiē好hǎo茶chá吧ba。”

My sister said: "Mom drinks tea every morning — why not give her some good tea?"

我wǒ去qù商店shāngdiàn买mǎi了le茶chá，也yě买mǎi了le一yí件jiàn漂亮piàoliang的de衣服yīfu。

I went to a shop and bought tea, and I also bought a pretty piece of clothing.

妈妈māma看到kàndào礼物lǐwù，非常fēicháng高兴gāoxìng。

When Mom saw the gifts, she was overjoyed.

她tā说shuō：“茶chá很hěn好hǎo，但是dànshì衣服yīfu有点儿yǒudiǎnr大dà。”

She said: "The tea is lovely, but the clothes are a bit big."

我wǒ笑xiào了le：“没关系méi guānxi，明年míngnián我wǒ再zài送sòng你nǐ一yí件jiàn！”

I laughed: "No problem — next year I'll give you another one!"

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

送sòngto give (as a gift)

礼物lǐwùgift; present

生日shēngrìbirthday

茶chátea

衣服yīfuclothes

有点儿yǒudiǎnra little bit (+ adjective)

送 + person + object

送 (sòng) takes two objects: first the person, then the thing given, e.g. 送他一本书 'give him a book (as a gift)'.

我想送她一件礼物。 — I want to give her a gift.

…，所以…

所以 (suǒyǐ) introduces the result of what was said before: '..., so ...', e.g. 天气不好，所以我们不去了.

我不知道买什么，所以问了姐姐。 — I didn't know what to buy, so I asked my older sister.

有点儿 + adjective

有点儿 (yǒudiǎnr) before an adjective means 'a bit (too) ...', usually about something not ideal, e.g. 有点儿贵.

衣服有点儿大。 — The clothes are a bit big.

1. Whose birthday is tomorrow?

2. What does Mom do every morning?

3. What was the problem with the clothes?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.