In this article, we are going to talk about one of the Chinese conjunctions: 那 / 那么 (nà/nàme) so…, / in that case…. When do we use this? Where should it be placed in the sentence? Do I have to use it in the sentence? Is Chinese conjunction important?
Is Chinese conjunction important?
As a former Chinese AP teacher, I used to tell my students that knowing how to use Chinese conjunctions correctly is important. Once you become more advanced in Chinese, a required skill is storytelling. A good storyteller can choose the appropriate conjunction and make the paragraph and story outstanding. Let’s use some conjunctions to compare two examples below:
A beginner’s story…
他很有钱。他个性不好。她不喜欢他。
Tā hěn yǒu qián, tā gèxìng bù hǎo, tā bù xǐhuān tā.
He is rich. He is not easy going. She does not like him.
An advanced learner’s story…
尽管他很有钱，但是因为他个性不好，所以她不喜欢他。
Jǐnguǎn tā hěn yǒu qián, dànshì yīnwèi tā gèxìng bù hǎo, suǒyǐ tā bù xǐhuān tā.
He is rich; however, he is not easy going and therefore she does not like him.
(As you can see, when a beginner tells a story, they focus on the facts or key points of the story. But without the conjunctions in between, the story isn’t smooth. This is actually one of the key factors when an AP teacher grades an AP writing section. Using conjunctions properly will definitely help test takers receive higher scores. But keep this in mind, the usage of conjunctions in English and Chinese is different. So, learning how to use them correctly is quite important!)
Chinese Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) so…, / in that case…, / then…
那 / 那么 is a conjunction that we use to express a suggestion, a result, or a decision from a previous situation. It is like “so…”, “in that case…”, or “then…” in English.
Basic sentence structure
Previous situation + 那 / 那么 nà/nàme + Suggestion/Result/Decision
Conjunction 那 / 那么 (nà/nàme) Examples
Example 1
Previous situation: Mom is tired today.
Decision: They decide to go out to eat. (So mom doesn’t need to cook.)
The sentence structure is:
Mom is tired today (Situation) + 那/那么 + let’s go out to eat! (Decision)
妈妈今天很累，那我们出去吃饭吧！ Māmā jīntiān hěn lèi, nà wǒmen chūqù chīfàn ba!
Mom is tired today, so let’s dine out!
Example 2
Previous situation: You said you don’t want to see a movie today. (not in the mood…)
Suggestion: So, what do you want to do?
The sentence structure is:
You said you don’t want to see a movie today (Situation) + 那/那么 + what do you want to do? (Suggestion)
你说你今天不想看电影，那么你想做什么？ Nǐ shuō nǐ jīntiān bùxiǎng kàn diànyǐng, nàme nǐ xiǎng zuò shénme?
Example 3
Previous situation: My cell phone is broken.
Suggestion: Get a new one!
The sentence structure is:
My cell phone is broken (Situation) + 那/那么 + get a new one! (Suggestion)
A: 我的手机坏了。Wǒ de shǒujī huàile.
B: 那就买新的吧！Then get a new one!
Example 4
Situation: It is nice today.
Suggestion: Let’s go to the park and play!
The sentence structure is:,
It is nice today + 那/那么 + let’s go to the park and play! (Suggestion)
孩子: 今天天气很好。Háizi: Jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo.
Kid: It is nice today!
妈妈: 那我们去公园玩吧！Māmā: Nà wǒmen qù gōngyuán wán ba!
Mom: Then let’s go to the park!
Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) Video
Music: www.bensound.com
Chinese Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) Simplified Chinese Infographic
Chinese Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) Traditional Chinese Infographic
Other Chinese conjunctions posts
We also have a few other posts and infographics related to the same topic, Chinese conjunctions.
Conjunction 那/那么 (nà/nàme) Can-do checklist:
Use the “can-do” list to check if you learned this grammar.
⃞ I can understand when to use the conjunction 那/那么.
⃞ I can write the conjunction 那/那么 in Chinese characters and/or in pinyin.
⃞ I can place the conjunction 那/那么 correctly in a sentence.
Grace
Using a video is a good idea!
Karen
Thank you, Grace. Same here! Using video can introduce this grammar step by step. So students can visualize it even clearer!