Just One More Pair of Chopsticks

Wouldn’t it be grand if disputing nations would sit down and join in a feast together, especially around a bowl of steaming jiaozi?

This PSA highlights the importance of chopsticks and food in Chinese culture and concludes with a New Year’s celebration. It comes from China’s CCTV and is a minute and a half long, with English subtitles. Please note that the scenes are set in different parts of China and the people are often speaking a dialect, not Putonghua (the “common tongue,” which we call Mandarin). This makes the video excellent exercise for a Chinese learner! See if you can identify words in dialect, as well as the Mandarin words like those in our vocabulary list.

Written Chinese is always the same, even though it is spoken in different ways. Here are some questions in Chinese about the video:

1. 这个视频发生在哪里？ (Where does this video take place?)

2. 视频里的事情是什么？ (What is the occasion?)

3. 人物的感受是什么？ (What does the [character] feel?)

4.  视频想要传达的信息是什么？(What is the message of this video?)

5. 你喜欢这个信息的哪些方面？ (What do you like about the message?)

6. 这个故事让你觉得怎么样？ (How does the story line make you feel?)
7. ut the video:

For a full vocabulary list to use for personal study or in the classroom, please register (free) with ChinaConnectU. The vocabulary list includes characters and pinyin, and is linked to a five-minute version of the video.

Vocabulary from “Just Another Pair of Chopsticks”

We have made a vocabulary list to accompany this longer version of the “Chopsticks” public service announcement, with English translations and location names (the latter are very useful if you’re trying to follow the different dialects): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=soBtqb15s0A. The longer version runs for five minutes, and the vocabulary below gives time stamps for when the word or phrase is used.