🇺🇸 English
HSK 3

Lesson 17 · 我要多向认真的人学习

What you'll learn

Talk about learning from others with `向`, rhetorical `不是...吗`, and progressive `更` clauses.

About 36 min
A cute cartoon study hallway where one student asks a careful classmate for advice beside blank classroom signs.
1

Listen and Read

Ask for study advice and explain why careful people are worth learning from.

小雨
别再向前走了，老师办公室在这边。
Bié zài xiàng qián zǒu le, lǎo shī bàn gōng shì zài zhè biān.
Do not keep walking forward. The teacher’s office is this way.
小林
谢谢。我最近学习不认真，想让老师帮我。
Xiè xiè. Wǒ zuì jìn xué xí bú rèn zhēn, xiǎng ràng lǎo shī bāng wǒ.
Thanks. I have not been careful with studying recently, so I want the teacher to help me.
小雨
你不是一直喜欢查生词吗？可以先自己找方法。
Nǐ bú shì yì zhí xǐ huan chá shēng cí ma? Kě yǐ xiān zì jǐ zhǎo fāng fǎ.
Haven’t you always liked looking up new words? You can first find methods yourself.
小林
对，我要向认真工作的同学学习。
Duì, wǒ yào xiàng rèn zhēn gōng zuò de tóng xué xué xí.
Right. I want to learn from classmates who work carefully.
小雨
多练习会提高你的中文水平，更会帮助你了解中国文化。
Duō liàn xí huì tí gāo nǐ de Zhōngwén shuǐ píng, gèng huì bāng zhù nǐ liǎo jiě Zhōngguó wén huà.
More practice will improve your Chinese level and, even more, help you understand Chinese culture.
2

Core Words

Practice the words that carry this lesson's dialogue, patterns, and final question.

认真
rèn zhēn
serious; careful
向
xiàng
toward; from
前
qián
front; forward
查
chá
to look up
3

Pattern: Preposition `向`

向 + person/place + verb

`向` marks the direction of an action or the person you learn from, ask, or move toward.

我要向老师学习。
Wǒ yào xiàng lǎo shī xué xí.
I want to learn from the teacher.
孩子向妈妈跑过去。
Hái zi xiàng mā ma pǎo guò qù.
The child ran toward the mother.
4

Pattern: `不是...吗？`

不是 + statement + 吗？

This rhetorical question reminds, confirms, or lightly challenges the listener. It is negative in form but often means “isn’t it true that...”

你不是喜欢查生词吗？
Nǐ bú shì xǐ huan chá shēng cí ma?
Don’t you like looking up new words?
这不是你的书吗？
Zhè bú shì nǐ de shū ma?
Isn’t this your book?
5

Pattern: Progressive `更`

clause， 更 + clause

Use `更` in the second clause to add a stronger or deeper point.

多听能提高中文水平，更能帮助你说得更好。
Duō tīng néng tí gāo Zhōngwén shuǐ píng, gèng néng bāng zhù nǐ shuō de gèng hǎo.
Listening more can improve your Chinese level and, even more, help you speak better.
他不但认真，更愿意帮助别人。
Tā bú dàn rèn zhēn, gèng yuàn yì bāng zhù bié rén.
He is not only careful, but even more willing to help others.
6

Learning Note

`向` is not only physical direction.

In `向认真的人学习`, the direction is abstract: your learning is directed toward that person as a model.

7

Practice

Choose the sentence using `向`.

You will learn from a classmate who works carefully.

Which sentence is correct?

8

Practice

Choose the rhetorical question.

You remind your friend that they like looking up new words.

Which sentence uses `不是...吗？` naturally?