Level 26 Complete

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Phase 4 Check-In!

We’re about half-way through Phase 4, how’s it going? Do you have any feedback for us? We’d love to hear from you about the opinions, conversations and short stories.

Level 26 had a bunch of great words & characters you’ll use all the time. A reminder that it’s vital to get the “z” & “c” wholly distinct between characters like 做 & 错. 

做完了！Learn Categorical Words!

You might have noticed that today’s email subject was “Level 26 做完了” as opposed to just “完了.” This is because 完 isn’t only a verb but also a result. As you know from the articles we wrote about the “Verb-How” structure, a result comes after a verb, for example, “Do 做” - “Done 做完了.”

What can this tell us about categorical words? Consider the following verbs with the result “完”:

看完 - to finish looking at
说完 - to finish speaking
吃完 - to finish eating
点完 - to finish ordering
做完 - to finish doing

Even though 看，说，吃 & 点 are all essential verbs to know and potentially combine with 完, 做 is going to be of more utility to you, because it’s a category of verb. “To do” is about as broad as it gets, and that’s why you get the most bang for your buck by learning words like 做.

Communication ≠ Perfection

Even more crucially, 做 is the type of word you can use incorrectly but still be understood. We’re not encouraging incorrect use of the language, but the end goal in learning any language is communication, not perfection. If your conversation partner understands you, well, success! This is why learning the words whose meaning is broadly applicable should be a guiding compass. It’s easy to tell, too. For example, of the following words, which should you learn first?

芒果 mángguǒ - mango
苹果 píngguǒ - apple
西瓜 xīguā - watermelon
香蕉 xiāngjiāo - banana
水果 shuíguǒ - fruit

The reason 水果 is the most important word is simple: If you don’t know that the Chinese word for watermelon is 西瓜, you can always point to it and say 那个水果. Sure, 西瓜 is ‘perfect,’ but you communicated. In the same way, you can use the verb 做 in a lot of places where there is a better verb available that you don’t yet know, but people will still comprehend your speech. Conclusion: Categorical words give you the tools to learn specifics.

Luke & Phil

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Member Comments from 2019-mid-2020

Do you also want to leave a comment? You can do so below！

Nacho En

I just want to say to all the people who arrived here:
You are breathtaking. You all are doing an incredible work, day by day, step by step. I don't know you, but I'm proud that you reached to finish this level.
我们会进步把！

MB Team 

Here's the link to where Phil and Luke talked about this comment in the Mandarin Blueprint Podcast:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lle0yhY52Gk&t=1931s