Simplified Chinese course

Lesson 147 of 240

New here? This is lesson 147 of a free 240-lesson Simplified Chinese course.

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Put it there in Simplified Chinese

Maya is moving boxes into the flat on Banyan Lane. Mr. Wang waits in the doorway and tells her where each box goes. He keeps one carton for himself.

Learn 把 to name the thing you move, then say what you did with it. Put keys down, close a door, and say you left an umbrella on the bus.

A-Li comes up the stairs with one more box. The fortune slip stays in the till.

By the end of this lesson

Say where you put or moved something, using 把.

  • 我把钥匙放在桌上I put the keys on the table.
  • 你可以把门关起来吗？Can you close the door?
  • 我把伞忘在公交车上了I accidentally forgot my umbrella on the bus.
  • 请把这个交给王先生Please hand this to Mr. Wang.
  • 我把行李搬上楼了I carried the luggage upstairs.
  • 先把它放着Leave it for now.

Scene — boxes in the doorway

The stairwell of Maya's building smells like cardboard. Mr. Wang stands in the doorway of the second-floor flat and points at each box.

Maya has just carried the luggage up. A-Li appears on the stairs with one more carton.

Nobody mentions the fortune, and A-Li is not magic today.

On a Taipei second-floor landing stacked with plain cardboard boxes, Mr. Wang stands in the open flat doorway pointing at each box, Maya stands beside luggage she has just brought up, and A-Li sits on two stools on the stairs with one more carton.

Learn — name it, then move it

Listen to six lines that put 把 before the thing you move. Then say what happens to it.

Notice how 把 names the object first. Repeat each line out loud after you hear it.

  1. Maya leans over a small table just inside the second-floor flat and sets a bunch of keys down on it.

    我把钥匙放在桌上

    I put the keys on the table.

    When to use it: Use this when you placed keys on a table.

    把 names the thing first, then the action you did to it.

    Say it: The first third tone rises before the next third tone.

  2. Mr. Wang stands inside the cluttered flat turned toward the open door, one hand on the door leaf, looking at Maya on the landing as he asks for the door to be shut.

    你可以把门关起来吗？

    Can you close the door?

    When to use it: Ask someone to close the door for you.

    起来 after 关 means close it so it stays shut.

  3. Maya stands alone on the stair landing looking at her empty open hands, with no umbrella anywhere in the picture.

    我把伞忘在公交车上了

    I accidentally forgot my umbrella on the bus.

    When to use it: Say you accidentally forgot your umbrella on the bus.

    了 marks this as a finished event, not a habit.

  4. A-Li sits on two stools on the landing and holds out a plain carton toward Maya so she can pass it to Mr. Wang in the doorway.

    请把这个交给王先生

    Please hand this to Mr. Wang.

    When to use it: Ask someone to pass this object to Mr. Wang.

    交给 means you give it to a person, not a place.

  5. Maya stands at the top of the stairs beside a suitcase and duffel she has already hauled up, one hand on the railing as she rests.

    我把行李搬上楼了

    I carried the luggage upstairs.

    When to use it: Say you already carried the luggage upstairs.

    上楼 is the direction: you carried it up, not down.

  6. Mr. Wang stands in the doorway pointing at a carton on the floor with one hand and holding the other palm down so the carton stays where it is.

    先把它放着

    Leave it for now.

    When to use it: Tell someone to leave an object where it is for now.

    着 here marks leaving the object there for now.

    Say it: The last syllable is a short, light tone.

Story — one carton for Mr. Wang

Listen as Maya moves boxes into the flat. Mr. Wang tells her where each one goes, and A-Li brings one more.

One carton stays with Mr. Wang. The fortune slip is not part of this errand.

  1. Mr. Wang请进。Please come in.
  2. Maya王先生，谢谢你。我把行李搬上楼了。Mr. Wang, thank you. I carried the luggage upstairs.
  3. Mr. Wang先把它放着。Leave it for now.
  4. Maya好喔。Okay.
  5. Mr. Wang那个纸箱，请放在门口。That cardboard box, please leave it at the door.
  6. Maya好。Okay.
  7. Mr. Wang你可以把门关起来吗？Can you close the door?
  8. Maya好喔。Okay.
  9. A-Li comes up the stairs with a small carton.
  10. A-Li请把这个交给王先生。Please hand this to Mr. Wang.
  11. Maya好。Okay.
  12. Mr. Wang这箱我留下。I'll keep this box.
  13. Maya我把钥匙放在桌上。I put the keys on the table.
  14. Mr. Wang你的伞呢？Where's your umbrella?
  15. Maya我把伞忘在公交车上了。I accidentally forgot my umbrella on the bus.
  16. Mr. Wang没关系。It's okay.

Practice — where did it go

Try ten short exercises with 把. Pick the line that fits each moment as Maya moves the boxes.

After each answer, read why it fits, then say the line again.

0 of 10 done

  1. What does it mean?

    我把钥匙放在桌上

  2. What do you say?

    The door is still open. Ask Mr. Wang to close it.

  3. Build the line

    I carried the luggage upstairs.

    Tap the words in order.

  4. Fill the gap

    I accidentally forgot my umbrella on the bus.

    我把伞____在公交车上了

  5. Match the pairs

    Simplified Chinese

    我把钥匙放在桌上Drop the English here
    你可以把门关起来吗？Drop the English here
    请把这个交给王先生Drop the English here
    先把它放着Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Simplified Chinese, or tap one and then the other.

  6. What did you hear?

  7. Swap the word

    A-Li is holding a carton. Tell him to hand this one to Mr. Wang.

    请把____交给王先生

  8. Pick the reply

    Mr. Wang says:

    请进。

    Please come in.

    And you reply with:

  9. What do you say?

    You are Mr. Wang. Maya is at the door with boxes. Tell her to come in.

  10. Fill the gap

    Please leave it at the door.

    请放在____

Say it — your 把 lines

You play Maya in the doorway. Listen to each cue, then say where you put something, using 把.

Tap the microphone to speak. You can replay the other person's line before your turn.

  1. Maya has the luggage at the door of the flat.
  2. Mr. Wang行李呢？What about the luggage?
  3. Maya (you)Tell him you already carried the luggage upstairs.

    我把行李搬上楼了

    I carried the luggage upstairs.

0 of 6 said

Recap — what you can say now

Simplified ChineseEnglish
我把钥匙放在桌上I put the keys on the table.
你可以把门关起来吗？Can you close the door?
我把伞忘在公交车上了I accidentally forgot my umbrella on the bus.
请把这个交给王先生Please hand this to Mr. Wang.
我把行李搬上楼了I carried the luggage upstairs.
先把它放着Leave it for now.
Next: lesson 148It got wet, it got taken

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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Today's 把 lines are in Yak Cards with more ways to say where you put things.

Review a few 把 cards each day so moving things feels easy.

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