我想要一杯茶。
I would like a cup of tea.
Day 4 of 57 · Week 1 · Mandarin operating system
Numbers without counting fingers
Build 11–99 from tens and units. Contrast 四 sì and 十 shí. Use 两 before general counters: 两个人.
Start with the guided teaching
Learn the number-building rule so you can decode new amounts instead of memorizing every price.
Above ten, put the number of tens before 十, then the remaining units after it. 二十五 = two tens + five. 三十五 = three tens + five. 四 sì and 十 shí sound different; pay close attention.
Read a price, hear a number — complete guided explanation
Do the work in five passes
- Listen and pronounce — 25 min · shadow 6 phrases; compare a recording.
- Read and recognize — 25 min · complete the guided teaching, then read today’s words.
- Build and speak — 25 min · build a guided request; then make 10 variations.
- Solve a situation — 25 min · practice both sides, then hide the hints.
- Retrieve and review — 20–80 min · due review, quizzes, and a spoken recap.
Completion records effort; quiz results measure recognition. Neither proves conversational fluency. Use the interactive trainer for review scheduling and saved progress.
Today’s sentence machinery
Ask for what you want
我要 ___ is a direct request. 我想要 ___ softens it: I would like ___. Add 请 when useful.
Swap the object; keep the machine.
Your language for today
等一下。
Wait a moment.
wait + a moment
不用了，谢谢。
No thanks, I don't need it.
not + need + now + thanks
没问题。
No problem.
no + problem
零
Zero
0
一
One
1
二
Two
2
三
Three
3
四
Four
4
五
Five
5
Practice the situation
First conversation
A person speaks quickly after you introduce yourself.
你好！你是哪里人？
Hello! Where are you from?
A useful response
我是美国人。
Answer the country question.
你会说中文吗？
Do you speak Chinese?
A useful response
我只会说一点中文。
Say you speak only a little.
好的。你想去哪里？
Okay. Where do you want to go?
A useful response
请说慢一点。
Practice repairing the conversation before answering.
Outside the trainer: spend 10–20 minutes repeating these exchanges with a Mandarin speaker when available. Ask them to change one reply so you must listen. Fixed audio and scenarios cannot reproduce every real conversation.