Topics · Primary Chinese · Language Use (语文应用)
语文应用: Chinese in a real situation
A notice, a poster, a message or a short conversation, with questions about it. The Chinese is easier than the comprehension passage — the difficulty is reading a layout rather than a paragraph.
- 194 exam papers analysed
- appears in 78% of P6 Chinese papers
- ~2 min read
01 It is a picture as much as a text
A 通知 or a 海报 puts its information in places, not in sentences. The date sits in one corner, the place in another, the person to contact at the bottom.
Scan the layout before reading. Find the title, the date, the place and the sender. Four of the questions are usually about exactly those four things.
Numbers are the commonest answer. Dates, times, prices, phone numbers, room numbers. Note where each one is before you start.
02 Matching the words to the situation
The other half of this section asks you to choose the right way to say something for a given situation. Chinese marks politeness more explicitly than English does, and the paper tests it.
| To a teacher or a stranger | To a friend | |
|---|---|---|
| Asking | 请问… | 喂，… |
| You | 您 | 你 |
| Thanking | 谢谢您的帮助 | 谢啦 |
| Apologising | 对不起，打扰您了 | 不好意思 |
| Ending | 再见 / 祝您身体健康 | 拜拜 |
03 The questions this section asks
There are only a few kinds, and they repeat every year.
- Fact-finding. 活动在什么时候举行？ The answer is a number or a name, copied exactly from the notice.
- Who it is for. 这个通知是给谁看的？ Look at the title and the opening line.
- Purpose. 写这封信的目的是什么？ Usually stated in the first or last sentence.
- Right way to say it. Four options, one suited to the person being spoken to.
- Copy numbers exactly. A date written 六月十二日 is answered 六月十二日, not 12/6.
04 How to say them
These are words most children have never said out loud, and a word you cannot say is a word you avoid using. The respelling is Hanyu Pinyin, with the tone marked over the vowel. Tap the speaker to hear it.
- 语文应用sayyǔ wén yìng yòng
Language use — Chinese in a real situation: notices, posters, messages, conversations.
- 通知saytōng zhī
A notice. It announces an event, with a date, a place and who it is for.
- 海报sayhǎi bào
A poster. Its information is spread across the layout rather than written in paragraphs.
- 请问sayqǐng wèn
May I ask — the polite way to start a question to someone you do not know.
- 您saynín
The polite form of you, for someone older or senior. Using 你 instead is what this section tests.
- 地点saydì diǎn
The place. One of the four things a notice always states.
05 What each level is tested on
The same topic, asked differently as it goes up. The percentage is the share of papers at that level in which it appears.
- P3
Short notices and messages, with questions about when and where.
Practise P3 Higher Chinese Language Use (语文应用) — 8 questions →18% of P3 Higher Chinese papers
- P4
Notices and posters, and choosing the polite form for the person being addressed.
Practise P4 Chinese Language Use (语文应用) — 8 questions → Practise P4 Higher Chinese Language Use (语文应用) — 8 questions →19% of P4 Chinese papers
55% of P4 Higher Chinese papers
- P5
Longer texts — emails and conversations — with questions about purpose as well as fact.
Practise P5 Chinese Language Use (语文应用) — 8 questions →77% of P5 Chinese papers
- P6
Several linked texts in one question, and answers that need information from more than one of them.
Practise P6 Chinese Language Use (语文应用) — 8 questions →78% of P6 Chinese papers
06 Mistakes worth knowing about
Each of these is wrong. Decide why before you open it.
“I read the notice from top to bottom like a paragraph.”
A notice is a layout. Find the title, date, place and sender first — that is where most of the answers are.
“I wrote the date as 12/6.”
Copy it as the notice wrote it: 六月十二日. Changing the form can cost the mark.
“I used 你 when writing to the teacher.”
您 for someone older or senior. This is the single most tested point in the section.
“I answered in my own words.”
For fact questions, copy from the notice. It is right there and it is exact.
“I guessed who the notice was for.”
The title and opening line say. 各位家长 means parents; 六年级同学 means Primary 6 pupils.
Now try it
32 questions across 4 levels, marked as you go with the working shown.