Lesson 20: Review: meeting the family

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1Limba’s diary

First dinner with the host family

Saturday evening, and for the first time the whole family sits down to dinner together. All week Bat worked late at the power plant, and Saraa had night shifts at the hospital. Tonight Saraa has made buuz, dozens of them.

It is my first real test: a conversation of more than two lines, with everybody listening. Temuulen asks me the names of the dishes like a strict teacher. I make one mistake, and Nomin corrects it with a smile.

At the end, Bat raises his cup of tea and says something that makes everyone laugh. Nomin translates: I am one of them now.

2Dialogue

СарааЛимба, сайн уу? Сонин сайхан юу байна?Hi, Limba! What's new?
LimbaТайван байна. Та сайн байна уу?Nothing special. And how are you?
СарааСайн. Энэ манай хоол.Fine. This is our dinner.
ТэмүүлэнЛимба, энэ юу вэ?Limba, what's this?
LimbaЭнэ бууз!It's buuz!
ТэмүүлэнТийм! Тэр юу вэ?Yes! And what's that?
LimbaТэр… хуушуур уу?That's… khuushuur?
НоминҮгүй, хуушуур биш. Тэр талх.No, it's not khuushuur. It's bread.
БатЛимба, канад хоол сайхан уу?Limba, is Canadian food good?
LimbaСайхан. Харин монгол хоол их сайхан!Yes, it is. But Mongolian food is wonderful!
БатСайн байна! Чи одоо манай гэр бүлийн хүн.Well said! You're one of the family now.
LimbaБаярлалаа!Thank you!

3Words in this lesson

Mongolian	Letters	English
нэр	ner	name
хэн	khen	who
юу	yuu	what
хаана	khaana	where
хаанаас	khaanaas	from where
энэ	ene	this
тэр	ter	that; he, she
биш	bish	not
миний	minii	my
чиний	chinii	your (familiar)
таны	tany	your (polite)
манай	manai	our
гэр бүл	ger bül	family

The “Letters” column is a letter-by-letter guide to the Cyrillic, not exact pronunciation. It disappears after level A1: by then you read Cyrillic directly.

4Grammar and explanations

Unit 2 in one table

Point	Lesson	Example
greeting; та and чи	11	Сайн байна уу? / Сайн уу?
names; бэ and вэ	12	Таны нэр хэн бэ?
where you are from	13	Би Канадаас ирсэн.
yes/no questions	14	Байр том уу? Сүү юү?
"I am…" with no verb	15	Би оюутан.
"not": биш	16	Би багш биш.
this and that	17	Энэ юу вэ?
who and what	18	Тэр хэн бэ?
my, your, our	19	Энэ миний цүнх.

A first conversation in six lines

Here is a model you can use with anyone you meet. Learn it by heart, then change the name, the job and the country:

Сайн байна уу?"Hello!"

Сайн. Та сайн байна уу?"Fine. And you?"

Таны нэр хэн бэ?"What is your name?"

Миний нэр Лимба. Би оюутан."My name is Limba. I am a student."

Та хаанаас ирсэн бэ?"Where are you from?"

Би Канадаас ирсэн. Би канад хүн."I am from Canada. I am Canadian."

Choosing the question particle

Kind of question	Particle	Examples
yes/no, а о у word at the end	уу; юу after a long vowel or a diphthong	Бууз уу? Ор тухтай юу?
yes/no, э ө ү word at the end	үү; юү after a long vowel or a diphthong	Шинэ үү? Сүү юү?
with хэн, юу, хаана	бэ after в, л, м, н; вэ after anything else	Хэн бэ? Энэ юу вэ?

Three last checks

No verb in "I am…" or "this is…": Би оюутан. Энэ миний найз.
биш goes at the very end: Тэр хуушуур биш.
The possessive goes before the noun: миний цүнх, манай гэр.

Go deeper in the grammar guide: Mongolian greetings · The question particles · Personal pronouns and possessives

5Good to know

At a Mongolian table, food is shared and offered again and again: a host will keep putting buuz on your plate. Taste everything, and if you really cannot eat more, say so with a smile. Bat's sentence, Чи одоо манай гэр бүлийн хүн ("you are now a person of our family"), is one of the warmest things a Mongolian family can say to a guest.

6Exercises

Choose the right answer, then press Check my answers. Score 70% or more and the lesson is ticked on your course map.

Which greeting is right for an older person you do not know?
Complete: Таны нэр хэн ___?
How do you say "I'm from Canada"?
Complete: Бууз ___? (Is it buuz?)
Complete: Сүү ___? (Is it milk?)
Би оюутан. means…
How do you say "I am not a teacher"?
Энэ юу вэ? means…
Complete: Энэ юу ___?
Which word is the polite "you"?
Which word means "our"?
Тэр хуушуур биш. Тэр талх. means…
In the dialogue, what is the dinner?
How do you ask a child his name?
Complete: Та канад хүн ___?

Well done! Lesson 20 is ticked on your course map.

Write it yourself

Write your answer on paper or in your head first, then reveal the model answer.

Greet an older neighbour politely.
Show answer
Сайн байна уу?
Ask Temuulen's friend his name.
Show answer
Чиний нэр хэн бэ?
Ask an adult where he or she is from.
Show answer
Та хаанаас ирсэн бэ?
Say "I am Canadian. I am a student."
Show answer
Би канад хүн. Би оюутан.
Ask a friend: "Is this your bag?"
Show answer
Энэ чиний цүнх үү?
Say "That is not my bag."
Show answer
Тэр миний цүнх биш.
Ask "Who is that?"
Show answer
Тэр хэн бэ?
Ask "What's new?", then give the usual answer.
Show answer
Сонин сайхан юу байна? — Тайван байна.

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