HSK 5 • Lesson 6夫妻之间
HSK 5 • 中级篇Lesson 6 / 14

夫妻之间

Fūqī zhī jiān
Between Husband and Wife
Pattern 1

东……西……

dōng... xī...

Common four-character spoken construction. 'East' and 'West' are followed by identical or closely related verbs, functioning mostly as predicates to emphasize wide-ranging, random, or casual actions.

Examples
为了筹到这笔钱，他东奔西走，跑了十几个村庄。
Wèile chóu dào zhè bǐ qián, tā dōng bēn xī zǒu, pǎole shí jǐ gè cūnzhuāng.
In order to raise this money, he ran around everywhere and visited more than a dozen villages.
陈先生是第一次进城，他东看西看，觉得一切都很新鲜。
Chén xiānsheng shì dì-yī cì jìn chéng, tā dōng kàn xī kàn, juéde yíqiè dōu hěn xīnxiān.
Mr. Chen went into the city for the first time; he looked around this way and that, finding everything novel.
大家逼得他没办法，他就东涂西抹，随便画了几笔。
Dàjiā bī de tā méi bànfǎ, tā jiù dōng tú xī mǒ, suíbiàn huàle jǐ bǐ.
Forced by everyone with no way out, he just scribbled and daubed aimlessly, sketching a few random strokes.
Pattern 2

说实在的，……

shuō shízài de, ...

Common spoken parenthetical phrase equivalent to 'To be honest...', 'Frankly speaking...', or 'Truth be told...'. It prompts the listener to pay attention and introduces the speaker's candid view, definitive stance, or realistic conclusion.

Examples
说实在的，你这样下去是不会有好结果的。
Shuō shízài de, nǐ zhèyàng xiàqù shì bú huì yǒu hǎo jiéguǒ de.
To be honest, if you go on like this, nothing good will come of it.
说实在的，她决不会嫁给你的。
Shuō shízài de, tā jué bú huì jià gěi nǐ de.
Frankly speaking, there is no way she will ever marry you.
说实在的，这事我从来没想过。
Shuō shízài de, zhè shì wǒ cónglái méi xiǎngguo.
Truth be told, I have never even considered this matter.
Pattern 3

要……有……，要……有/没……

yào... yǒu..., yào... yǒu/méi...

Common spoken parallel structure. It emphasizes having all desirable conditions and qualities in full abundance (affirmative: 'yào... yǒu...'), or totally lacking everything and being in sheer destitution/misfortune (negative: 'yào... méi...').

Examples
要学问有学问，要风度有风度，人家哪儿配不上你？
Yào xuéwen yǒu xuéwen, yào fēngdù yǒu fēngdù, rénjia nǎr pèibushàng nǐ?
He has both deep scholarship and distinguished bearing; in what way is he not good enough for you?
要吃没吃，要穿没穿，这日子怎么过？
Yào chī méi chī, yào chuān méi chuān, zhè rìzi zěnme guò?
No food to eat, no decent clothes to wear—how on earth can one live this kind of life?
现在的李平家要家用电器有家用电器，要高档家具配高档家具，可以说是现代化之家了。
Xiànzài de Lǐ Píng jiā yào jiāyòng diànqì yǒu jiāyòng diànqì, yào gāodàng jiājù pèi gāodàng jiājù, kěyǐ shuō shì xiàndàihuà zhī jiā le.
Li Ping's home now has all the modern appliances and luxury furniture one could wish for; it is truly a modern home.
Pattern 4

没什么……可言

méi shénme... kěyán

Common spoken construction meaning 'There is no... to speak of' or 'Nothing worthy of being called...'. It indicates that a quality, relationship, or factor has completely vanished or is virtually non-existent.

Examples
夫妻之间没什么秘密可言。
Fūqī zhī jiān méi shénme mìmì kěyán.
Between husband and wife, there are no secrets to speak of.
他们二人已经没什么感情可言了。
Tāmen èr rén yǐjīng méi shénme gǎnqíng kěyán le.
There is no affection left to speak of between the two of them.
二者间没什么相似之处可言。
Èrzhě jiān méi shénme xiāngsì zhī chù kěyán.
There is virtually no resemblance to speak of between the two.
Pattern 5

各……各的

gè... gè de

Common spoken pattern with a monosyllabic verb inserted. It signifies that each party acts independently and manages their own affairs, highlighting distinct boundaries, individual autonomy, and mutual non-interference.

Examples
我们各挣各的，各花各的。
Wǒmen gè zhèng gè de, gè huā gè de.
We each earn our own money and spend our own money.
开完会，他们就各回各的家了。
Kāiwán huì, tāmen jiù gè huí gè de jiā le.
After the meeting adjourned, everyone just returned to their own home.
这两本词典各有各的用途。
Zhè liǎng běn cídiǎn gè yǒu gè de yòngtú.
These two dictionaries each have their own distinct uses.