Sentence translations
Simplified Chinese: 这所房子不大，但很温暖。
Traditional Chinese: 這所房子不大，但很溫暖。
Pinyin (with tone marks): Zhè suǒ fángzi bù dà, dàn hěn wēnnuǎn.
Other natural way to say it
你也可以说：这房子不大，可是很温暖。
Pinyin: Zhè fángzi bù dà, kěshì hěn wēnnuǎn.
Word-by-word breakdown (simple)
- 这 / 這 (zhè) — this
- 所 (suǒ) — a little word used with buildings; it makes the phrase sound a bit more complete (optional)
- 房子 (fángzi) — house
- 不 (bù) — not
- 大 (dà) — big
- 但 / 但是 (dàn / dànshì) — but
- 可是 (kěshì) — but / however (a friendlier alternative)
- 很 (hěn) — very / quite (links to the adjective)
- 温暖 / 溫暖 (wēnnuǎn) — warm
Pronunciation tips for a 10-year-old
- Say each syllable clearly with the tone: Zhè (4th tone), suǒ (3rd), fáng (2nd), zi (neutral), bù (4th), dà (4th), dàn (4th), hěn (3rd), wēn (1st), nuǎn (3rd).
- Small tone-change note: before a fourth-tone word, 不 often changes to the 2nd tone and sounds like "bú". So people often say "bú dà" instead of "bù dà" — both are heard in speech.
- Practice saying the whole sentence slowly, then a little faster. Try: "Zhè suǒ fángzi bú dà, dàn hěn wēnnuǎn."
Literal (word-for-word) translation
"This (place) house not big, but very warm." — natural English: "This house isn't big, but it is very warm."
Quick practice
- Repeat the sentence out loud 5 times: Zhè suǒ fángzi bù dà, dàn hěn wēnnuǎn.
- Change one word: try 家 (jiā) instead of 房子 — Zhè jiā bù dà, dàn hěn wēnnuǎn. (This home isn't big, but it's very warm.)
- Write the sentence in Chinese characters and then write the pinyin under it.
If you want, I can give audio or a short quiz to help you remember — tell me which you prefer!