我的责任
Wǒ de zérèn — My Responsibilities
Chores, duties and the vocabulary of obligation. Students learn the difference between wanting to do something, having to do it, and being allowed to — three separate words in Chinese where English leans on “have to” and “can.”
Unit objectives
- Name eight household chores
- Use 得 for things they have to do
- Use 可以 for things they’re allowed to do
- Describe their own responsibilities in five sentences
Key vocabulary
责任 打扫 洗碗 倒圾圾 整理 帮助 得 可以 必须 每周
Three different “cans”
English uses one word for all three of these. Chinese does not:
我会游泳。 I can swim — I learned how. 会 = skill
我可以出去。 I can go out — I’m allowed. 可以 = permission
我得做作业。 I have to do homework. 得 = obligation
What you have to do
Eight chores
Flashcards, then a class survey of who does what at home — which always produces strong opinions.
Have to, allowed to
Sorting statements into obligation and permission, then rewriting each one as the other.
A weekly rota
Building a chore timetable in characters, combining Grade 2’s days of the week with this unit’s verbs.
Negotiating
A role-play: a child asking to do less, a parent explaining why not. Both sides argued in Chinese.
Duty to the people who raised you
The idea of 孝 — often translated as filial piety — runs deep in Chinese culture: a lasting obligation to care for and respect your parents and grandparents, which doesn’t end when you grow up but arguably begins then. It shapes family expectations about visiting, money and who looks after whom in old age, and it’s one reason multi-generational households remain common. Framed for ten-year-olds, it’s a useful counterweight to a chore chart: responsibility as something owed to people rather than a task list.
Unit 4 progress check
A light, no-pressure way to see what’s sticking:
- Can your child name four chores?
- Do they use 得 and 可以 for the right things?
- Can they say one thing they have to do every week?
Confusing 会 and 可以 is the standard error here and it takes a while to settle. Keep naming which one is meant.