Family: mum, dad, brothers and sisters
Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: plain · Understood: 7 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 9 of the chinese street course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · wrong ✗
«ming's sister calls him gēge not Ming, weird» Why?
- 1. gēge means «silly», she's teasing him lol, it's banter — no support
- 2. It's a nickname for Ming only — no support
- 3. She forgot his name, she's only little — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 4. Younger ones call an older brother gēge, like a title — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 9, line 2: «Ming's little sister never calls him «Ming»; she calls him gēge, like a title. Any big girl in the playground is jiějie to the little ones.», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: the same doer «little sister» (+2); the same property (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · right ✓
You call Ming's mum «mā» at dinner. What would happen?
- 1. It means auntie — no support
- 2. It sounds odd: she's your āyí, not your mum — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 3. It's the right word for guests to use — no support
- 4. She would feel honoured that you're family now — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 1, line 7: «nín hǎo («neen HOW») is hello with nín, the respectful «you»; it is for grandparents, teachers and shopkeepers, and between kids it sounds stiff.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «sound» (+2); the same doer «dinner» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · wrong ✗
«haha ming's mum called him bǎobǎo, let's all call him baby» What is kind?
- 1. Make a song about it — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Call him bǎobǎo all week — no support
- 3. Tell the whole class — no support
- 4. Don't tease him with it — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · right ✓
Ming has no brothers or sisters. What is true?
- 1. He is a dúshēngzǐ, and that's not sad or strange — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. He must be very lonely all the time — no support
- 3. Only children are not allowed in China — no support
- 4. Something must be wrong with his family, surely — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · wrong ✗
«ask his dad, lǎobà, can we go park» What is wrong?
- 1. lǎobà means grandad — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. lǎobà is what kids call teachers — no support
- 3. Nothing, it's polite for any friend's dad — no support
- 4. lǎobà is for your own dad; say shūshu — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · wrong ✗
What would happen if you shouted «mà!» with a falling tone across the flat?
- 1. Mum would come running at once — no support
- 2. It would sound like «scold», not «mum» — ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 3. It means «eight» — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 4. It means «dad», so dad would come running — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 3 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2, line 8: «mà («MAH!» falling sharply) is the fourth tone and means to scold; Chinese speakers are not angry, Mandarin just has many falling words.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mean» (+2); the same doer «mà» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · right ✓
Your friend's big cousin is 15, a girl. What does Ming's little sister call her?
- 1. jiějie — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. mèimei — no support
- 3. āyí — no support
- 4. dìdi — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · right ✓
In a cartoon a dragon calls his older brother «dìdi». What is wrong?
- 1. Nothing, dìdi works for any brother — score 4
- 2. Dragons have no brothers in Chinese stories — no support
- 3. dìdi is a girl's name — no support
- 4. dìdi is little brother; older is gēge — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 9: «dìdi («DEE-dee») is little brother, said with love and also in «dìdi, bié nào!» (little brother, stop being annoying!).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «dìdi» (+2); the same thing acted on «little brother» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · wrong ✗
You say «wǒ yǒu yí ge dìdi». What did you tell Ming?
- 1. I'm a little brother — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 2. I have a little brother — ✓ the right answer · score 2
- 3. I have no brothers — score 2
- 4. I have a big brother — score 2
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 9, line 7: «gēge («GUH-guh») is big brother, also an older boy a child looks up to; when you talk about one brother, you nearly always say whether he is older or younger.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same thing acted on «big brother» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · wrong ✗
«nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma?» — you're an only child. What do you say?
- 1. duì — no support
- 2. méiyǒu — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. bú yào — no support
- 4. shì — ← Mova's choice · score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 4, line 2: «Ming asks «shì nǐ de ma?» (is it yours?) and you say shì (it is) or bú shì (it isn't). He asks «yǒu méiyǒu?» (got any?) and you say yǒu or méiyǒu. His granny h…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «say» (+2); the same thing acted on «shì» (+2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · right ✓
«bā!» you shout, high and level, meaning dad. What did Ming hear?
- 1. Eight — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Dad — no support
- 3. Hello — no support
- 4. Mum — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the term by which a child customarily addresses an elder brother.
- 1. mèimei — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. bàba — no support
- 3. dìdi — no support
- 4. gēge — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Ascertain the principal distinction drawn in Mandarin terms for siblings.
- 1. Siblings are designated according to height — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. No distinction of sex is drawn in any sibling term — no support
- 3. Siblings are designated solely by their given names, as in English — no support
- 4. Siblings are designated by whether they are older or younger — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the word jiā.
- 1. It denotes a holiday spent away — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It denotes both a home and a family — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It denotes a school or place of study — no support
- 4. It denotes a neighbour — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the term dúshēngzǐ?
- 1. It is a term of reproach directed at spoilt children — no support
- 2. It denotes a twin — no support
- 3. It denotes an only child, with no connotation of misfortune — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 4. It denotes the eldest of numerous siblings — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 9, line 13: «dúshēngzǐ («DOO?-shung-dz») is an only child (for a girl dúshēngnǚ); it is not sad or strange, and many parents who grew up in China are only children themselv…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «dúshēngzǐ» (+2); the same thing acted on «only child» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/9-family-mum-dad-brothers-sisters/