When you look up the dictionary 首都(shǒudū) , 首府(shǒufǔ), and 省会(shěnghuì) are translated as capital but they
are different.
•首都(shǒudū) is the
capital city of a country. For example, 北京是中国的首都。běijīng shì zhōngguó de shǒudū.
•首府(shǒufǔ) is capital
city of an autonomous region, like the states in America.For example, Albany是纽约州的首府。Albany shì niǔyuē zhōu de shǒufǔ.
•省会(shěnghuì) is the
provincial capital. In China or Canada use provinces (省, shěng)as the state level administrative
unit. For example, 广州是广东的省会。Guǎngzhōu shì
guǎngdōng de shěnghuì.
Practice
I. Please choose 首都(shǒudū) , 首府(shǒufǔ), or 省会(shěnghuì) to fill in the blanks:
1.华盛顿是美国的______。Huáshèngdùn shì měiguó de______.
2.广州是广东省的______。Guǎngzhōu shì guǎngdōng shěng de______.
3.长沙是湖南省的______。Chángshā shì húnán shěng de______.
4.东京是日本的_______。Dōngjīng shì rìběn de_______.
5.Sacramento是加利佛尼州的_______。Sacramento shì Jiā lì
fó ní yà zhōu de_______.
6.Ottawa是加拿大的_______。Ottawa shì jiānádà de_______.
7.Toronto是安大略省的_______。Toronto shì āndàlüè shěng de_______.
II. Please translate the following sentences into Chinese:
1. She has visited Tian'anmen and the Great Wall.
2. I have been to UB. It is a very nice campus.
3. I have been to that Chinese restaurant. The taste of their
Mapo tofu is very good but it is very spicy.
4. He can speak Chinese but he has not learned it, because he
has worked in China for many years.
5. Have you ever met him before? No, I haven't seen him before.
This is the first time I meet him.
6. My maternal grandfather has not known how to a computer.
7. What does this character mean? We haven't learned it yet.
8. He is more than 20 years old.
9. She is less than 20 years old.
10. It will take less than 8 hours from NYC to Buffalo.
III. Please translate the following sentences into English
1. 东京是日本的首都。
Dōngjīng shì rìběn de shǒudū.
2. 中国有五千多年的历史。
Zhōngguó yǒu wǔqiān duō nián de lìshǐ.
3. 我去过很多国家，比如英国、法国、澳大利亚、美国等。
Wǒ qùguò hěnduō guójiā, bǐrú yīngguó, fàguó, àodàlìyǎ, měiguó
děng.
4. 你看见过长城吗？
Nǐ kànjiànguò chángchéng ma?
5. 我没去过故宫。
Wǒ méi qùguò gùgōng.
6. 我到过天安门。
Wǒ dàoguò tiān'ānmén.
7. 法国有很多名胜。
Fàguó yǒu hěnduō míngshèng.
