Want to get better at arguing your point in Chinese?
In this video, two debaters present their arguments for and against buying a house…
Try to take note of good vocabulary & grammar that YOU could use in a future debate or discussion.
Debating Dialogue Breakdown
买房比租房好。
mǎi fáng bǐ zū fáng hǎo.
TOPIC: "Buying A House Is Better Than Renting A House"
正方 zhèng fāng (FOR):
买房绝对比租房好！为什么呢？
mǎi fáng jué duì bǐ zū fáng hǎo！ wèi shén me ne？
Buying a house is definitely better than renting a house! Why?
第一，房子是一个人的根，有房就有家。
dì yī， fáng zi shì yī gè rén de gēn， yǒu fáng jiù yǒu jiā.
Firstly, a house is one's root. If you have a house, you have a home.
第二，租房有太多缺点了。
dì èr， zū fáng yǒu tài duō quē diǎn le.
Secondly, there are so many disadvantages of renting a house.
租来的房子，你不可以随意改造。
zū lái de fáng zi， nǐ bù kě yǐ suí yì gǎi zào.
You can not freely modify a rental house.
你不会买贵的家具。
nǐ bù huì mǎi guì de jiā jù.
You won't buy expensive furniture.
不会按照自己的意愿去装修房子。
bù huì àn zhào zì jǐ de yì yuàn qù zhuāng xiū fáng zi.
You will not decorate the house as you wish.
租来的房子不温馨，也不舒服, 没有家的感觉。
zū lái de fáng zi bù wēn xīn， yě bù shū fú, méi yǒu jiā de gǎn jué.
A Rental house is not cozy nor comfortable, and doesn't feel like home.
反方 fǎn fāng (AGAINST):
首先，房子不是根，家人才是根。
shǒu xiān， fáng zi bù shì gēn， jiā rén cái shì gēn.
First of all, the house is not one's root. One's family is the root.
家人在哪里，哪里就是根。
jiā rén zài nǎ lǐ， nǎ lǐ jiù shì gēn.
Your root is where your family is.
只要家人在身边，我们可以四海为家。
zhǐ yào jiā rén zài shēn biān， wǒ men kě yǐ sì hǎi wèi jiā.
As long as the family is around, any place can be our home.
其次，我同意你说租房有很多缺点，
qí cì， wǒ tóng yì nǐ shuō zū fáng yǒu hěn duō quē diǎn，
Secondly, I agree with you that there are many disadvantages of renting a house,
但买房会给自己很多的压力和负担。
dàn mǎi fáng huì gěi zì jǐ hěn duō de yā lì hé fù dān.
but when you buy a house you put lots of pressure and a burden on yourself.
很多人没有足够的钱，会向银行贷款买房。
hěn duō rén méi yǒu zú gòu de qián， huì xiàng yín xíng dài kuǎn mǎi fáng.
Many people don't have enough money to buy a house and take a mortgage from the bank.
每个月还房贷会给自己的生活带来很大的负担。
měi gè yuè hái fáng dài huì gěi zì jǐ de shēng huó dài lái hěn dà de fù dān.
Making monthly mortgage payments can be a big burden in your life.
还有，为了养房子，我们就不可以买好点的东西吃，
hái yǒu， wèi le yǎng fáng zi， wǒ men jiù bù kě yǐ mǎi hǎo diǎn de dōng xī chī，
Furthermore, in order to maintain the house, we can't afford to buy better food,
不可以买好点的衣服穿，
bù kě yǐ mǎi hǎo diǎn de yī fú chuān，
we can't buy better clothes to wear,
还要忍受不喜欢的工作。
hái yào rěn shòu bù xǐ huān de gōng zuò.
and we have to put up with work that we don't like every day.
我们就没有办法花钱做其他感兴趣的事情了。
wǒ men jiù méi yǒu bàn fǎ huā qián zuò qí tā gǎn xìng qù de shì qíng le.
And we can't spend money on other things that we are interested in.
买房给了自己很多的压力。
mǎi fáng gěi le zì jǐ hěn duō de yā lì
When you buy a house you put a lot of pressure on yourself.
因此，当你没有足够的钱的时候，
yīn cǐ， dāng nǐ méi yǒu zú gòu de qián de shí hòu，
Therefore, when you don't have enough money,
租房比买房快乐多了。
zū fáng bǐ mǎi fáng kuài lè duō le.
renting a house makes you happier than buying a house.
正方反驳 zhèng fāng fǎn bó (FOR Rebuttal):
我并不觉得租房比买房快乐。
wǒ bìng bù jué de zū fáng bǐ mǎi fáng kuài lè.
Buying a house is definitely better than renting a house! why?
因为租房有随时被房东解除租约的风险。
yīn wèi zū fáng yǒu suí shí bèi fáng dōng jiě chú zū yuē de fēng xiǎn.
Because there's a risk of having the rental lease canceled any time by the landlord.
在中国，房东最大，房东可以随时随意让你搬家。
zài zhōng guó， fáng dōng zuì dà， fáng dōng kě yǐ suí shí suí yì ràng nǐ bān jiā.
In China, the landlord is the biggest boss. The landlord can ask you to move out any time.
你觉得这种漂泊不定的生活快乐吗？
nǐ jué de zhè zhǒng piào bó bù dìng de shēng huó kuài lè ma？
Do you think this uncerain life brings happiness?
买房是一种很好的理性投资。
mǎi fáng shì yī zhǒng hěn hǎo de lǐ xìng tóu zī.
Buying a house is a good and sensible investment.
每个月你会合理地分配你的钱，理性地消费。
měi gè yuè nǐ huì hé lǐ de fēn pèi nǐ de qián， lǐ xìng de xiāo fèi.
Every month, you will allocate your money reasonably and consume it rationally.
还房贷的钱最终还是自己的。
hái fáng dài de qián zuì zhōng hái shì zì jǐ de.
The money for the mortgage is eventually still yours.
如果房子升值，还可以赚一笔钱。
rú guǒ fáng zi shēng zhí， hái kě yǐ zhuàn yī bǐ qián.
If the house appreciates in value, you can also make a fortune.
如果是租房了，房租也不便宜啊！
rú guǒ shì zū fáng le， fáng zū yě bù pián yí a！
If you rent... the rent is not cheap either!
用来交房租的钱就全给房东了。
yòng lái jiāo fáng zū de qián jiù quán gěi fáng dōng le.
The money you use to pay rent all goes to the landlord.
这样看来，买房还是更好。
zhè yàng kàn lái， mǎi fáng hái shì gèng hǎo.
So it seems like buying a house is better. So it seems that buying a house is better and an effective investment.
买房是一种有效的投资。
mǎi fáng shì yī zhǒng yǒu xiào de tóu zī.
Buying a house is an effective way of investing.
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