Chinese For Dummies (116 page)

Zhèige zuòwèi yǒu rén ma?
这个座位有人吗
? (
这個座位有人嗎
?) (jay-guh dzwaw-way yo run mah?) (
Is this seat taken?
)

Talkin' the Talk

Candice is at the Beijing train station to buy a round-trip ticket to Shanghai for tomorrow. She approaches a ticket agent to purchase her ticket.

Candice:

Qǐngwèn, yǒu méiyǒu míngtiān qù Shànghǎi de huǒchē piào?

cheeng-one, yo mayo meeng-tyan chyew shahng-hi duh hwaw-chuh pyaow?

Excuse me, do you have any train tickets to Shanghai for tomorrow?

Ticket agent:

Yǒu. Yào jǐ zhāng?

yo. yaow jee jahng?

Yes. How many would you like?

Candice:

Zhǐ yì zhāng lái huí piào. Xiàge lǐbàiyī yào huí lái.

jir ee jahng lye hway pyaow. shyah-guh lee-bye-ee yaow hway lye.

Just one round-trip ticket. I'd like to return next Monday.

Ticket agent:

Hǎo. Yào yìngwò, ruǎnwò, háishì ruǎnzuò?

how. yaow eeng-waw, rwahn-waw, hi-shir rwahn-dzwaw?

Okay. Would you like a hard sleeper, a soft sleeper, or a soft seat?

Candice:

Wǒ yào yì zhāng ruǎnwò. Xièxiè.

waw yaow ee jahng rwahn-waw. shyeh-shyeh.

I'd like a soft sleeper. Thanks.

 Fun & Games

How do you say these types of transportation in Chinese? (Flip to
Appendix D
for the answers.)

A. ______________

B. ______________

C. ______________

D. ______________

E. ______________

Chapter 17

Asking for Directions

In This Chapter

Asking “where” questions

Covering time and distances

Picking out specific spots with ordinal numbers

Pointing the way with directional coverbs

E
veryone (yes, even you) has to ask for
fāngxiàng
方向
(fahng-shyahng) (
directions
) at some time or another. Even if you just need to find the bathroom — when you've got to go, you'd better know.

You may find yourself baffled by the boulevards in Beihai or dumbfounded by directions in Dalian. This chapter helps you figure out exactly how to ask for directions before you ever
mílù
è¿·è·¯
(mee-loo) (
get lost
). Whether you lose your bearings in Beijing or wander off the path in Luoyang, this chapter gives you helpful tips that make it easier to find your way back home. Or at least back to your hotel.

You definitely need to know how to ask where certain places are in mainland China, where most people don't speak English. You have a greater likelihood of hailing an English-speaking cabbie in Taipei or Kowloon to take you where you need to go than you do in one of the cities or towns in mainland China, but you can't bank on that.

Avoiding 20 Questions: Just Ask “Where?”

Okay, so you're searching for the closest post office to mail a package home before your mother's birthday next week. A passerby tells you to go right down the street, but for the life of you, all you see are a couple of bookstores and an occasional subway station. Time to ask for directions. But how?

The easiest way to ask where something is in Chinese is to use the question word
nǎr
哪儿
(
哪兒
) (nar) (
where
). But you can't just say
nǎr,
or folks still won't know what you're talking about. You have to use the coverb
zài
在
(dzye), which can be translated as
in
or
at,
in front of
nǎr
(zài nǎr).
(A
coverb
is officially a verb but functions as a preposition.) Just put the name of whatever you're looking for before the word
zài
to create a complete question:

Nǐ zài nǎr?
你在哪儿
? (
你在哪兒
?) (nee dzye nar?) (
Where are you?
)

Shūdiàn zài nǎr?
书店在哪儿
? (
書店在哪兒
?) (shoo-dyan dzye nar?) (
Where's the bookstore?
)

Yóujú zài nǎr?
邮局在哪儿
? (
郵局在哪兒
?) (yo-jyew dzye nar?) (
Where's the post office?
)

Here are some places you may be looking for when you lose your way:

cèsuǒ
厕所
(
廁所
) (tsuh-swaw) (
bathroom
)

chūzū qìchēzhàn
出租汽车站
(
出租汽車站
) (choo-dzoo chee-chuh-jahn) (
taxi stand
)

dìtiězhàn
地铁站
(
地鐵站
) (dee-tyeh-jahn) (
subway station
)

fànguǎn
饭馆
(
飯館
) (fahn-gwahn) (
restaurant
)

gōnggòng qìchē zhàn
公共汽车站
(
公共汽車站
) (goong-goong chee-chuh jahn) (
bus stop)