Chinese For Dummies (125 page)

Wǒ yǐjīng yùdìng le fángjiān.
我已经预定了房间
. (
我已經預定了房間
.) (waw ee-jeeng yew-deeng luh fahng-jyan.) (
I already made a reservation.
)

If you're in luck, the hotel has at least one
kōng
空
(koong) (
empty/vacant
) room. If the hotel has no available space, you'll hear
Duìbùqǐ, wǒmen kèmǎn le.
对不起
,
我们客满了
. (
對不起
,
我們客滿了
.) (dway-boo-chee, waw-men kuh-mahn luh.) (
Sorry, there are no vacancies./We're full.
)

The
qiántái fúwùyuán
前台服务员
(
前台服務員
) (chyan-tye foo-woo-ywan) (
front desk clerk
) asks you to
tián
å¡«
(tyan) (
fill out
) a couple of
biǎo
表
(byaow) (
forms
) to book your room, so have a pen and some form of
zhèngjiàn
证件
(
證件
) (juhng-jyan) (
ID
) ready — especially your
hùzhào
护照
(
護照
) (hoo-jaow) (
passport
). Voilà! You're officially a hotel
kèrén
客人
(kuh-run) (
guest
).

After you successfully manage to check in, a
xíngliyuán
行李员
(
行李員
) (sheeng-lee-ywan) (
porter/bellboy
) immediately appears to help take your
xíngli
行李
(sheeng-lee) (
luggage
) to your room. After he lets you in, he gives you the
yàoshi
钥匙
(
鑰匙
) (yaow-shir) (
key
) if you didn't get it from the
qiántái fúwùyuán
downstairs.

Talkin' the Talk

Adele arrives in Taiwan and wants to check into a hotel in downtown Taipei, but the clerk informs her that the hotel has no vacancy. (Track 27)

Adele:

Nǐ hǎo. Qǐngwèn, nǐmen hái yǒu fángjiān ma?

nee how. cheeng-one, nee-men hi yo fahng-jyan mah?

Hello. May I ask, do you have any rooms available?

Clerk:

Duìbùqǐ, wǒmen jīntiān kèmǎn le. Méiyǒu kōng fángjiān le.

dway-boo-chee, waw-men jin-tyan kuh-mahn luh. mayo koong fahng-jyan luh.

I'm sorry, but we're full today. There aren't any vacant rooms.

Adele:

Zāogāo! Nǐ néng bù néng tuījiàn biéde lǚguǎn?

dzaow-gaow! nee nung boo nung tway-jyan byeh-duh lyew-gwahn?

Rats! Could you perhaps recommend another hotel, then?

Clerk:

Kéyǐ. Gébì de lǚguǎn yǒu kōng fángjiān. Nǐ zuì hǎo zǒu guò qù shì shì kàn.

kuh-yee. guh-bee duh lyew-gwahn yo koong fahng-jyan. nee dzway how dzoe gwaw chyew shir shir kahn.

Yes. The hotel next door has vacancies. You may as well walk over there and have a look.

Adele:

Xièxiè.

shyeh-shyeh.

Thank you.

Taking Advantage of Hotel Service

After you check into your hotel (refer to the preceding section), you may find yourself mysteriously lingering a bit in the
dàtīng
大厅
(
大廳
) (dah-teeng) (
lobby
), visually casing the joint long enough to take in all sorts of amenities. The following sections introduce you to both the comfort services and customer services hotels have to offer.

Depending on your service needs, you interact with many different employees on any given hotel stay:

fúwùtái jīnglǐ
服务台经理
(
服務台經理
) (foo-woo-tye jeeng-lee) (
concierge
)

fúwùyuán
服务员
(
服務員
) (foo-woo-ywan) (
attendant
)

fúwùyuán lǐngbān
服务员领班
(
服務員領班
) (foo-woo-ywan leeng-bahn) (
bell captain
)

zhùlǐ jīnglǐ
助理经理
(
助理經理
) (joo-lee jeeng-lee) (
assistant manager
)

zǒngjīnglǐ
总经理
(
總經理
) (dzoong-jeeng-lee) (
general manager
)

Counting on convenience

Most hotels let you put in for a wake-up call so that you don't have to worry about setting an alarm. All you have to say is
Qǐng nǐ jiào wǒ qǐchuáng.
请你叫我起床
. (
請你叫我起床
.) (cheeng nee jyaow waw chee-chwahng.) (Literally:
Please call me to get out of bed.
)

After you're awake, the luxuries at your disposal may include the following: