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Some friends drop by a pearl tea shop for midday refreshments.
| Names | Pinyin | Chinese | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 服务员 | Nǐmen xiǎng hē shénme yǐnliào? | 你们想喝什么饮料？ | What drinks would you like? |
| 朋友一 | Nǐmen yǒu zhēnzhū nǎichá ma? | 你们有珍珠奶茶吗？ | Do you have pearl tea? |
| 服务员 | Yǒu ā. nǐ yào shénme kǒuwèi de? | 有啊。你要什么口味的? | Yes. What flavor would you like? |
| 朋友一 | Yī bēi xiāngcǎo de, yī bēi qiǎokèlì de. | 一杯香草的，一杯巧克力的。 | One glass of vanilla, and one glass of chocolate |
| 服务员 | Hái yào shénme ma? | 还要什么吗？ | Anything else? |
| 朋友三 | Wǒ yào yī bēi hēi kāfēi, bù jiā niúnǎi, bú fàng táng. | 我要一杯黑咖啡，不加牛奶，不放糖。 | I would like a cup of black coffee, no cream or sugar |
| 服务员 | Hǎo. yī bēi xiāngcǎo nǎichá, yī bēi qiǎokèlì nǎichá, hé yī bēi hēi kāfēi? Duì ma? Qǐng shāoděng. | 好。一杯香草奶茶，一杯巧克力奶茶，和一杯黑咖啡，对吗？请稍等。 | Okay, one vanilla, one chocolate, and one black coffee, right? Please wait a bit. |
Vocabulary
| Pinyin | Chinese | English |
|---|---|---|
| yǐnliào | 饮料 | (n) beverages |
| zhēnzhū nǎichá | 珍珠奶茶 | (n) pearl tea, or bubble tea |
| kǒuwèi | 口味 | (n) flavor |
| xiāngcǎo | 香草 | (n) vanilla |
| qiǎokèlì | 巧克力 | (n) chocolate |
| jiā | 加 | (v) add |
| niúnǎi | 牛奶 | (n) milk |
| fàng | 放 | (v) put |
| táng | 糖 | (n) sugar |
| shāoděng | 稍等 | (v) wait |
Supplementary Dialog
| Names | Pinyin | Chinese | English equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|
| 朋友一 | Fúwùyuán, qǐngwèn nǐmen de xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ? | 服务员，请问你们的洗手间在哪里？ | Waiter, can you tell me: where is your bathroom? |
| 服务员 | Xǐshǒujiān zài nàbiān, nín de yòubiān. | 洗手间在那边，您的右边。 | The bathroom is back there, on your right |
| (Fúwùyuán returns with the drinks) | |||
| 朋友二 | Wǒmen hái yào sān bǎ sháozi. | 我们还要三把勺子。 | Oh, we still need three spoons |
| 朋友一 | Nǐ bùhuì yòng kuàizi ma? | 你不会用筷子吗？ | Don’t you know how to use chopsticks? |
| 朋友二 | Huì. kěshì wǒ bù kěnéng yòng kuàizi chī zhēnzhū nǎichá. | 会。可是我不可能用筷子吃珍珠奶茶。 | I do. But it is not possible to eat pearl tea with chop sticks. |
| 朋友一 | Hāhā, kāi wánxiào. Shéi yòng sháozi? Rénmen yòng xīguǎn hē nǎichá。 | 哈哈，开玩笑。谁用勺子？人们用吸管喝奶茶。 | Haha. Just kidding. Who uses a spoon? Everybody uses a straw to drink pearl tea |
| later still … | |||
| 朋友三 | Mǎidān. | 买单。 | Check please |
Supplementary Vocabulary
| Pinyin | Chinese | English |
|---|---|---|
| xǐshǒujiān | 洗手间 | (n) wash room |
| nàbiān | 那边 | (n) over there |
| sháozi | 勺子 | (n) spoon |
| kuàizi | 筷子 | (n) chopsticks |
| yòng | 用 | (v) use |
| bù kěnéng | 不可能 | (adj) not possible |
| kāi wánxiào | 开玩笑 | (ph) telling a joke |
| xīguǎn | 吸管 | (n) drinking straw |
| mǎidān | 买单 | (n) bill |
| Fúwùyuán | 服务员 | (n) waiter |
Grammar Patterns
Hái yào shénme ma?
This question may seem strange, because it appears to have two question words: “shénme” and “ma”. But this is not the case, because in this sentence shénme means “anything”. Without the “ma”, the sentence “Hái yào shénme?” means: “What else do you want?” But, the “ma” forces the sentence to be a yes-no question. It is for this reason that the answer should be “yào”.
Fúwùyuán
This is a polite, gender neutral, appellation for service personnel. You can use this word to address service personnel in many industries, such as restaurant, hotel, or train station. It is also okay to use xiānsheng (for men) and xiǎojie (for women) … in some parts of the country, but the safest idea is to use fúwùyuán.
Qǐng shāoděng
This expression is more formal than 等一下
kāi wánxiào
This expression means to tell a joke.
- kāi means open
- wán means to play or have fun
- xiào means smile
This is a useful expression, because Chinese humor and English humor are a bit different. Sarcasm and irony don’t work well in China. So if you tell a joke, it is best to be make it clear that you are looking for a laugh with this expression.
mǎidān
When you are done eating, this one simple word will get you the bill.
Homework
Review the sentence practice sheet and write 5 sentences based on the patterns.
Sentence Practice
