Mr Lǐ (李) welcomes Miss Shàng (尚), and her guests, to his restaurant
| Pinyin | Chinese | Sentence level translation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 李 | Huānyíng guānglín! Nǐ men jǐ wèi? | 欢迎光临！你们几位？ | Welcome, how many in your party? |
| 尚 | Wǔ wèi. | 五位。 | 5 persons |
| 李 | Zhè biān qǐng. Nǐmen hē diǎnr shénme? | 这边请。你们喝点儿什么？ | This way please. Would you like something to drink? |
| 尚 | Lái yì bēi píjiǔ, yì bēi rè chá, liǎng píng kělè, yì bēi bīng shuǐ. | 来一杯啤酒，一杯热茶，两瓶可乐，一杯冰水。 | Bring a mug of beer, a cup of hot tea, two bottles of cola and a glass of ice water. |
| 李 | Nǐmen chī diǎnr shénme? | 你们吃点儿什么？ | What would you like to eat? |
| 尚 | Nǐmen yǒu yīngwén càidān ma? | 你们有英文菜单吗？ | Do you have an English menu? |
| 李 | Bù hǎo yìsi ，wǒmen méiyǒu. | 不好意思，我们没有。 | Sorry, we don’t have any. |
| 尚 | Méi wèntí. Ràng wǒ xiān kàn yíxìa càidān. … Lái yì pán yúxiāng ròusī, yì pán gúlǎoròu, yì pán chǎo xīlánhuā, yì pán chǎo qīngcài, bàn zhī běijīng kǎoyā, sān wǎn báifàn, yì wǎn miàntiáo hé èr liáng jiǎozi. | 没问题。让我先看一下菜单。… 来一盘鱼香肉丝，一盘古老肉， 一盘炒西兰花，一盘炒青菜，半只北京烤鸭， 三碗白饭，一碗面条和二两饺子。 | No problem. Let me have a look at your menu … Bring a plate of shredded pork, sweet and sour pork, stir fried broccoli, stir fried green vegetable,half of a Peking Duck, three bowls of white rice, one bowl of noodles and two dumpling dishes. |
| 李 | Hái yào shénme ma? | 还要什么吗？ | Anything else? |
| 尚 | Xiè xiè, gòu le. | 谢谢，够了。 | No thanks, that’s enough. |
| (later, after dinner.) | |||
| 尚 | Xiǎojie , jié zhàng. | 小姐，结账。 | Miss, we would like to pay. |
| 李 | Xièxie, huānyíng nǐ zài lái. | 谢谢，欢迎你再来。 | Thank you, come back again soon. |
Vocabulary
| Pinyin | Chinese | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| wèi | 位 | Classifier for people. More respectful than ge (个) | |
| biān | 边 | side | Suffix for noun of locality. Example (这边) zhè biān means “this direction” |
| càidān | 菜单 | menu | Noun |
| bù hǎo yì si | 不好意思 | How embarassing | Expression |
| méi wèn tí | 没问题 | No problem | Expression |
| ràng | 让 | let | Verb, to allow or compel someone to do something |
| xiān | 先 | first | Adverb |
| yú xiāng ròu sī | 鱼香肉丝 | shredded pork | Noun |
| xī lán huā | 西兰花 | broccolli | Noun |
| qīng cài | 青菜 | green vegetables | Noun |
| hái | 还 | still | Adverb, for example hái yāo shénme (还要什么) means “still want more” |
| bàn | 半 | half | Number |
| zhī | 只 | Classifer for many types of animals including birds and cats | |
| jié zhàng | 结账 | checkout | Verb, meaning to pay the bill |
Homework
Check this link for Sentence Practice
