Dialogue

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is Business Chinese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 11 - Dining With a Business Partner in China. Michael here.
Dehua: 大家好!(Dàjiā hǎo!) I'm Dehua.
Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn about eating out. The conversation takes place at a restaurant.
Dehua: It's between Monica and John.
Michael: The speakers are employee and customer, therefore, they will speak formal Chinese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
王芳: 李先生,非常荣幸再见到你。
(Wáng Fāng: Lǐ xiānshēng, fēicháng róngxìng zàijiàn dào nǐ.)
李伟: 我也是。你的生意越做越好,真替你开心。
(Lǐ wěi: Wǒ yěshì. Nǐ de shēngyì yuè zuò yuè hǎo, zhēn tì nǐ kāixīn.)
王芳: 对呀!最近我们忙得不得了。
(Wáng Fāng: Duì ya! Zuìjìn wǒmen máng dé bùdéliǎo.)
李伟: 下次有时间的话,来参观一下我们公司的生产线和实验室。
(Lǐ wěi: Xià cì yǒu shíjiān dehuà, lái cānguān yī​​xià wǒmen gōngsī de shēngchǎnxiàn hé shíyàn shì.)
王芳: 谢谢你的邀请。
(Wáng Fāng: Xièxiè nǐ de yāoqǐng.)
王芳: 服务员,买单。
(Wáng Fāng: Fúwùyuán, mǎidān.)
李伟: 让我来。
(Lǐ wěi: Ràng wǒ lái.)
Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly.
王芳: 李先生,非常荣幸再见到你。
(Wáng Fāng: Lǐ xiānshēng, fēicháng róngxìng zàijiàn dào nǐ.)
李伟: 我也是。你的生意越做越好,真替你开心。
(Lǐ wěi: Wǒ yěshì. Nǐ de shēngyì yuè zuò yuè hǎo, zhēn tì nǐ kāixīn.)
王芳: 对呀!最近我们忙得不得了。
(Wáng Fāng: Duì ya! Zuìjìn wǒmen máng dé bùdéliǎo.)
李伟: 下次有时间的话,来参观一下我们公司的生产线和实验室。
(Lǐ wěi: Xià cì yǒu shíjiān dehuà, lái cānguān yī​​xià wǒmen gōngsī de shēngchǎnxiàn hé shíyàn shì.)
王芳: 谢谢你的邀请。
(Wáng Fāng: Xièxiè nǐ de yāoqǐng.)
王芳: 服务员,买单。
(Wáng Fāng: Fúwùyuán, mǎidān.)
李伟: 让我来。
(Lǐ wěi: Ràng wǒ lái.)
Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation.
王芳: 李先生,非常荣幸再见到你。
(Wáng Fāng: Lǐ xiānshēng, fēicháng róngxìng zàijiàn dào nǐ.)
Monica: "Mr. Li, it was nice to see you again."
李伟: 我也是。你的生意越做越好,真替你开心。
(Lǐ wěi: Wǒ yěshì. Nǐ de shēngyì yuè zuò yuè hǎo, zhēn tì nǐ kāixīn.)
John: "Same here. I'm glad your business is going well."
王芳: 对呀!最近我们忙得不得了。
(Wáng Fāng: Duì ya! Zuìjìn wǒmen máng dé bùdéliǎo..)
Monica: "Yes, lately we have a lot of work."
李伟: 下次有时间的话,来参观一下我们公司的生产线和实验室。
(Lǐ wěi: Xià cì yǒu shíjiān dehuà, lái cānguān yī​​xià wǒmen gōngsī de shēngchǎnxiàn hé shíyàn shì.)
John: "Next time when you are free, please visit our company production line and the laboratories."
王芳: 谢谢你的邀请。
(Wáng Fāng: Xièxiè nǐ de yāoqǐng.)
Monica: "Thank you for the invitation."
王芳: 服务员,买单。
(Wáng Fāng: Fúwùyuán, mǎidān.)
Monica: "Waiter, can I get the bill, please?"
李伟: 让我来。
(Lǐ wěi: Ràng wǒ lái.)
John: "Let me get this."
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Michael: As the conversation was set during a business lunch, let’s talk a little bit more about that.
Dehua: If you do business in China, it’s likely that you will go to a business lunch.
Michael: What can you tell us about the etiquette at a business lunch?
Dehua: Table manners are rather relaxed at a business lunch.
Michael: Really? What kind of conversations might happen?
Dehua: There might be small talk about your experiences in your home country.
Michael: Are there some topics that should be avoided?
Dehua: Yes, avoid talking about failure, death, or poverty.
Michael: Right, some Chinese people are superstitious and won’t like those topics.
Dehua: That’s correct.
Michael: Who pays at a business lunch?
Dehua: The host. Don’t offer to pay for your share.
Michael: Okay, now onto the vocab.
VOCAB LIST
Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is...
Dehua: 替(tì) [natural native speed]
Michael: "(to feel/do something) for (someone)"
Dehua: 替(tì) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 替(tì) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 越(...越...)(yuè...... Yuè......) [natural native speed]
Michael: "the more one (verb) the more (adjective) it becomes"
Dehua: 越(...越...)(yuè...... Yuè......) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 越(...越...)(yuè...... Yuè......) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 生意(Shēngyì) [natural native speed]
Michael: "business"
Dehua: 生意(Shēngyì) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 生意(Shēngyì) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 来(lái) [natural native speed]
Michael: "to come; over here"
Dehua: 来(lái) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 来(lái) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 生产线(shēngchǎnxiàn) [natural native speed]
Michael: "production line"
Dehua: 生产线(shēngchǎnxiàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 生产线(shēngchǎnxiàn) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 实验室(shíyàn shì) [natural native speed]
Michael: "laboratory"
Dehua: 实验室(shíyàn shì) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 实验室(shíyàn shì) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next,
Dehua: 邀请(yāoqǐng) [natural native speed]
Michael: "invite; to invite"
Dehua: 邀请(yāoqǐng) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 邀请(yāoqǐng) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next,
Dehua: 服务员(fúwùyuán) [natural native speed]
Michael: "waiter"
Dehua: 服务员(fúwùyuán) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 服务员(fúwùyuán) [natural native speed]
Michael: Next we have...
Dehua: 买单(mǎidān) [natural native speed]
Michael: "pay the bill; check please"
Dehua: 买单(mǎidān) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 买单(mǎidān) [natural native speed]
Michael: And last...
Dehua: 让 [natural native speed]
Michael: "let (someone do something)"
Dehua: 让 [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Dehua: 让 [natural native speed]
KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES
Michael: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is...
Dehua: 越做越好(yuè zuò yuè hǎo)
Michael: meaning "to get better and better at it."
Michael: Let’s break down this phrase.
Dehua: The grammar is 越...越... (yuè... yuè...)
Michael: That means "the more… the more…"
Dehua: In the dialogue, we hear 生意越做越好(shēngyì yuè zuò yuè hǎo), it literally means “business, the more you do, the better it gets”
Michael: So in English, “it’s getting better and better”. Can you break down the phrase for us?
Dehua: 做(zuò) means "to do, to work." And at the end is 好(hǎo)
Michael: That is "good." This phrase is very useful if someone has just opened a business.
Dehua: Yes, you can use it with 生意(shēngyì) , meaning "business."
Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say... 生意越做越好(shēngyì yuè zuò yuè hǎo)
Michael: … which means "business is getting better and better."
Michael: Okay, what's the next word?
Dehua: 实验室(shíyànshì)
Michael: meaning "laboratory."
Michael: Let’s look at this word.
Dehua: First is 实验(shíyàn), meaning "experiment." Then is 室(shì).
Michael: That means "room, chamber." You can use this to describe where scientific experiments or research is carried out.
Dehua: There are many different types of laboratories.
Michael: You can add the name of the subject in front of the laboratory.
Dehua: For example 医学实验室(yīxué shíyànshì),
Michael: "medical laboratory." Can you give us an example using this word?
Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say... 药业公司大多数设有研究实验室。(Yào yè gōngsī dà duōshù shè yǒu yánjiū shíyàn shì.)
Michael: ... which means "Most pharmaceutical companies are equipped with a research laboratory."
Michael: Okay, what's the next word?
Dehua: 让我来。(Ràng wǒ lái.)
Michael: meaning "Let me."
Michael: This is our last phrase for this lesson.
Dehua: First is 让(ràng), that means "let." The next part is 我(wǒ)
Michael: That means "I, me." Finally is "to come, to handle."
Dehua: That is 来(lái).
Michael: You can use this phrase to ask someone to let you do something.
Dehua: You can say 让他来(ràng tā lái) to let a third person do it.
Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase?
Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say... 上一次你请客,今天就让我来。(Shàng yīcì nǐ qǐngkè, jīntiān jiù ràng wǒ lái.)
Michael: ... which means "You got the bill last time, let me get it today."
Michael: Okay, now onto the lesson focus.

Lesson focus

Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn about dining with your business partner.
Michael: First, we’ll look at the use of a Chinese preposition.
Dehua: Yes, we will look at 替 (tì).
Michael: It’s commonly used to mean "for" or "on behalf of" to express your feelings for a person.
Dehua: To use it, we first say 替 (tì) and then the person’s name or pronoun, followed by the adjective.
Michael: You can also use "really" at the beginning to emphasize it.
Dehua: That’s 真 (zhēn). For example, Tom那么能干,还是没机会升职,真替他不值。(Tom nàme nénggàn, háishì méi jīhuì shēng zhí, zhēn tì tā bù zhí.)
Michael: "Tom is doing very well at his job, but he is not getting promoted, that’s very unfair for him."
Dehua: 看到你每天都加班,真替你心疼。(Kàn dào nǐ měitiān dū jiābān, zhēn tì nǐ xīnténg.)
Michael: "I feel sad that you need to work overtime every day."
Dehua: 真替你开心。(Zhēn tì nǐ kāixīn.)
Michael: "I’m happy for you." Now, let’s look at how to handle a bill in China.
Dehua: Remember, in China, the host pays for a business dinner.
Michael: Is there anything we should say or do instead of paying?
Dehua: Just give your thanks after the meal, and say 谢谢 (xièxiè).
Michael: Okay. Here are some phrases that should help you.
Dehua: 让我来。(Ràng wǒ lái.)
Michael: "It’s on me."
Dehua: 这一次是我的。(Zhè yīcì shì wǒ de.)
Michael: "It’s on me this time."
Dehua: 这一次我买单。(Zhè yīcì wǒ mǎidān.)
Michael: "I’ll get the bill this time."
Dehua: 不用客气,应该的 (Bùyòng kèqì, yīnggāi de.)
Michael: "Be my guest, it’s appropriate."
Dehua: 今天我做东。(Jīntiān wǒ zuò dōng.)
Michael: "I’m the host today."

Outro

Michael: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye!
Dehua: 再见!(Zàijiàn!)

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