Learn how to talk about work
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is Business Chinese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 5 - Chatting With Your Coworkers in China. Michael here. |
| Dehua: 大家好！(Dàjiā hǎo!) I'm Dehua. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about work. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Dehua: It's between Monica and Mark. |
| Michael: The speakers are boss and employee(s), therefore, they will speak informal Chinese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 马浩然: 最近好吗？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Zuìjìn hǎo ma?) |
| 王芳: 最近我很忙。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Zuìjìn wǒ hěn? Máng.) |
| 马浩然: 有新的计划？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Yǒu xīn de jìhuà?) |
| 王芳: 对，两个新计划一起来。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Duì, liǎng gè xīn jìhuà yīqǐlái.) |
| 马浩然: 我的部门现在不怎么忙，一般在月底才是最忙的。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ de bùmén xiànzài bù zě me máng, yībān zài yuèdǐ cái shì zuì máng de.) |
| 王芳: 好吧！我要准备发布会，下次再聊。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Hǎo ba! Wǒ yào zhǔnbèi fābù huì, xià cì zài liáo.) |
| 马浩然: 好 。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Hǎo.) |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| 马浩然: 最近好吗？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Zuìjìn hǎo ma?) |
| 王芳: 最近我很忙。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Zuìjìn wǒ hěn? Máng.) |
| 马浩然: 有新的计划？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Yǒu xīn de jìhuà?) |
| 王芳: 对，两个新计划一起来。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Duì, liǎng gè xīn jìhuà yīqǐlái.) |
| 马浩然: 我的部门现在不怎么忙，一般在月底才是最忙的。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ de bùmén xiànzài bù zě me máng, tōngcháng zài yuèdǐ cái shì zuì máng de.) |
| 王芳: 好吧！我要准备发布会，下次再聊。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Hǎo ba! Wǒ yào zhǔnbèi fābù huì, xià cì zài liáo.) |
| 马浩然: 好 。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Hǎo.) |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 马浩然: 最近好吗？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Zuìjìn hǎo ma?) |
| Mark: "How is it going?" |
| 王芳: 最近我很忙。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Zuìjìn wǒ hěn? Máng.) |
| Monica: "Lately I have a lot of work." |
| 马浩然: 有新的计划？ |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Yǒu xīn de jìhuà?) |
| Mark: "New project?" |
| 王芳: 对，两个新计划一起来。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Duì, liǎng gè xīn jìhuà yīqǐlái.) |
| Monica: "Yes, I've got two new projects." |
| 马浩然: 我的部门现在不怎么忙，一般在月底才是最忙的。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ de bùmén xiànzài bù zě me máng, tōngcháng zài yuèdǐ cái shì zuì máng de.) |
| Mark: "My department is not very busy now. Usually, the most hectic time is at the end of the month." |
| 王芳: 好吧！我要准备发布会，下次再聊。 |
| (Wáng Fāng: Hǎo ba! Wǒ yào zhǔnbèi fābù huì, xià cì zài liáo.) |
| Monica: "Ok, so I will be going. I have to prepare the presentation. Talk to you next time." |
| 马浩然: 好 。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Hǎo.) |
| Mark: "Okay!" |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: In the conversation, Mark and Monica were comparing their workloads. |
| Dehua: Yes, Monica is busy but Mark has more free time. |
| Michael: When is usually the busiest time for Chinese companies? |
| Dehua: Most are busy before a long holiday. |
| Michael: Such as Chinese New Year in February? |
| Dehua: That’s right. Or National Day in October. Many companies clear their stock at the end of the year. |
| Michael: There’s usually an annual meeting and party at the end of the year too, and that can affect schedules. |
| Dehua: It can make things very busy! |
| Michael: Let’s go back to talking about Chinese New Year again. |
| Dehua: It’s a very spectacular celebration! |
| Michael: What are the best parts about the celebrations? |
| Dehua: The parade and the fireworks. |
| 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: 最近(zuìjìn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "recently" |
| Dehua: 最近(zuìjìn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 最近(zuìjìn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 忙(máng) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "busy" |
| Dehua: 忙(máng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 忙(máng) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 一起(yīqǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "together" |
| Dehua: 一起(yīqǐ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 一起(yīqǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 部门(bùmén) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "department" |
| Dehua: 部门(bùmén) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 部门(bùmén) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 一般(yībān) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "usually" |
| Dehua: 一般(yībān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 一般(yībān) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 月底(yuèdǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "the end of the month" |
| Dehua: 月底(yuèdǐ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 月底(yuèdǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 准备(zhǔnbèi) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "to prepare" |
| Dehua: 准备(zhǔnbèi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 准备(zhǔnbèi) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have... |
| Dehua: 发布会(fābù huì) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "presentation; launching presentation" |
| Dehua: 发布会(fābù huì) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 发布会(fābù huì) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: And lastly... |
| Dehua: 聊(liáo) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "to chat" |
| Dehua: 聊(liáo) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 聊(liáo) [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: 最近好吗？(Zuìjìn hǎo ma?) |
| Michael: meaning "How's it going recently?" |
| Michael: Can you break this question down for us? |
| Dehua: First is 最近(zuìjìn). It means "recently, lately." Next is 好吗？(hǎo ma?) |
| Michael: This means "How are you?" or "What is going on?" Can we break that down as well? |
| Dehua: Yes. First is 好(hǎo). And last is 吗(ma). |
| Michael: That is the final particle for questions. This is a casual greeting. |
| Dehua: It has a meaning similar to "how are you?" |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this expression? |
| Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say... 你妈妈最近好吗？(Nǐ māmā zuìjìn hǎo ma?) |
| Michael: ...which means "How's your mother doing recently?" |
| Michael: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Dehua: 一起来(yīqǐlái) |
| Michael: meaning "to have two things happening simultaneously; to do things together." |
| Michael: Let’s break this down, too. |
| Dehua: First is 一起(yīqǐ). It means the same as "together." |
| Michael: You can use it when you want to say that two things are happening at the same time. |
| Dehua: Or that two people are doing an action at the same time, too. |
| Michael: You then follow it with a verb. |
| Dehua: This example uses 来 (lái), "come, appear." |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say... 两个项目一起来。(Liǎng gè xiàngmù yī qǐlái.) |
| Michael: ... which means "Two projects coming up at the same time." |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn about chatting about work. |
| Michael: You’ll often have to talk about your work with your colleagues. Here are some words and phrases that can help you. |
| Dehua: 最近 (zuìjìn) |
| Michael: "recently" |
| Dehua: 忙 (máng) |
| Michael: "busy" |
| Dehua: 听说 (tīng shuō) |
| Michael: "to have heard" |
| Dehua: 我明天要交给老板这个月的报告 (Wǒ míngtiān yào jiāo gěi lǎobǎn zhège yuè de bàogào.) |
| Michael: "I need to submit this month’s report to the boss tomorrow." |
| Dehua: 你最近忙什么？ (Nǐ zuìjìn máng shénme?) |
| Michael: "What are you busy with recently?" When we talk about plans or schedules at work, we often talk about the future and can do that using "I am going to…" |
| Dehua: That is 我要 (wǒ yào...) You follow it with a verb. 我要睡觉。(Wǒ yào shuìjiào.) |
| Michael: "I am going to sleep." |
| Dehua: 我要上班。(Wǒ yào shàngbān.) |
| Michael: "I am going to work." To talk about going to a place, you use a noun. |
| Dehua: 我要去办公室。(Wǒ yào qù bàngōngshì.) |
| Michael: "I am going to the meeting room." |
| Dehua: 我要去日本。(Wǒ yào qù Rìběn.) |
| Michael: "I am going to Japan." Finally, let’s look at how to make Chinese superlatives. This is an easy form to make in Chinese. |
| Dehua: Just use 最(zuì) before an adjective. |
| Michael: That means "the most." Let’s hear some examples. Dehua will say the adjective first, and then the superlative form. |
| Dehua: 大, 最大 (zuìdà) |
| Michael: "big, biggest" |
| Dehua: 新, 最新 (zuìxīn) |
| Michael: "new, newest" |
| Dehua: 差, 最差 (zuì chà) |
| Michael: "bad, worst" |
| Dehua: 快, 最快 (zuì kuài) |
| Michael: "fast, fastest" |
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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