Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Let's take a closer look at the conversation.
Do you remember how Sasha asks,
"Hello. Is there any salt?"
你好。有盐吗？ (Nǐhǎo. Yǒu yán ma?)
First is 你好 (nǐhǎo). "Hello." 你好. 你好.
In this case, the speaker uses this greeting to get the clerk's attention.
Next is 有 (yǒu), translating as "there is," in this case. 有. 有。
Translation note, 有 can also translate as "to have."
After that is 盐 (yán), "salt" 盐. 盐。
Together, 有盐 (yǒu yán) literally means "there is salt."
Last is the question marker 吗 (ma). 吗. 吗.
吗 turns a statement into a yes-or-no question.
Together, 有盐吗, literally, "there is salt?" but translates as, "Is there any salt?" 有盐吗
Translation note, this phrase can also translate as "Do [you] have any salt?"
All together, 你好。有盐吗？ (Nǐhǎo. Yǒu yán ma?) "Hello. Is there any salt?"
你好。有盐吗？
Let's take a closer look at the response.
Do you remember how the shop clerk says,
"Yes. It's here."
有。在这里。(Yǒu. Zài zhèlǐ.)
The first part of the response is 有 (yǒu), which translates as "yes," in this context, as it answers the yes-or-no question containing the verb 有.
有盐吗？"Is there any salt?"
有。 "Yes, [there is salt]."
To answer a yes-or-no question in Chinese, always echo the verb or adjective that's used in the question. In this case, 有.
After this is 在这里 (Zài zhèlǐ) translating as, "It's here." 在这里. 在这里。
This phrase has two parts:
First is 在 (zài) meaning "at." It's used to locate things in this context. 在. 在。
Next is 这里 (zhèlǐ), "here." 这里. 这里。
Together, 在这里 literally means "at here," but translates as "It's here." 在这里。
Note, the subject is omitted as it's understood in the context.
All together, 有。在这里。"Yes. It's here."
有。在这里。(Yǒu. Zài zhèlǐ.)
The pattern is:
你好。有 {ITEM} 吗？　
"Hello. Is there any {ITEM}?"
你好。有 {ITEM} 吗？
To use this pattern, simply replace {ITEM} with something else you're looking for.
Imagine you're looking for milk. 牛奶 (niúnǎi). 牛奶. 牛奶。
Say, "Hello. Is there any milk?"
Ready?
你好。有牛奶吗？ (Nǐhǎo. Yǒu niúnǎi ma?)
"Is there any milk?"
你好。有牛奶吗？ (Nǐhǎo. Yǒu niúnǎi ma?)
Besides using 你好, another polite way to get someone's attention and start a question is to use 请问 (qǐngwèn).
请问 literally means "Please ask," but translates as "May I ask…" or "Excuse me," when asking a question.
请问.
请问
For example,
请问有盐吗？ (Qǐngwèn yǒu yán ma?)
"Excuse me, is there any salt?"
In most cases, Chinese doesn't make a distinction between singular and plural nouns. You'll use the same pattern when you're looking for salt, an apple, or a dozen apples.
For example, 有苹果吗？ (Yǒu píngguǒ ma?) can translate as
"Are there any apples?"
Or "Is there an apple?" depending on the context.
The English translation may alternate between singular and plural, but the Chinese pattern remains the same.

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