Dialogue

Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
Victor: 大家好,我是Victor。 (Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Victor.)
Amber: And I Amber, and welcome back to Gengo Chinese. This is Lesson 7 - Don't Answer the Chinese Questions Incorrectly!
Victor: Right.
Amber: It’s not a threat, but will help you to answer them correctly, because today, we’re going to have our first encounter on China soil with a real, live, Chinese Customs immigration officer.
Victor: Okay, so unfortunately though, the first person you’re going to meet is going to be perhaps a little intimidating.
Amber: Yeah. So when you arrive in the airport, just like Mike, you’re going to have to go through Immigration.
Victor: Although I have to say, my experiences have been pretty friendly.
Amber: Victor, you can speak Chinese! They only say, like, “hello” to me. But don’t worry, you won’t be intimidated because you’re gonna have all the Chinese you’re going to learn in this lesson, and you probably, like Victor, will make friends with the immigration.
Victor: Yeah! Impress them with your Chinese.
Amber: That’s right! So before we do that though, let’s review some things we learned in Lesson 6.
Victor: Well, we’ve learned about how to make possessive pronouns.
Amber: Right, like “my” or “your.” All you do is, you just add the particle 的 (de) to the pronoun.
Victor: Correct, yeah.
Amber: So, for example…
Victor: 我的 (wǒ de), 你的 (nǐ de), 他们的 (tāmen de).
Amber: Right. And we also learned something very important in China which is the word for business card.
Victor: Yeah, business card. We have that a lot, 名片 (míngpiàn).
Amber: Right. And we also learned two important words for keeping in touch. First was the telephone number.
Victor: 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ)
Amber: And of course, the email address.
Victor: 电子邮箱地址 (diànzǐ yóuxiāng dìzhǐ)
Amber: Right. Basically, “electronic mailbox address.”
Victor: Yes!
Amber: If you translate it literally. So, we got all your steps covered. I think that you...everyone is ready for the next step which is… the interrogation!
Victor: Yes! Welcome to China!
Amber: So, this conversation takes place in the airport, still.
Victor: And this conversation is between Mike and the custom officer.
Amber: That’s right. So, let’s listen to the conversation.
DIALOGUE
Customs Officer: 您好,护照。 (Nínhǎo, hùzhào.)
Mike: 给您。 (Gěi nín.)
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Mike: 请再说一遍,慢一点儿,好吗? (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn, màn yìdiǎnr, hǎo ma?)
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Mike: 十天。 (Shí tiān.)
Customs Officer: 您住在哪儿? (Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Mike: 长城饭店。 (Chángchéng Fàndiàn.)
Customs Officer: 您来中国做什么? (Nín lái Zhōngguó zuò shénme?)
Mike: 做生意。 (Zuò shēngyì.)
Customs Officer: 好的,谢谢。 (Hǎo de, xièxie.)
Victor: 重复一次, 慢速. (Chóngfù yīcì, màn sù.)
Amber: One more time, a little slower.
Customs Officer: 您好,护照。 (Nínhǎo, hùzhào.)
Mike: 给您。 (Gěi nín.)
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Mike: 请再说一遍,慢一点儿,好吗? (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn, màn yìdiǎnr, hǎo ma?)
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Mike: 十天。 (Shí tiān.)
Customs Officer: 您住在哪儿? (Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Mike: 长城饭店。 (Chángchéng Fàndiàn.)
Customs Officer: 您来中国做什么? (Nín lái Zhōngguó zuò shénme?)
Mike: 做生意。 (Zuò shēngyì.)
Customs Officer: 好的,谢谢。 (Hǎo de, xièxie.)
Victor: 重复一次, 加英文翻译. (Chóngfù yīcì, jiā yīngwén fānyì.)
Amber: One more time, with the English.
Customs Officer: 您好,护照。 (Nínhǎo, hùzhào.)
Amber: Hello. Passport.
Mike: 给您。 (Gěi nín.)
Amber: Here you are.
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Amber: How long are you staying in China?
Mike: 请再说一遍,慢一点儿,好吗? (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn, màn yìdiǎnr, hǎo ma?)
Amber: Could you please say that again, a little more slowly?
Customs Officer: 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Amber: How long are you staying in China?
Mike: 十天。 (Shí tiān.)
Amber: Ten days.
Customs Officer: 您住在哪儿? (Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Amber: Where are you staying?
Mike: 长城饭店。 (Chángchéng Fàndiàn.)
Amber: The Great Wall Hotel.
Customs Officer: 您来中国做什么? (Nín lái Zhōngguó zuò shénme?)
Amber: What are you coming to China for?
Mike: 做生意。 (Zuò shēngyì.)
Amber: Business.
Customs Officer: 好的,谢谢。 (Hǎo de, xièxie.)
Amber: Okay. Thanks.
POST CONVERSATION BANTER
Amber: Okay, so yes, it’s true. It’s unfortunate that the first person you’re going to speak to might be an immigration officer. However, I mean, it’s not that bad, like you mentioned.
Victor: It’s not that bad.
Amber: I mean, even in the Canada border, I get all...I feel all suspicious even when I’m not!
Victor: Yeah, same everywhere.
Amber: So, just try not to sweat it.
Victor: Right. And bring all your beautiful Chinese that you learned from us.
Amber: Yes, that’s right. Okay, so now, we’ll take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson, so you don’t have to sweat it.
VOCAB LIST
Victor: 护照 (hùzhào) [natural native speed]
Amber: passport
Victor: 护照 (hùzhào) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 护照 (hùzhào) [natural native speed]
Victor: 给 (gěi) [natural native speed]
Amber: to give
Victor: 给 (gěi) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 给 (gěi) [natural native speed]
Victor: 您 (nín) [natural native speed]
Amber: you (formal)
Victor: 您 (nín) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 您 (nín) [natural native speed]
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [natural native speed]
Amber: please
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 请 (qǐng) [natural native speed]
Victor: 再 (zài) [natural native speed]
Amber: again
Victor: 再 (zài) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 再 (zài) [natural native speed]
Victor: 说 (shuō) [natural native speed]
Amber: to say, to speak
Victor: 说 (shuō) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 说 (shuō) [natural native speed]
Victor: 遍 (biàn) [natural native speed]
Amber: measure word for actions that are the same when repeated, times
Victor: 遍 (biàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 遍 (biàn) [natural native speed]
Victor: 慢 (màn) [natural native speed]
Amber: slowly, slow
Victor: 慢 (màn) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 慢 (màn) [natural native speed]
Victor: 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) [natural native speed]
Amber: a bit
Victor: 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) [natural native speed]
Victor: 住 (zhù) [natural native speed]
Amber: to stay, to live
Victor: 住 (zhù) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 住 (zhù) [natural native speed]
Victor: 多久 (duōjiǔ) [natural native speed]
Amber: how long
Victor: 多久 (duōjiǔ) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 多久 (duōjiǔ) [natural native speed]
Victor: 天 (tiān) [natural native speed]
Amber: day
Victor: 天 (tiān) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 天 (tiān) [natural native speed]
Victor: 哪儿 (nǎr) [natural native speed]
Amber: where
Victor: 哪儿 (nǎr) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 哪儿 (nǎr) [natural native speed]
Victor: 饭店 (fàndiàn) [natural native speed]
Amber: hotel
Victor: 饭店 (fàndiàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 饭店 (fàndiàn) [natural native speed]
Victor: 長城 (Chángchéng) [natural native speed]
Amber: The Great Wall
Victor: 長城 (Chángchéng) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 長城 (Chángchéng) [natural native speed]
Victor: 来 (lái) [natural native speed]
Amber: to come
Victor: 来 (lái) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 来 (lái) [natural native speed]
Victor: 做 (zuò) [natural native speed]
Amber: to do
Victor: 做 (zuò) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 做 (zuò) [natural native speed]
Victor: 什么 (shénme) [natural native speed]
Amber: what
Victor: 什么 (shénme) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 什么 (shénme) [natural native speed]
Victor: 生意 (shēngyì) [natural native speed]
Amber: business
Victor: 生意 (shēngyì) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 生意 (shēngyì) [natural native speed]
Victor: 好的 (hǎo de) [natural native speed]
Amber: okay
Victor: 好的 (hǎo de) [slowly - broken down by syllable]
Victor: 好的 (hǎo de) [natural native speed]
VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE
Amber: So, let's take a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. So, the good thing is, these immigration officers, they’re pretty predictable.
Victor: Unless you do something crazy or a little crazy or something, you know, you can pretty much know ahead of time what they’re going to ask you.
Amber: Right! So you can even study the dialogue on the plane over, and you’ll probably have no problem
Victor: Right.
Amber: They always ask you the same things, basically, right, Victor?
Victor: Yeah! So, the first word is 护照 (hùzhào).
Amber: Yeah! I think that’s guaranteed to be the first word. I mean, unless they say 你好 (nǐ hǎo), okay, then they’re extra friendly one.
Victor: Right.
Amber: And what is 护照 (hùzhào)?
Victor: It means “passport.”
Amber: And what tones are those?
Victor: 护 (hù) is 4th tone, 照 (zhào) is also 4th tone.
Amber: Right! And now, I’m going to take a moment to diverge, Victor, because I think I have to put out a very important public service announcement.
Victor: Okay.
Amber: From experience, is that almost every foreigner has to get a visa before entering China.
Victor: Correct.
Amber: And I’ve had friends who came and I assumed they knew and they didn’t, and they had to get escorted out.
Victor: Oh, really?
Amber: So, it’s my little public service today.
Victor: Oh, okay. So make-
Amber: So please get a visa if you’re coming.
Victor: Right, before you go to China.
Amber: Otherwise, there’s going to be a lot more language you’ll need to get out of this, yes.
Victor: We’ll have another whole lesson set for that.
Amber: Yeah, okay.
Victor: So now next, here’s something nice to learn, the word for “to give.”
Amber: Yeah, right! Because in this instance, you’re giving him your passport. So maybe in English we would say, “Oh, here you are” or something, but in Chinese, they say...
Victor: 给您 (gěi nín)
Amber: Right! So, it’s literally “give you.”
Victor: Right. 给 (gěi) is a 3rd tone, 您 (nín) is 2nd tone.
Amber: Right! And now, we all know the word for “you” is usually 你 (nǐ), 3rd tone.
Victor: Right.
Amber: Here, we hear 您 (nín). What’s the difference?
Victor; 您 (Nín) is a more formal and respectful form of 你 (nǐ).
Amber: Right. So, I think he’s trying to sort of suck up a little bit to the border guard.
Victor: Yeah, you know, he’s the official here.
Amber: Right! So, it’s literally “give you.”
Victor: Now we hear the next very typical question, the key word of which is 多久
(duōjiǔ).
Amber: Another very, very, high-frequency phrase.
Victor: Right.
Amber: It means "how long.”
Victor: 多 (duō)
Amber: 多 (duō) is 1st tone.
Victor: Yeah. And 久 (jiǔ) is a 3rd tone.
Amber: Right! 多 (duō) basically means “much” or “many,” and then 久 (jiǔ) means a “long period.”
Victor: Correct.
Amber: So, “How long?” So, he says this phrase, 多久 (duōjiǔ), what do you think he’s asking about?
Victor: Of course, how long he will stay in the country. The sentence we hear is literally, 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Amber: Right! So, there’s a key verb in here that we should learn which is the verb “to stay” in a place.
Victor: 住 (zhù) which is 4th tone.
Amber: Right! Now, here is a little side point about the verb 住 (zhù). In Chinese, if you’re talking about staying in a place…
Victor: Mm-hmm.
Amber: Or living in a place, it’s the same verb, this 住 (zhù).
Victor: Correct. Yeah.
Amber: So, it can be confusing, it’s good to know this.
Victor: Right. So, for example, you will often hear Chinese people say in English, they’re “living in a hotel.” Actually, they’re just “staying” in a hotel, but in Chinese, the word is the same.
Amber: Right, so it’s going to be the context that will tell you.
Victor: Correct. So, I can say 我住在中国 (Wǒ zhù zài zhōngguó) and you’ll probably know it means I live there. But if I state a period of time, it makes it more clear that I’m staying there, but only temporarily.
Amber: You mean you don’t live in a hotel, Victor?
Victor: Um, yeah.
Amber: Hasn’t come to that yet?
Victor: No, no, no. Not yet.
Amber: Yeah. So basically, I mean in this case, you know, he says a period of time. He just means to stay for that period.
Victor: Correct.
Amber: Okay, so did everyone catch how many days Mike will be spending? Victor, a recap.
Victor: 十天 (shí tiān).
Amber: Right! So, remember, we heard in Bootcamp 4, on numbers. .Did you get what number that was, 十 (shí)?
Victor: Which is “10.”
Amber: And it’s 2nd tone.
Victor: Yeah.
Amber: And then the word for days…?
Victor: 天 (tiān), 1st tone.
Amber: That’s right. Okay, so we’ve established now that Mike is not “living” in China. He’s just “staying” in China for 10 days.
Victor: So now we need to know where he’s staying, or rather, the officer wants to know, so he says, 您住在哪儿? (Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Amber: Right! So we know some of those words. We just learned “to stay,” “You stay at” 儿 (nǎr) is the word for “where.”
Victor: Correct.
Amber: Third tone. So, the answer is, a hotel. The word for “hotel” in Chinese is...
Victor: 饭店 (fàndiàn).
Amber: Right, 4th tone, 4th tone.
Victor: Correct. It literally means “restaurant,” but in Chinese, the word for restaurant and hotels are used interchangeably.
Amber: Yes, sometimes, they overlap.
Victor: Right.
Amber: There’s a few different terms for restaurants and hotels, but don’t get too confused if you hear someone refer to a restaurant also as 饭店 (fàndiàn).
Victor: Correct.
Amber: Now, which hotel he’s in is not any old hotel, Victor.
Victor: Yes. The, 长城饭店 (Chángchéng Fàndiàn).
Amber: Now, this is a good 饭店 (fàndiàn) because, actually, it’s another famous word you can learn.
Victor: Yeah! It’s very Chinese also.
Amber: 长 (cháng)...
Victor: 长城 (Chángchéng).
Amber: Which is “The Great Wall!”
Victor: Yeah, The Great Wall!
Amber: And the tones are…
Victor: 长 (Cháng) is 2nd tone, 城 (chéng) is also 2nd tone.
Amber: And literally, 长 (cháng) is “long” and 城 (chéng) is “wall.”
Victor: Yeah, correct, so very simple.
Amber: So “long wall.”
Victor: So, “The Great Wall” or “The Long Wall” is kind of the same.
Amber: Right. So, that’s a good word to know if you’re coming to China coz you’re probably gonna go to the 长城 (Chángchéng), right?
Victor: Yeah.
Amber: Okay. Now, here are a few small, but very important vocab words coming up right now.
Victor: All in the sentence, 您来中国做什么? (Nín lái Zhōngguó zuò shénme?)
Amber: Right! So literally, this sentence means “You come China do what?”
Victor: Correct. So the word for “to come” is 来 (lái), which is 2nd tone.
Amber: Right. And then we have the verb for “to do.”
Victor: 做 (zuò), which is 4th tone.
Amber: Right! And 做 (zuò) can me “to do.” It can also be used for “to make.”
Victor: Correct.
Amber: And then there’s a VERY important word, which is a question word, the question word for “what” in Chinese.
Victor: 什么 (shénme). 什 (shén) is 2nd tone, 么 (me) is the neutral tone.
Amber: Right! So, we learned all these words and it gives us the moment we’ve all been waiting for… the mystery revealed!
Victor: Yes.
Amber: When you put it altogether…
Victor: 您来中国做什么? (Nín lái Zhōngguó zuò shénme?)
Amber: “You come to China to do what?”
Victor: To do what?
Amber: So, what did he do? Is he coming to meet his bride? Is he coming to defect from America? Is he fleeing from the law? What is he doing, Victor?
Victor: 做生意 (zuò shēngyì)
Amber: Yes, he’s coming to...做 (zuò), of course, we just learned is the word for “to do.”
Victor: Yeah, 4th tone. 生意 (shēngyì); 生 (shēng) is 1st tone, 意 (yì) is 4th tone.
Amber: And it means “business.”
Victor: Correct.
Amber: So, he’s coming "to do business."
Victor: Business. Very common, nowadays.
Amber: Well, it does not sound as exciting as, like being a spy or something.
Victor: He probably would not be saying that even if he was.
Amber: I guess we have to have the high-frequency Chinese. Not that many spies will admit it at the border, so we’ll teach you that word later. But anyways, it’s going to be very exciting, because doing business in China I think is also very exciting, Victor.
Victor: Yes! It’s culturally exciting as well.
Amber: Yes!
Victor: Right?
Amber: In many, many ways.
Victor: You can learn…
Amber: More on that later. Okay, 好的 (hǎo de)! I just said our last vocab word, which is a word that’s great to know. It’s a really good generic, throw-it-out-there , all-the-time word.
Victor: Correct. 好 (hǎo) is 3rd tone, as we have learned before, 的 (de), also, neutral tone.
Amber: It’s a particle.
Victor: And it means "all right / Okay."
Amber: Yeah! Just to express agreement.
Victor: Yeah! 好的 (Hǎo de)!
Amber: Okay or I should say, 好的 (hǎo de), 好的 (hǎo de)! We’re going to look at some grammar points now.
Victor: 好的 (Hǎo de)!

Lesson focus

Victor: So, we learned the word for “how long.”
Amber: Right, 多久 (duōjiǔ).
Victor: Yeah, and now, we’re going to give a few more examples of how to use it. So, we heard, “How long are you staying in China?” 您在中国住多久? (Nín zài Zhōngguó zhù duōjiǔ?)
Amber: Right! So to inquire about “how long” something will go on, we can use this 多久 (duōjiǔ) in Chinese. So, let’s just think of another example, Victor, that can kind of illustrate it.
Victor: Yeah.
Amber: How about...food is always a good example. So, let’s say I have gone to the market and bought a nice piece of raw pork or something. How would I say, “How long do I cook this?”
Victor: You can say, 这个煮多久?(Zhège zhǔ duōjiǔ?)
Amber: Right! So 煮 (zhǔ) is the word for “cook.” So, “This cook how long?”
Victor: Correct.
Amber: Okay, so now, we’re going to take you back for a moment in time, to the Basic Bootcamp lessons.
Victor: Mm-hmm.
Amber: Because…
Victor: Because the next phrase is straight out of those reference lessons, so it’s sure to be easy for you all.
Amber: Right! And maybe some of you have already gotten used to this phrase, when you missed something someone said. Hopefully, you’ve gotten to use it. That phrase was...
Victor: 请再说一遍,慢一点儿,好吗? (Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn, màn yīdiǎnr, hǎo ma?)
Amber: Right! So, this phrase, we learned in the Bootcamp Lesson 3, and you can go back and refer to that lesson for all the details. But basically, it’s…Mike, used it here with the officer. He said, “Please say it again, a little slower, could you?”
Victor: Yeah. 请再说一遍,慢一点儿,好吗? (Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn, màn yīdiǎnr, hǎo ma?)
Amber: Okay. Next, we have, “Where are you staying? / Where are you living?” Now, we learned in the vocab section the word for “to live” is the same as “to stay.”
Victor: 住 (zhù)
Amber: So now, we’re gonna look at the sentence again, though, but from a grammar perspective.
Victor: Yes, so, to ask a where question, you say it like this in Chinese, literally, 您住在哪儿?
(Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Amber: Right! So, to ask about the location of something, we hear in this sentence, a Chinese preposition…
Victor: 在 (zài), 4th tone.
Amber: Right, which means “at” or “in.”
Victor: And then we have the word for “where” 哪儿 (nǎr).
Amber: Right. So, here’s a little point, side point, is that in Chinese, there’s a couple of words for “where.” One is 哪儿 (nǎr), but you can also say…
Victor: 哪里 (nǎli)
Amber: Right. Both are acceptable, just depending on which region you’re from.
Victor: Correct.
Amber: So basically, if I want to ask where you live, Victor, where the location of something is, it would basically be the same thing, like the immigration officer said, right?
Victor: Correct. That’s right, 您住在哪儿? (Nín zhù zài nǎr?)
Amber: Right. So, let’s think of another sentence asking location. How about if I wanted to say, “Where is he?”
Victor: 他在哪儿? (Tā zài nǎr?)
Amber: Right! So the 儿 (nǎr) comes at the end.
Victor: Correct.
Amber: So, literally, “He at where?” Very easy!
Victor: Right.

Outro

Amber: Okay, that’s it for today’s lesson. Yay! Mike made it through! He’s entered…
Victor: Entered the Chinese Custom.
Amber: The pearly gates of China!
Victor: Yeah!
Amber: They let him through.
Victor: Yes.
Amber: And we’re gonna find out what adventures he has next time on our Gengo Chinese lessons, so stay tuned!
Victor: Yeah. See you next time!
Amber: We’ll see you next time.
Victor: 再见。(Zàijiàn.)
Amber: 再见。(Zàijiàn.)

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