Learn how to call for help when looking for a place
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Yinru: Hi everyone, I’m Yinru. |
| Yuriy: And I’m Yuriy. Welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is lower intermediate, season 2 lesson 14 - Did You Get Lost on the Way to the Chinese Restaurant? |
| Yinru: In this lesson, we’re going to introduce two phrases using 从(Cóng). |
| Yuriy: Now listeners, if you remember from our last lesson, Liu told Tom about a very good Vietnamese restaurant. |
| Yinru: Tom really wants to try the food there, so he’s on his way to find the restaurant. However, he seems to be lost. |
| Yuriy: This conversation is between Tom and Liu, and it’s over the phone. Since they’re good friends, they’ll be using informal Chinese. |
| Yuriy: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
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| Tom: 喂，刘。你上次告诉我的餐馆我找不到。(wéi, liú. nǐ shàng cì gàosu wǒ de cānguǎn wǒ zhǎo bú dào.) |
| 刘: 你现在在哪？(LIÚ : nǐ xiànzài zài nǎ?) |
| Tom: 我在复兴路上。(wǒ zài Fùxīng lù shang.) |
| 刘: 你是坐地铁去的吗？(LIÚ : nǐ shì zuò dìtiě qù de ma?) |
| Tom: 是的，坐二号线来的。(shì de, zuò èr hào xiàn lái de.) |
| 刘: 从几号出口出去的？(LIÚ : cóng jǐ hào chūkǒu chūqù de?) |
| Tom: 好像是三号。(hǎoxiàng shì sān hào.) |
| 刘: 你走错了，应该是从一号出口出去.(LIÚ : nǐ zǒu cuò le, yīnggāi shì cóng yī hào chūkǒu chūqù.) |
| Yuriy: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Tom: 喂，刘。你上次告诉我的餐馆我找不到。(wéi, liú. nǐ shàng cì gàosu wǒ de cānguǎn wǒ zhǎo bú dào.) |
| 刘: 你现在在哪？(LIÚ : nǐ xiànzài zài nǎ?) |
| Tom: 我在复兴路上。(wǒ zài Fùxīng lù shang.) |
| 刘: 你是坐地铁去的吗？(LIÚ : nǐ shì zuò dìtiě qù de ma?) |
| Tom: 是的，坐二号线来的。(shì de, zuò èr hào xiàn lái de.) |
| 刘: 从几号出口出去的？(LIÚ : cóng jǐ hào chūkǒu chūqù de?) |
| Tom: 好像是三号。(hǎoxiàng shì sān hào.) |
| 刘: 你走错了，应该是从一号出口出去.(LIÚ : nǐ zǒu cuò le, yīnggāi shì cóng yī hào chūkǒu chūqù.) |
| Yuriy: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Tom: 喂，刘。你上次告诉我的餐馆我找不到。(wéi, liú. nǐ shàng cì gàosu wǒ de cānguǎn wǒ zhǎo bú dào.) |
| Yuriy: Hello, Liu! I can't find the restaurant you told me about last time. |
| 刘: 你现在在哪？(LIÚ : nǐ xiànzài zài nǎ?) |
| Yuriy: Where are you now? |
| Tom: 我在复兴路上。(wǒ zài Fùxīng lù shang.) |
| Yuriy: I'm on Fuxing road now. |
| 刘: 你是坐地铁去的吗？(LIÚ : nǐ shì zuò dìtiě qù de ma?) |
| Yuriy: Did you go by subway? |
| Tom: 是的，坐二号线来的。(shì de, zuò èr hào xiàn lái de.) |
| Yuriy: Yes, I took Line 2. |
| 刘: 从几号出口出去的？(LIÚ : cóng jǐ hào chūkǒu chūqù de?) |
| Yuriy: Which exit did you go out from? |
| Tom: 好像是三号。(hǎoxiàng shì sān hào.) |
| Yuriy: Seems to be Exit 3. |
| 刘: 你走错了，应该是从一号出口出去.(LIÚ : nǐ zǒu cuò le, yīnggāi shì cóng yī hào chūkǒu chūqù.) |
| Yuriy: You went the wrong way. You should go out from Exit 1. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Yinru: Yuriy, did you know that in China, not everyone owns a car? |
| Yuriy: Why is that? |
| Yinru: Because public transportation in cities is very easy and convenient. |
| Yuriy: Other than the subway, like we heard in the conversation, what other choices do you have to get around in Chinese cities? |
| Yinru: First, you have the most environmentally friendly and free way of getting around—walking! |
| Yuriy: I have heard that a lot of people walk to get where they’re going in China. |
| Yinru: Yeah, when you feel like walking, you can always do so because almost every road has sidewalks on both sides. |
| Yuriy: And it’s a good way to exercise too, if you don’t have to rush. |
| Yinru: That’s true. If you don’t feel like walking or you’re tired from walking, you can always get a taxi anywhere in the city. They’ll take you wherever you wanna go. They’re not very expensive, like we mentioned in Lesson 12, and most taxi drivers are friendly and honest. |
| Yuriy: How about during rush hour and bad weather? Is it harder to get a taxi then? |
| Yinru: I’m afraid so. |
| Yuriy: Subways are probably the most popular way to travel around the city. |
| Yinru: Right. However, only large cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Tianjin have efficient subway systems now. Some other cities are still working on building their subway systems. |
| Yuriy: For foreigners who don’t speak Chinese, is it difficult to get around on the subway? |
| Yinru: I don’t think so. All of the signs and announcements are always in Chinese and English. |
| Yuriy: That’s good to know. |
| Yinru: Buses, like subways, are also popular for local people because they go to almost every corner of the city and they’re cheap too. |
| Yuriy: I’ve also heard that they rent bicycles in some Chinese cities. |
| Yinru: Yes, Hangzhou in Zhejiang province is one place with bicycle rentals. I’ve done that, and it was a really great experience. It’s a great way to see the city and enjoy the freedom of going at your own pace. |
| Yuriy: Those are some good tips, listeners. Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Yuriy: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Yinru: 上次 (Shàngcì)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: last time |
| Yinru: 上次 (Shàngcì)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 上次 (Shàngcì)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: ...不到 (... Bù dào)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: not be able to... |
| Yinru: ...不到 (... Bù dào)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: ...不到 (... Bù dào)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 坐 (Zuò)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: to take, to go by |
| Yinru: 坐 (Zuò)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 坐 (Zuò)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 地铁 (Dìtiě)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: subway |
| Yinru: 地铁 (Dìtiě)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 地铁 (Dìtiě)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 号 (Hào)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: number |
| Yinru: 号 (Hào)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 号 (Hào)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 线 (Xiàn)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: line |
| Yinru: 线 (Xiàn)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 线 (Xiàn)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 出口 (Chūkǒu)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: exit |
| Yinru: 出口 (Chūkǒu)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 出口 (Chūkǒu)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: 出去 (Chūqù)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: to get out |
| Yinru: 出去 (Chūqù)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 出去 (Chūqù)[natural native speed] |
| : Next: |
| Yinru: ...错 (... Cuò)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: ...in a wrong way |
| Yinru: ...错 (... Cuò)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: ...错 (... Cuò)[natural native speed] |
| : And Last: |
| Yinru: 从 (Cóng)[natural native speed] |
| Yuriy: from |
| Yinru: 从 (Cóng)[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Yinru: 从 (Cóng)[natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Yuriy: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Yinru: In this lesson’s key vocabulary and phrases, we’ll first look at two words that, when combined with a verb, change the meaning significantly. |
| Yuriy: Let’s get to the first one. |
| Yinru: The first one is ...不到(... Bù dào), meaning “not able to do something.” |
| Yuriy: Let’s study some examples first. |
| Yinru: 我看不到前面的路.(Wǒ kàn bù dào qiánmiàn de lù.) |
| Yuriy: “I can’t see the road ahead.” |
| Yinru: 看 (Kàn)means “to see,” and 看不到 (Kàn bù dào)means “cannot see.” |
| Yuriy: Here’s another example. |
| Yinru: 让我想不到的是, 她也对摇滚乐感兴趣.(Ràng wǒ xiǎngbùdào de shì, tā yě duì yáogǔnyuè gǎn xìngqù.) |
| Yuriy: “What I would never expect is that she’s interested in rock music too.” |
| Yinru: 想不到.(Xiǎngbùdào.) |
| Yuriy: “Cannot think.” |
| Yinru: 得不到的总是想要, 这是人的本性.(Dé bù dào de zǒng shì xiǎng yào, zhè shì rén de běnxìng.) |
| Yuriy: “We always want what we can’t get; this is human nature.” |
| Yinru: 得不到.(Dé bù dào.) |
| Yuriy: “Cannot get.” |
| Yinru: 看不到, 想不到, 得不到(Kàn bù dào, xiǎngbùdào, dé bù dào). We can make up other phrases like 拿不到 (Ná bù dào)meaning “can’t reach,” and 买不到 (Mǎi bù dào)for “can’t buy.” |
| Yuriy: So how do we say the opposite? Instead of saying “not able to [do something],” how do we say “to be able to?” |
| Yinru: The phrase for “be able to” is 得到(Dédào). For example, 我听得到, 您请说.(Wǒ tīng dédào, nín qǐng shuō.) |
| Yuriy: “I can hear you. Please go ahead.” This is mostly used in a phone conversation. |
| Yinru: 四川 (Sìchuān)food is a Chinese favorite, so when people go overseas, they may ask: 在美国能吃得到川菜吗?(Zài měiguó néng chī dédào chuāncài ma?) |
| Yuriy: Meaning, “Is it possible to have Sichuan food in the US?” |
| Yinru: Also there’s a saying in Chinese that goes: 我说得到做得到.(Wǒ shuōdédàozuò dédào.) |
| Yuriy: It can be translated as: “If I can promise you, I can make it happen.” Meaning, “I’m a man of my words.” |
| Yinru: Ok, here’s our next vocabulary word: 错.(Cuò.) |
| Yuriy: It means to do something incorrectly. |
| Yinru: More often than not, this is used in the past tense, so the form will be ...错了.(... Cuòle.) |
| Yuriy: Here are some examples. |
| Yinru: 我写错了他的名字.(Wǒ xiě cuòle tā de míngzì.) |
| Yuriy: “I wrote his name down wrong.” |
| Yinru: 我拿错了雨伞, 这个不是我的.(Wǒ ná cuòle yǔsǎn, zhège bùshì wǒ de.) |
| Yuriy: “I took the wrong umbrella; this one isn’t mine.” |
| Yinru: In these examples, 写错 (Xiě cuò)means “to write something wrong,” and 拿错 (Ná cuò)means “to take something that does not belong to someone.” |
| Yuriy: That seems easy to use and understand. |
| Yinru: 是的(Shì de). Let’s try to translate this sentence into English: 实在不好意思, 我认错人了.(Shízài bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ rèncuò rénle.) |
| Yuriy: It means, “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else.” |
| Yinru: Great. 认错人了 (Rèncuò rénle) means “thought a person was someone else.” |
| Yinru: All right. Here comes our last key word in the lesson: 坐.(Zuò.) |
| Yuriy: Many of you may wonder why we’re talking about one of the first words you ever learned in Chinese, meaning “to sit.” |
| Yinru: Good point, Yuriy. 坐 (Zuò.) does mean “to sit,” but when it’s used in conjunction with different vehicles for transportation, the word means “to take.” |
| Yuriy: Ah, I see. Because you can always sit in the vehicle, right? |
| Yinru: Yeah. For example, 坐地铁.(Zuò dìtiě.) |
| Yuriy: “To take the subway.” |
| Yinru: 坐飞机 (Zuò fēijī) |
| Yuriy: “To take an airplane.” |
| Yinru: 坐船 (Zuò chuán) |
| Yuriy: “To take a boat.” |
| Yinru: Good. You’ll often hear that people leave some words out when they’re speaking informally, maybe to save time or energy. |
| Yuriy: How so? |
| Yinru: For instance, we might say 坐二号线 (Zuò èr hào xiàn)instead of 坐二号线地铁(Zuò èr hào xiàn dìtiě), and 坐11路 (Zuò 11 lù)instead of 坐11路公交车(Zuò 11 lù gōngjiāo chē). |
| Yuriy: I think this occurs in almost every language to communicate more efficiently. |
| Yinru: Definitely. Now, let’s move on to the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Yuriy: Yinru, what will we learn in this lesson? |
| Yinru: Well, we learned from our conversation that 从 (Cóng)means “from,” indicating a starting point. Liu tells Tom to 从一号出口出去(Cóng yī hào chūkǒu chūqù). |
| Yuriy: Meaning “To go out from Exit 1.” Here we’d like to introduce two more common Chinese phrases using this word. |
| Yinru: The first one is 从...到(Cóng... Dào). |
| Yuriy: Meaning “from [one place, date or time] to [another].” It’s used to express the beginning and and ending points of places, directions, times, and dates. |
| Yinru: For example, 从北京到上海(Cóng běijīng dào shànghǎi). |
| Yuriy: “From Beijing to Shanghai.” |
| Yinru: 从南到北.(Cóng nán dào běi.) |
| Yuriy: “From south to north.” |
| Yinru: These are places and directions. Let’s look at some examples using times and dates. |
| Yuriy: Great. |
| Yinru: 从五点半到七点半.(Cóng wǔ diǎn bàn dào qī diǎn bàn.) |
| Yuriy: “From 5: 30 to 7: 30.” |
| Yinru: 从开始到现在.(Cóng kāishǐ dào xiànzài.) |
| Yuriy: “From the beginning to the present.” |
| Yinru: The other phrase we’re going to talk about is 从...开始(Cóng... Kāishǐ). |
| Yuriy: This phrase means “starting from” or “beginning from.” |
| Yinru: 从 (Cóng)is “from”, and 开始 (Kāishǐ)means “to begin.” |
| Yuriy: Usually, you insert a phrase between them that indicates a period of time. |
| Yinru: 从今天开始, 我要每天锻炼身体.(Cóng jīntiān kāishǐ, wǒ yào měitiān duànliàn shēntǐ.) |
| Yuriy: “From today on, I need to exercise every day.” |
| Yinru: 从下个月开始, 我们五点下班.(Cóng xià gè yuè kāishǐ, wǒmen wǔ diǎn xiàbān.) |
| Yuriy: “Starting from next month, we’ll get off of work at five.” |
| Yinru: 国庆节从9月30号开始放假.(Guóqìng jié cóng 9 yuè 30 hào kāishǐ fàngjià.) |
| Yuriy: “The National Day holiday starts from September 30.” |
| Yinru: Yes, China’s National Day falls on the first of October, and we usually have a few days off then. |
| Yuriy: Great. Who doesn’t love holidays? |
Outro |
| Yuriy: Well, that’s all for this lesson. Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. Bye! |
| Yinru: 再见.(Zàijiàn.) |
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