All posts by : allmandarin

In Chinese, the literal meaning of “等 (děnɡ)” means wait for a moment. For example, “等一分钟 (děnɡ yì fēnzhōng)” waiting for a minute. The expression “等等 (děnɡděnɡ)” except the meaning of “waiting for a while”, is commonly used after two or more coordinate words to indicate that the list is unfinished. It is equal to “… and so on” in English. In the conversation below, Anna bought a lot of things for the New Year, and she used “等等 (děnɡděnɡ)” to tell Peter that there were something else as well.

1. Waiting for a while

Micheal:
Chí dào le ， wǒ men kuài diǎnr ！
迟 到 了 ， 我 们 快 点 儿 ！

Alice:
děng děng wǒ ， nǐ zǒu de tài kuài le ！
等 等 我 ， 你 走 的 太 快 了 ！

Here it’s the same as 等会儿（děng huìr ）and 等一下(děng yí xià ). All of them are means waiting for a while.

2. …… and so on.

Example:

Peter: nǐ gěi chūn jié zhǔn bèi le shén me ？
你 给 春 节 准 备 了 什 么 ？
What will you prepare for New Year?

Anna: wǒ yào mǎi hěn duō dōng xi ，shuǐguǒ ，ròu ,shū cài ,děng děng 。
我 要 买 很 多 东 西 ， 水 果 ，肉 ，蔬 菜 ,等 等 。
I will buy many things, fruits, meat, vegetables, and so on.

Husband: nǐ mǎi le zhè me duō yī fu a ？
你 买 了 这 么 多 衣 服 啊 ？
You bought so many clothes!

Wife: shāng chǎng lǐ de yī fu dōu zài gǎo huó dòng ,wǒ jiù mǎi le máo yī,qún zi ， děng děng.
商 场 里 的 衣 服 都 在 搞 活 动 ，我 就买了 毛 衣 ,裙 子 ， 等 等 。
All the clothes in the mall are on sale, so I bought sweater, skirt, Coat, shoes, and so on.

Study the phrases carefully, and with enough practice, you can master the use of “等 (děnɡ)” as well as master other key phrases in the Chinese language.

Mastering restaurant Chinese is a survival skill in China. Learning some phrases and sentences is a great way for you to enjoy life. Here, I will clearly demonstrate appropriate restaurant Chinese in different situations.

1，预约Reservation

I’d like to make a reservation for tonight.
wǒ xiǎng yù dìng jīn wǎn de zuò wèi 。
我 想 预 定 今 晚 的 座 位 。

Five people.
wǒ men wǔ wèi 。
我 们 五 位 。

I’d like to sit by the windows.
wǒ xiǎng zuò zài kào chuāng biān 。
我 想 坐 在 靠 窗 边 。

My surname is Yang.
miǎn guì xìng yáng 。
免 贵 姓 杨 。

I didn’t make a reservation, can I get a seat?
wǒ méi yǒu yù yuē ， hái yǒu kōng wèi ma ？
我 没 有 预 约 ， 还 有 空 位 吗 ？

2,点菜Order Dishes.

Do you have an English menu?
nǐ men yǒu yīng wén cài dān ma ？
你 们 有 英 文 菜 单 吗 ？

What’s the special dishes?
yǒu shén me tè sè cài ？
有 什 么 特 色 菜 ？

I want my steak rare.
niú pái wǒ yào yì chéng shu 。
牛 排 我 要 一 成 熟 。

Medium Rare
sān chéng shu
三 成 熟

Medium.
wǔ chéng shu
五 成 熟

Medium well
qī chéng shu
七 成 熟

Well done
quán shú
全 熟

I’d like some more spice.
wǒ xiǎng chī là yì xiē 。
我 想 吃 辣 一 些.

Mild
qīng dàn
清 淡

I drink some wine.
wǒ hē pú tao jiǔ 。
我 喝 葡 萄 酒 。

I order Mapo beancurd.
wǒ yào má pó dòu fu 。
我 要 麻 婆 豆 腐 。

It’s enough, I don’t want anything else.
zhè xiē gòu le ， wǒ bú yào bié de le 。
这 些 够 了 ， 我 不 要 别 的 了 。

Waiter, excuse me, could you give a pair of chopsticks?
fú wù yuán ， má fan nǐ zài gěi wǒ yì shuāng kuài zi ，hǎo ma ？
服 务 员 ， 麻 烦 你 再 给 我 一 双 筷 子 ，好 吗 ？

I’d like a cup of water.
wǒ xiǎng yào yì bēi shuǐ 。
我 想 要 一 杯 水 。

We’ll take a pitcher of beer with two glasses, please.
wǒ men yào yí dà tǒng pí jiǔ hé liǎng gè bēi zi 。
我 们 要 一 大 桶 啤 酒 和 两 个 杯 子 。

Could you tell me how to eat this dish？
má fan gào su wǒ zhè dào cài zěn me chī ？
麻 烦 告 诉 我 这 道 菜 怎 么 吃 ？

May I smoke?
ké yǐ chōu yān ma ？
可 以 抽 烟 吗 ？

This is not what I ordered.
zhè bú shì wǒ diǎn de 。
这 不 是 我 点 的 。

3，结账 Check

Check, please.
má fan jié zhàng
麻 烦 结 账

May I pay here?
ké yǐ zài zhè ér fù zhàng ma ？
可 以 在 这 儿 付 账 吗 ？

How much?
yí gòng duō shǎo qián ？
一 共 多 少 钱 ？

Let’s go Dutch.
wǒ men AA zhì 。
我 们 AA 制 。

I treat you.
wǒ qǐng nǐ 。
我 请 你 。

I pay cash.
wǒ fù xiàn jīn
我 付 现 金 .

I pay by card.
wǒ shuā kǎ 。
我 刷 卡 。

Master these sentences by heart, and try to practice in real life more and more. Being able to be comfortable in a restaurant will only enhance your Chinese experience. Familarity with these sentences will hopefully spark the adventurous spirit inside you to enjoy the many delicacies of China.

Have you ever wanted to use one word (意思yì si) to express five meanings? In Chinese, different words in different situations have different meanings. The phrase about (意思yì si)，有意思 (yǒu yìsi)，also have many meanings.

Learn Basic Chinese Phrase – “有意思 (yǒu yìsi)”

Alice:
zuì jìn wǒ fā xiàn wáng míng duì zhāng hóng tè bié hǎo 。
最 近 我 发 现 王 明 对 张 红 特 别 好 。

John:
duì ā ， wǒ yě fā xiàn le 。
对 啊 ， 我 也 发 现 了 。

Alice:
hēi hēi ， wǒ jué dé tā duì zhāng hóng yǒu yì si 。
嘿 嘿 ， 我 觉 得 他 对 张 红 有 意 思 。

John:
wǒ yě jué dé 。
我 也 觉 得 。

What does Alice think about Wang Ming and Zhang Hong?

A. Zhang Hong is an interesting girl
B. Zhang Hong kind of likes Wang Ming.
C. Wang Ming kind of likes Zhang Hong.

The correct answer for this Chinese quiz is C.

Read the dialogue again:

Analysis:

“有 (yǒu)” means to have something, and “意思 (yìsi)” indicates meaning. “有意思 (yǒu yìsi)” has two meanings.

Firstly, “有意思 (yǒu yìsi)” can be used to express that someone likes another one. In the test, Wang Ming kind of likes Zhang Hong, so he is quite nice to her, which was noticed by Alice and John.
The correct answer for this Chinese quiz is C.

Finally, “有意思 (yǒu yìsi)” means to be interesting.

Example:

wǒ jué dé dì xīn yǐn lì zhè bù diàn yǐng tǐng hǎo kàn de 。
我 觉 得 《 地 心 引 力 》 这 部 电 影 挺 好 看 的 。
I think the film Gravity is interesting.

What does meaning(意思yìsi) mean?

Michael is my friend from American. One day, he emailed me that he knows 有意思but he is confused about one conversation about 意思. The conversation as follows.

A:
Nǐ zhēn yǒu yìsi.
你 真 有 意思。
You are so interesting.

B:
bù hǎo yì si ， wǒ kāi wán xiào de 。
不 好 意 思 ， 我 开 玩 笑 的 。
Excuse me, I’m kidding.

He said he is confused about these two “意思 (yìsi)”.

In fact, the first “意思 (yìsi)” means being interesting for person, and the second is used to show sorry.
“意思 (yìsi)” is commonly used in Chinese, and it has different meaning in different situations.

(1). Literally, “意思 (yìsi)” refers meaning.

Examples:

Nǐ zhīdào zhèɡe dāncí shénme yìsi mɑ?
你 知道 这个 单词 什么意思吗？
Do you know the meaning of this word?

nǐ dǒng wǒ de yì si ba 。
你 懂 我 的 意 思 吧 。
You know what I say.

(2). “意思 (yìsi) is often used to describe interesting things or people. For example, if a person is humorous, you can say “你这个人真有意思 (nǐ zhè ɡe rén zhēn yǒu yì si)”.

Examples:

Māo hé Láoshǔ zhèbù dònɡhuàpiàn tǐnɡ yǒu yìsi de.
《猫 和 老鼠》 这部 动画片 挺 有 意思的。
The animation Tom and Jerry is interesting.

nǐ zhēn yǒu yì si ， lǎo ài kāi wán xiào 。

你 真 有 意 思 ， 老 爱 开 玩 笑 。
You are so interesting. You are always kidding.

(3). It often appears in the expression “不好意思 (bù hǎo yìsi)”, means sorry or excuse me.

Example:

A：
Bù hǎo yìsi, wǒ chídào le.
不好 意思，我 迟到 了。
Sorry, I am late.

B：
Méi ɡuānxi.
没 关系。
It doesn’t matter.

(4). “意思 (yìsi)” is a token of affection or appreciation, ect.

Example:

xiè xiè nǐ zuó tiān bāng wǒ zhào gù nǚ ér ， sòng gěi nǐ yì shuāng shǒu tào ，
谢 谢你 昨 天 帮 我 照 顾 女 儿 ， 送 给 你 一 双 手 套 ，
Thanks for looking after my daughter. This pair of gloves is for you as a token of my appreciation.

yì dián ér yì si .
一点 儿意思 .

(5). “意思 (yìsi)” can also refers suggestions, hints or trace.

Example:

Tiān yīn le, yóudiǎnr yào xiàxuě de yìsi.
天 阴 了，有点儿 要 下雪 的意思。
It is cloudy. It is going to snow.

There are all the meanings of 有意思 and 意思. 有意思吗？

Understanding directions is absolutelty fundamental to living in China. Learning a few keywords can drastically help with your ability to navigate the city you are in, and hence open up more opportunities for things to do. Today, I will demonstrate one clear set of directions with the objective of showing you a couple of key words and phrases.

1. Take the one-way street.
走这条单行道。
zǒu zhè tiáo dān xíng dào 。

2. You can stay on the street for a while until you hit the first traffic light.
你会走一会儿，直到你遇到第一个红绿灯。
nǐ huì zǒu yí huìr ，zhí dào nǐ yù dào dì yī gè hóng lǜ dēng 。

Traffic light:
交通灯 jiāo tōng dēng
红绿灯 hóng lǜ dēng

3. Then take a left.
向左转。
xiàng zuǒ zhuǎn

Take a right
向右转
xiàng yóu zhuǎn

4. It will be Binjiang Road. It’s two-lane traffic.
那就会是滨江路，它是一条双线道。
nà jiù huì shì bīn jiāng lù ，tā shì yì tiáo shuāng xiàn dào

5. Come down Binjiang Road about five blocks.
由滨江路往下走约五个街区。
yòu bīn jiāng lù wǎng xià zǒu yuē wǔ gè jiē qū

6. You will see a gas station on your left.
在你的左手边你会看到一座加油站。
zài nǐ de zuǒ shǒu biān nǐ huì kàn dào yí zuó jiā yòu zhàn

7. Keep going 50 meters before you come to a fork road.
继续走50米，直到你走到一个三叉路口。
jì xù zǒu 50mǐ ，zhí dào nǐ zǒu dào yí gè sān chā lù kǒu

T-crossing road 丁字路口 dīng zì lù kǒu

8. Make a right, pass two stop signs and you will run into a Wal Mart.
向右转，经过两个Stop sign，你就会遇到Wal Mart。
xiàng yóu zhuǎn ，jīng guó liǎng gè Stop sign，nǐ jiù huì yù dào Wal Mart

9. The post office is just right across the street of it.
邮局就在Wal Mart的正对面。
yóu jú jiù zài Wal Martde zhèng duì miàn

10. Mr. Yang’s house is behind the post office.
杨先生的房子就在邮局后面。
yáng xiān shēng de fáng zi jiù zài yóu jú hóu miàn

Study these words carefully, and more importantly begin practicing them. In no time, you’ll be able to navigate your way through China. Happy travelling!