Learn how to apologize at work
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| Business Chinese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 15 - Missing a Deadline in China |
| INTRODUCTION |
| Michael: Hi everyone, and welcome back to ChineseClass101.com. This is Business Chinese for Beginners Season 1 Lesson 15 - Missing a Deadline in China. Michael here. |
| Dehua: 大家好！(Dàjiā hǎo!) I'm Dehua. |
| Michael: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize at work. The conversation takes place at an office. |
| Dehua: It's between Linda and Mark. |
| Michael: The speakers are co-workers; therefore, they will be using informal Chinese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| 张丽: 为什么这个计划还没有准备好？我两个星期之前就需要了！ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Wèishéme zhège jìhuà hái méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo? Wǒ liǎng gè xīngqī zhīqián jiù xūyào le!) |
| 马浩然: 非常抱歉，我们的印刷厂还没有批价。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Fēicháng bàoqiàn, wǒmen de yìnshuā chǎng hái méiyǒu pī jià.) |
| 张丽: 新产品在三个礼拜后推出，我们要在那之前把小册子跟目录都准备好。 |
| (Zhāng Lì: Xīn chǎnpǐn zài sān gè lǐbài hòu tuīchū, wǒmen yào zài nà zhīqián bǎ xiǎo cè zǐ gēn mùlù dōu zhǔnbèi hǎo.) |
| 马浩然: 我明白，对于这个状况我十分抱歉。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ míngbái, duìyú zhège zhuàngkuàng wǒ shífēn bàoqiàn.) |
| 张丽: 那货品什么时候会到？ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Nà huòpǐn shénme shíhòu huì dào?) |
| 马浩然: 我们会尽力在一个礼拜之内送到。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒmen huì jìnlì zài yīgè lǐbài zhī nèi sòng dào.) |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation one time slowly. |
| 张丽: 为什么这个计划还没有准备好？我两个星期之前就需要了！ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Wèishéme zhège jìhuà hái méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo? Wǒ liǎng gè xīngqī zhīqián jiù xūyào le!) |
| 马浩然: 非常抱歉，我们的印刷厂还没有批价。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Fēicháng bàoqiàn, wǒmen de yìnshuā chǎng hái méiyǒu pī jià.) |
| 张丽: 新产品在三个礼拜后推出，我们要在那之前把小册子跟目录都准备好。 |
| (Zhāng Lì: Xīn chǎnpǐn zài sān gè lǐbài hòu tuīchū, wǒmen yào zài nà zhīqián bǎ xiǎo cè zǐ gēn mùlù dōu zhǔnbèi hǎo.) |
| 马浩然: 我明白，对于这个状况我十分抱歉。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ míngbái, duìyú zhège zhuàngkuàng wǒ shífēn bàoqiàn.) |
| 张丽: 那货品什么时候会到？ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Nà huòpǐn shénme shíhòu huì dào?) |
| 马浩然: 我们会尽力在一个礼拜之内送到。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒmen huì jìnlì zài yīgè lǐbài zhī nèi sòng dào.) |
| Michael: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| 张丽: 为什么这个计划还没有准备好？我两个星期之前就需要了！ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Wèishéme zhège jìhuà hái méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo? Wǒ liǎng gè xīngqī zhīqián jiù xūyào le!) |
| Linda: "Why is this project not ready yet? I asked for it two weeks ago." |
| 马浩然: 非常抱歉，我们的印刷厂还没有批价。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Fēicháng bàoqiàn, wǒmen de yìnshuā chǎng hái méiyǒu pī jià.) |
| Mark: "I'm terribly sorry, but our printing company hasn’t priced the service yet." |
| 张丽: 新产品在三个礼拜后推出，我们要在那之前把小册子跟目录都准备好。 |
| (Zhāng Lì: Xīn chǎnpǐn zài sān gè lǐbài hòu tuīchū, wǒmen yào zài nà zhīqián bǎ xiǎo cè zǐ gēn mùlù dōu zhǔnbèi hǎo.) |
| Linda: "The new product will be launched in three weeks. We need to have the pamphlets and catalogs ready by then." |
| 马浩然: 我明白，对于这个状况我十分抱歉。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒ míngbái, duìyú zhège zhuàngkuàng wǒ shífēn bàoqiàn.) |
| Mark: "I understand, and I'm sorry about this situation." |
| 张丽: 那货品什么时候会到？ |
| (Zhāng Lì: Nà huòpǐn shénme shíhòu huì dào?) |
| Linda: "When can I expect a finished product?" |
| 马浩然: 我们会尽力在一个礼拜之内送到。 |
| (Mǎ Hàorán: Wǒmen huì jìnlì zài yīgè lǐbài zhī nèi sòng dào.) |
| Mark: "We will do our best to deliver the materials you ordered within a week." |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Michael: I hope that Mark can get the materials from the printers soon! It sounds like time is running out for them. |
| Dehua: I hope so, too! |
| Michael: Dehua, are there many freelancers in China or is everyone a permanent employee? |
| Dehua: More people are choosing to be freelancers or contractors. |
| Michael: It does have its advantages, such as flexibility and being able to choose your projects and breaks. |
| Dehua: Yes. You can work in many different industries, too. |
| Michael: What type of industries in China are open to freelancers and contractors? |
| Dehua: IT, banking, and financial services. It’s a way of reducing headcounts. |
| Michael: That’s very true! That can be appealing to employers. If you’re an expat that is looking to work in China, what kind of documentation do you need? |
| Dehua: You need a permit or a visa to work in China. |
| Michael: If you get a job offer, is it easy to get those? |
| Dehua: Most of the time, yes. It takes about seven to eight weeks to get a visa approved. |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the vocabulary. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Michael: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is… |
| Dehua: 还没有(hái méiyǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "not yet" |
| Dehua: 还没有(hái méiyǒu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 还没有(hái méiyǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 批价(pī jià) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "to price the service" |
| Dehua: 批价(pī jià) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 批价(pī jià) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 后(hòu) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "after" |
| Dehua: 后(hòu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 后(hòu) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 推出(tuīchū) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "to release" |
| Dehua: 推出(tuīchū) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 推出(tuīchū) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 市场(shìchǎng) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "market" |
| Dehua: 市场(shìchǎng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 市场(shìchǎng) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 新产品(xīn chǎnpǐn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "new product" |
| Dehua: 新产品(xīn chǎnpǐn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 新产品(xīn chǎnpǐn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 小册子(xiǎo cèzi) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "pamphlet" |
| Dehua: 小册子(xiǎo cèzi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 小册子(xiǎo cèzi) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 目录(mùlù) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "catalog" |
| Dehua: 目录(mùlù) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 目录(mùlù) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: Next we have… |
| Dehua: 抱歉(bàoqiàn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "sorry; apology; to feel apologetic" |
| Dehua: 抱歉(bàoqiàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 抱歉(bàoqiàn) [natural native speed] |
| Michael: And last… |
| Dehua: 内 [natural native speed] |
| Michael: "within" |
| Dehua: 内[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Dehua: 内 [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: 推出新产品(tuīchū xīn chǎnpǐn) |
| Michael: meaning "to release a new product" |
| Michael: Let’s break down this phrase. |
| Dehua: First is 推出(tuīchū) |
| Michael: This means "to release." The next part means "new." |
| Dehua: That is 新(xīn). Last is 产品(chǎnpǐn). |
| Michael: "Product." You can use this phrase when you’re releasing a new product. |
| Dehua: 推出(tuīchū) is a verb that means "launch or release." |
| Michael: You can put the product name right after it. Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say 这个品牌不断推出新产品。(Zhège pǐnpái bùduàn tuīchū xīn chǎnpǐn.) |
| Michael: which means "The brand releases new products continuously." |
| Michael: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Dehua: 还没有准备好(hái méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo). |
| Michael: meaning "not ready yet." |
| Michael: This is our final phrase for this lesson. |
| Dehua: First is 还(hái) |
| Michael: This means "still, yet." The next part of the phrase is "not." |
| Dehua: That is 没有(méiyǒu). Last is 准备好(zhǔnbèi hǎo). |
| Michael: "To complete or finish the job." You use this to tell somebody that something — in this case, a job — isn’t ready yet. |
| Dehua: You can also say 准备好(zhǔnbèi hǎo). |
| Michael: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Dehua: Sure. For example, you can say 今天又要加班，因为明天的报告还没有准备好。(Jīntiān yòu yào jiābān, yīn wéi míngtiān de bàogào hái méiyǒu zhǔnbèi hǎo.) |
| Michael: which means, "I have to work overtime again today because I haven't completed the report for tomorrow yet." |
| Michael: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Michael: In this lesson, you'll learn about apologizing for missing a deadline. I’m sure that our listeners may already know some ways of apologizing in Chinese. |
| Dehua: The simplest is 对不起 (duìbùqǐ). |
| Michael: "I’m sorry." In this lesson, we’re going to specifically look at apologizing in a business setting. |
| Dehua: In business, we also use 抱歉 (bàoqiàn). |
| Michael: You can make your apology more meaningful with the use of adverbs. |
| Dehua: For example, 非常 (fēicháng), |
| Michael: "really, extremely" and |
| Dehua: 十分 (shífēn), |
| Michael: "absolutely." Dehua, can we hear some examples of apologies using these adverbs? |
| Dehua: Sure! 非常对不起 (fēicháng duìbùqǐ) or 十分抱歉 (shífēn bàoqiàn). |
| Michael: Both can mean "I’m terribly sorry." |
| Dehua: Also, 不好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi). |
| Michael: This is "excuse me" or "sorry for the trouble." You can use this when you’re apologizing for something minor. Now, we’ll move onto talking about deadlines, and we’ll begin by looking at deadlines that are counted in weeks. |
| Dehua: It’s possible to say things like 一个星期之內 (yī gè xīngqī zhī nèi), |
| Michael: "within one week," |
| Dehua: 两个星期之內 (liǎng gè xīngqī zhī nèi), |
| Michael: "within two weeks," |
| Dehua: and 三个星期之內 (sān gè xīngqī zhī nèi). |
| Michael: "within three weeks." Next are deadlines that run into months. |
| Dehua: 一个月之內 (yī gè yuè zhī nèi), |
| Michael: "within a month," |
| Dehua: 兩个月之內 (liǎng gè yuè zhī nèi), |
| Michael: "within two months," |
| Dehua: and 三个月之內 (sān gè yuè zhī nèi). |
| Michael: "within three months." You can probably tell from these examples that there’s a set pattern here. |
| Dehua: All the time expressions are followed by 內 (nèi) or 之內(zhī nèi). |
| Michael: Both of those mean "within." |
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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