Learn how to check into a Chinese hotel and ask questions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Amber: Hey, everybody! This is Amber. |
| Victor: 大家好。 (Dàjiā hǎo.) I’m Victor. |
| Amber: And welcome back to the Gengo Chinese. Today’s lesson is Lesson 10. |
| Victor: Yeah, and we’ll teach you How to Stay in Style in China. |
| Amber: Woah! In style, Victor. |
| Victor: Yeah! |
| Amber: Of course, they got us to host this one, being the stylish people we are. Well, Victor, I find that our traveler, Mike, is making his way quite well in the Chinese world, don’t you think? |
| Victor: Yeah! I think it shows you just what a little Chinese can do for you, right? |
| Amber: Yes! Get you to a Chinese hotel in one piece. |
| Victor: Yeah. But just so you get to your Chinese hotel in one piece, we’re going to review what we learned last lesson for a moment. |
| Amber: Yes. And come to think of it, Victor, Chinese not only gets you to the hotel in one piece, but it also prevents starvation. |
| Victor: Yeah! Because Mike was able to make some purchases in the convenience store. |
| Amber: Right! He got some juice... |
| Victor: Some 果汁 (guǒzhī)... |
| Amber: Some water... |
| Victor: 水 (shuǐ) |
| Amber: And some cookies... |
| Victor: 饼干 (bǐnggān) |
| Amber: All of these things are available in China, everyone. |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: Have no fear. But the cookies might be a little different than you’re used to. We’re not promising the flavor will be the same. |
| Victor: And I'm sure that everything was very 好吃 (hǎochī). |
| Amber: Yes, 好吃 (hǎochī) being “delicious.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: Of course, delicious is relative when we’re speaking of convenience stores. However, at least, he won’t starve and he also got a little of “this” and a little of “that.” |
| Victor: Yes, “this” (zhè) or (zhèi); “that” (nà) or (nèi). |
| Amber: And now, in one piece, Mike has arrived at his hotel. |
| Victor: Yeah. I'm sure the bed will feel great, so let's hear how he manages. |
| Amber: Yeah. So in this lesson, you’ll learn how to check into a hotel and even ask some questions about the room. |
| Victor: This conversation takes place in a hotel lobby and it’s between the hotel clerk and Mike, our traveler. |
| Amber: Right! So let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Front desk: 欢迎光临长城饭店。 (Huānyíng guānglín Chángchéng Fàndiàn.) |
| Mike: 你好，我订了一个房间。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ dìng le yí gè fángjiān.) |
| Front desk: 请问您有确认号码吗？ (Qǐng wèn nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Mike: 有，562. (Yǒu, wǔliù'èr.) |
| Front desk: 好的，孙先生，您的房间号码是112，这是您的钥匙。 (Hǎo de, Sūn Xiānshēng, nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo yāo èr, zhè shì nín de yàoshi.) |
| Mike: 房间有网络吗？ (Fángjiān yǒu wǎngluò ma?) |
| Front desk: 有。 (Yǒu) |
| Mike: 早餐是几点？ (Zǎocān shì jǐ diǎn?) |
| Front desk: 从早上六点到八点。 (Cóng zǎoshàng liù diǎn dào bā diǎn.) |
| Victor: 重复一次, 慢速. (Chóngfù yīcì, màn sù.) |
| Amber: One more time, a little slower. |
| Front desk: 欢迎光临长城饭店。 (Huānyíng guānglín Chángchéng Fàndiàn.) |
| Mike: 你好，我订了一个房间。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ dìng le yí gè fángjiān.) |
| Front desk: 请问您有确认号码吗？ (Qǐng wèn nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Mike: 有，562. (Yǒu, wǔliù'èr.) |
| Front desk: 好的，孙先生，您的房间号码是112，这是您的钥匙。 (Hǎo de, Sūn Xiānshēng, nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo yāo èr, zhè shì nín de yàoshi.) |
| Mike: 房间有网络吗？ (Fángjiān yǒu wǎngluò ma?) |
| Front desk: 有。 (Yǒu) |
| Mike: 早餐是几点？ (Zǎocān shì jǐ diǎn?) |
| Front desk: 从早上六点到八点。 (Cóng zǎoshàng liù diǎn dào bā diǎn.) |
| Victor: 重复一次, 加英文翻译. (Chóngfù yīcì, jiā yīngwén fānyì.) |
| Amber: One more time, with the English. |
| Front desk: 欢迎光临长城饭店。 (Huānyíng guānglín Chángchéng Fàndiàn.) |
| Amber: Welcome to The Great Wall Hotel. |
| Mike: 你好，我订了一个房间。 (Nǐhǎo, wǒ dìng le yí gè fángjiān.) |
| Amber: Hello. I reserved a room. |
| Front desk: 请问您有确认号码吗？ (Qǐng wèn nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Amber: Do you have a reservation number? |
| Mike: 有，562. (Yǒu, wǔliù'èr.) |
| Amber: Yes. 562. |
| Front desk: 好的，孙先生，您的房间号码是112，这是您的钥匙。 (Hǎo de, Sūn Xiānshēng, nín de fángjiān hàomǎ shì yāo yāo èr, zhè shì nín de yàoshi.) |
| Amber: All right. Mr. Smith, your room number is 112. This is your key. |
| Mike: 房间有网络吗？ (Fángjiān yǒu wǎngluò ma?) |
| Amber: Is there internet in the room? |
| Front desk: 有。 (Yǒu) |
| Amber: Yes. |
| Mike: 早餐是几点？ (Zǎocān shì jǐ diǎn?) |
| Amber: What time is breakfast? |
| Front desk: 从早上六点到八点。 (Cóng zǎoshàng liù diǎn dào bā diǎn.) |
| Amber: From 6 o’clock in the morning till 8 o’clock. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Amber: So, Victor, speaking of hotels, I think we can, as a side note, bring up a little bit about hotels in China. |
| Victor: Sure. |
| Amber: Since, a lot of our listeners probably will travel there at some point. |
| Victor: Yep. |
| Amber: Now, I think in bigger cities, you can generally find any price range or quality of hotel that you want, rated from 5 star to a hostel. |
| Victor: Yeah. But when you get to some of the smaller cities, on the other hand, you, it might be a little bit difficult to find some luxury hotels. |
| Amber: Hmm, there’s probably not. |
| Victor: Right. On the lower end, the cleanliness may be an issue. |
| Amber: Yeah. We can find, kind of find all ranges, but in the smaller places of variety, there’ll definitely be less. |
| Victor: It depends on where you are. |
| Amber: Okay, well, let’s look at some of the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Victor: 长城 (chángchéng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: The Great Wall |
| Victor: 长城 (chángchéng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 长城 (chángchéng) [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: 订 (dìng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: to reserve |
| Victor: 订 (dìng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 订 (dìng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 房间 (fángjiān) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: room |
| Victor: 房间 (fángjiān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 房间 (fángjiān) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 请问 (qǐngwèn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: may I ask |
| Victor: 请问 (qǐngwèn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 请问 (qǐngwèn) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 确认 (quèrèn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: confirmation |
| Victor: 确认 (quèrèn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 确认 (quèrèn) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 号码 (hàomǎ) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: number |
| Victor: 号码 (hàomǎ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 号码 (hàomǎ) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 有 (yǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: to have |
| Victor: 有 (yǒu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 有 (yǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 先生 (xiānshēng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: mister |
| Victor: 先生 (xiānshēng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 先生 (xiānshēng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 钥匙 (yàoshi) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: key |
| Victor: 钥匙 (yàoshi) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 钥匙 (yàoshi ) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 网络 (wǎngluò) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: internet |
| Victor: 网络 (wǎngluò) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 网络 (wǎngluò) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 早餐 (zǎocān) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: breakfast |
| Victor: 早餐 (zǎocān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 早餐 (zǎocān) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 几点 (jǐ diǎn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: what time |
| Victor: 几点 (jǐ diǎn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 几点 (jǐ diǎn) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 从 (cóng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: from |
| Victor: 从 (cóng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 从 (cóng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshàng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: morning |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshàng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshàng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 到 (dào) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: to |
| Victor: 到 (dào) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 到 (dào) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Amber: Okay, so let's take a closer look at the usage for some of these words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Victor: Okay, so the first phrase we heard is 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín). |
| Amber: See! We told you! |
| Victor: Once again, 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín). |
| Amber: Here were have it again, the universal welcome, 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín). |
| Victor: Well, there’s a great new word we can learn since 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín) is officially cemented in our minds. |
| Amber: Yeah, another word, which is that Mike has 订 (dìng) a room. |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: 订 (dìng), what does it mean? It means “to reserve.” |
| Victor: Yeah, in Chinese, “to reserve” is 订 (dìng) which is 4th tone. |
| Amber: Right. And here, we hear a little 了 (le) particle after the 订 (dìng), which in this case indicates a completed action. |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: So, what did he 订 (dìng)? |
| Victor: 一个房间 (yīgè fángjiān). |
| Amber: Right. Now here, we hear our jack of all measure words, our favorite measure word because it’s the most common, which is 个 (gè). So remember, 一个房间 (yīgè fángjiān), we hear number, measure word, and object. What is a 房间 (fángjiān)? |
| Victor: 房间 (fángjiān) is “room” so 房 (fáng) is 2nd tone and 间 (jiān) is 1st tone. |
| Amber: Right, good! So, the clerk seems to understood because she follows with something else. |
| Victor: 请问 (qǐngwèn) |
| Amber: Right! Remember, we learned 请问 (qǐngwèn) was a polite way of phrasing a question. |
| Victor: And then she says 请问您有确认号码吗？ (Qǐng wèn nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Amber: Right! Now, remember some of these words? |
| Victor: Yes. Remember the words for telephone number was 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ). |
| Amber: Mm-hmm. So here, we don’t have a 电话号码 (diànhuà hàomǎ), but we have something else. |
| Victor: 确认号码 (quèrèn hàomǎ) |
| Amber: Right. |
| Victor: The 确认号码 (quèrèn hàomǎ) is “confirmation number,” something to always ask for. |
| Amber: Yeah, it’s a good thing to learn if you’re going to check in to a hotel. |
| Victor: Right. So 确 (què) is 4th tone, 认 (rèn) is also 4th tone, 号码 (hàomǎ) like we said before, 号 (hào) is 4th tone and 码 (mǎ) is 3rd tone. |
| Amber: Right, so 确认 (quèrèn) means “confirmation,” 号码 (hàomǎ) means “number.” Okay, so we know that 您有 (nín yǒu) means “you have.” This is the formal word for 你 (nǐ), for “you.” So you put it all together and what is the phrase again? |
| Victor: 请问您有确认号码吗？ (Qǐngwèn nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Amber: Right. Now, we heard 号码 (hàomǎ) was the word for “number,” but we heard an extra 吗 (ma) at the end. Were you just stuttering, Victor, or was there really two (ma)s? |
| Victor: The last 吗 (ma), the neutral tone is a particle that makes up a question. |
| Amber: Right. It’s just like a verbal question mark. We’ve learned that before. So, I just didn’t want you to be confused by the two (ma)s. |
| Victor: So, our friend Mike is really getting some respect now, as the clerk doesn't just call him “Mike.” |
| Amber: That’s right. She calls him “Mr. Smith.” |
| Victor: So, she said, 孙先生 (sūn xiānshēng). |
| Amber: Right! So, definitely, this is not Mike’s real name. |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: However, probably, you’re gonna want a Chinese name before you go to China. It makes things a lot easier. So, if you have a friend that’s Chinese, they can, you can ask them for some help to pick a Chinese last name, and first name, for that matter. So, 孙 (sūn) was his surname here and 先生 (xiānshēng) is the word for “mister.” |
| Victor: Right. 先 (xiān) is 1st tone and 生 (shēng) is neutral tone. |
| Amber: Right. And a little sidepoint, you’ll notice here that in Chinese, it’s reversed. The last name comes first than the “mister.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: 孙先生 (sūn xiānshēng), not 先生孙 (xiānshēng sūn). That’d be weird. Okay, but, Victor, being a woman, we don’t wanna leave out the women of the world. Can you, just as a side point, tell us what are the “ms.” and the “mrs.” of the world called in Chinese? |
| Victor: Sure. The word for “mrs.” is 太太 (tàitai), 太 (tài), the first one is 4th tone and the 2nd one is neutral tone. And for “ms.,” it is 小姐 (xiǎojie). 小 (xiǎo) is 3rd tone, 姐 (jie) is also 3rd tone. |
| Amber: Yeah, but the tone change would tell us it’s pronounced 2nd, 3rd. |
| Victor: Right, 小姐 (xiǎojie). |
| Amber: Right. And I find in China, Victor, generally, people err on the side of caution and call every woman 小姐 (xiǎojie), even if they are old, right? |
| Victor: Yeah! I don’t know about that, but, you know. |
| Amber: I don’t know. They don’t wanna, like presume they are older. |
| Victor: Well, I guess, better to be safe than sorry. |
| Amber: Well, there are some more really important things in the dialogue about the room. |
| Victor: Yes. One very important question. |
| Amber: Yes, it’s about the 网络 (wǎngluò). What in the world is that, Victor? |
| Victor: It is the “net,” “web, “the internet!” |
| Amber: Hmm. |
| Victor: 网 (wǎng) is a 3rd tone, and 络 (luò) is 4th tone. |
| Amber: Right. So to ask, is there internet in the room, what do you say? |
| Victor: 房间有网络吗？ (Fángjiān yǒu wǎngluò ma?) |
| Amber: Right. Remember, we learned to say “there is” in Chinese. We’d use the verb “to have” in Chinese, which is 有 (yǒu). So literally, that sentence was “room to have internet” and then 吗 (ma) made it a question. Okay, now, internet is important, but not as important as what Mike asks about next. The best for last! |
| Victor: Yeah, a must. It’s 早餐 (zǎocān). |
| Amber: Yes. |
| Victor: 早 (zǎo) is 3rd tone and 餐 (cān) is 1st tone. |
| Amber: The most important meal of the day. |
| Victor: Yeah, and… |
| Amber: Morning, literally “morning” 早 (zǎo), “meal” 餐 (cān). |
| Victor: 早餐 (zǎocān) so “breakfast.” And he needs to know what time it is at, so he doesn’t miss it. |
| Amber: That’s right! And we did learn some time words a bit in Lesson 8, when we’re buying a bus ticket. Just to review, how do we say 8 o’clock, Victor? |
| Victor: 8 点 (bā diǎn) or also 8点钟 (bā diǎn zhōng), if you wanna say it in full. |
| Amber: Okay, so two choices; 8 点 (bā diǎn) means “8 o’clock,” 8点钟 (bā diǎn zhōng), it also means “8 o’clock.” Good. Okay. So now, we hear how to ask, once more, “what time.” |
| Victor. Yes, you can say 几点 (jǐ diǎn). So in this case, 早餐是几点？ (Zǎocān shì jǐ diǎn?) |
| Amber: Which is literally, “Breakfast is what time?” Okay, speaking of time, what about, Victor, as a side point, if I wanted to ask the time on the street. Do I just say this 几点 (jǐ diǎn) as well? |
| Victor: Yeah, you can say 几点 (jǐ diǎn) or 几点 钟 (jǐ diǎn zhōng). |
| Amber: Right. Very good to know. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Amber: Okay. Now, onto our grammar, Victor. We heard a couple of questions and answers in this dialogue, and we’re going to specifically talk about the ones that use the verb 有 (yǒu). |
| Victor: Yes, remember, the front desk asked Mike, 您有确认号码吗？ (Nín yǒu quèrèn hàomǎ ma?) |
| Amber: Right! And then his answer was 有 (yǒu) |
| Victor: 有 (yǒu) |
| Amber: And then he said the number. |
| Victor: And there was 房间有网络吗？ (Fángjiān yǒu wǎngluò ma?) |
| Amber: Right! And again, the answer was, 有 (yǒu). So, do I detect a pattern here, Victor? |
| Victor: Yeah, very good, Amber. Very observant. We’re not really big on yes and no’s in Chinese. When you’re asked the question, to answer it, you just use the verb in the question, either in the affirmative or the negative. |
| Amber: Yeah! So, there’s not really so much yes and no. There’s more just repeating the verb either. |
| Victor: Correct. |
| Amber: Either affirmative or negative. So, in this case, she asked 您有 (nín yǒu) (something), which was the confirmation number. He answered… |
| Victor: 有 (yǒu). |
| Amber: So, it means “to have.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: So he does, it’s positive. It’s affirmative, yes. Now, if he didn’t have a 确认号码 (quèrèn hàomǎ), a “confirmation number,” what would he do? What would he say? |
| Victor: You’d say, 没有 (méiyǒu). |
| Amber: Right! So, the negator word for 有 (yǒu) is actually 没 (méi). We know there’s another negator word we hear sometimes which is 不 (bù), but we don’t use 不 (bù) with 有 (yǒu). We actually use 没 (méi) to negate 有 (yǒu) and what tone is that? |
| Victor: 没 (méi) is 2nd tone. |
| Amber: Right. So 没有 (méiyǒu) just means “not have.” |
| Victor: So that’s one more great pattern to learn. |
| Amber: Okay. Now, let’s revisit the breakfast. Mmm… Chinese breakfasts, Victor is just telling me about it this morning. |
| Victor: Always very good. |
| Amber: Well, that topic, okay, we’ll revisit another time, but I have to tell you, actually, about the hot orange juice, but that will be for another day. But here, what we hear next is the hours that the breakfast is available. |
| Victor: Right, so if we break this sentence apart a little, we see the times, 6 点 (liù diǎn) and 8 点 (bā diǎn)... |
| Amber: Which is “6 o’clock” and “8 o’clock.” |
| Victor: Correct. |
| Amber: And then we also heard the word for “morning.” |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshang) |
| Amber: Right! Now, remember, 早上 (zǎoshang) was “breakfast meal.” |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshang) |
| Amber: Here, we hear the 早 (zǎo) again which means “morning,” 早上 (zǎoshang). |
| Victor: 早上 (zǎoshang); 早 (zǎo) is 3rd tone and 上 (shang) is 4th tone. |
| Amber: Right. And here, this, with this time, we have a little pattern going on, which is “from (something) to (something).” |
| Victor: Yeah. It’s 从 (cóng)... 到 (dào). 从 (cóng) means “from” and it’s 2nd tone. 到 (dào) means “to” and it’s 4th tone. |
| Amber: Right. So what did we hear in the dialogue? She said breakfast was from 6 o’clock to 8 o’clock. |
| Victor: 从早上六点到八点。 (Cóng zǎoshàng liù diǎn dào bā diǎn.) |
| Amber: Right. So, does this pattern work for other things besides time, Victor? |
| Victor: Yeah! |
| Amber: Okay. So like if I wanted to say, for example, “I work from Monday to Friday,” could I say that? |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: In this pattern? |
| Victor: Yeah, you can just say, 从星期一到星期五。(Cóng Xīngqīyī dào Xīngqīwǔ.) |
| Amber: Right! And remember, we learned the days of the week from the pilot in the airplane. 星期一 (Xīngqīyī ) is “Monday,” 星期五 (Xīngqīwǔ) is “Friday.” Does it work for places too? |
| Victor: Yes, it does! You can say things like, 从北京到上海。 (Cóng Běijīng dào Shànghǎi.) |
| Amber: Right. So from some place, some time. |
| Victor: Right, to… |
| Amber: To some other place, some other time. It all works. |
| Victor: Right. Like 从美国到中国 (Cóng měiguó dào zhōngguó), yeah. |
| Amber: Yeah! Great! |
Outro |
| Amber: So, let’s say goodbye for now, but let’s have one last listen to the dialogue. 再见。(Zàijiàn.) |
| Victor: 再见。(Zàijiàn.) |
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