Learn how to order food while in a Chinese restaurant
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Victor: 大家好，我是 Victor。 (Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Victor.) |
| Amber: And I’m Amber. Welcome back to Gengo Chinese. This is Lesson 21... |
| Victor: Getting the Best Table and Dish in Town |
| Amber: Right. So, of course, Victor, we are back to what we know and love best... |
| Victor: Food. |
| Amber: Yes. And Mike has bravely ventured into a Chinese restaurant by himself!. |
| Victor: That does take bravery, doesn’t it? |
| Amber: Yes. I think he’s probably emboldened by that drunken 白酒 (báijiǔ) encounter he had with the chicken feet. |
| Victor: He had the worst, he can take everything else. |
| Amber: Yeah. He could do anything now. But before we get to the food, we’re just going to do a brief review of the last lesson, which in the last lesson, we learned about...a little more detail about telling time. So, first of all, let’s review, Victor, how do you say, “What time is it?” |
| Victor: 几点 (jǐ diǎn) |
| Amber: Or… |
| Victor: 几点钟 (jǐ diǎn zhōng) |
| Amber: Right! And now, some little alternative times. We know “3 o’clock,” for example, is easy. |
| Victor: 三点 (sān diǎn) |
| Amber: But, if you wanted to say, “quarter after 3,” you would say…? |
| Victor: 三点一刻 (sān diǎn yī kè) |
| Amber: And what about “half past”? |
| Victor: 三点半 (sān diǎn bàn) |
| Amber: For “3:30.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: Good. And we also remembered that Mike wanted to get permission to take a picture. How do you say “take a picture” in Chinese? |
| Victor: 拍照 (pāizhào) |
| Amber: And how do you ask someone if you can take a picture? |
| Victor: 我可以拍照吗？ (Wǒ kěyǐ pāizhào ma?) |
| Amber: Right. This will come in handy. Okay. So, in today’s lesson, you are going to learn how to use your Chinese to order food in the restaurant, all on your own. |
| Victor: Very useful or challenging. |
| Amber: Mm-hmm, yes! |
| Victor: This conversation takes place in a restaurant and it’s between a waiter, of course, and Mike. Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Waitress: 欢迎光临，您几位？ (Huānyíngguānglín, nín jǐ wèi?) |
| Mike: 一位。 (Yí wèi.) |
| Waitress: 请这边走。请坐。 (Qǐng zhèbiān zǒu. Qǐngzuò.) |
| Waitress: 你想吃什么？ (Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?) |
| Mike: 你推荐一下吧。 (Nǐ tuījiàn yíxià ba.) |
| Waitress: 宫爆鸡丁怎么样？ (Gōngbào jīdīng zěnmeyàng ?) |
| Mike: 好的。那个菜是什么？ (Hǎo de. Nàgè cài shì shénme?) (points to what another customer is eating) |
| Waitress: 那个是水煮牛肉。 (Nàgè shì shuǐzhǔ niúròu.) |
| Mike: 我也要那个。 (Wǒ yě yào nàgè.) |
| Waitress: 好的。还要什么？ (Hǎo de. Háiyào shénme?) |
| Mike: 一碗米饭。 (Yì wǎn mǐfàn.) |
| Waitress: 好的，请稍等。 (Hǎo de. Qǐng shāoděng.) |
| Victor: 重复一次, 慢速。 (Chóngfù yīcì, màn sù.) |
| Amber: One more time, a little slower. |
| Waitress: 欢迎光临，您几位？ (Huānyíngguānglín, nín jǐ wèi?) |
| Mike: 一位。 (Yí wèi.) |
| Waitress: 请这边走。请坐。 (Qǐng zhèbiān zǒu. Qǐngzuò.) |
| Waitress: 你想吃什么？ (Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?) |
| Mike: 你推荐一下吧。 (Nǐ tuījiàn yíxià ba.) |
| Waitress: 宫爆鸡丁怎么样？ (Gōngbào jīdīng zěnmeyàng ?) |
| Mike: 好的。那个菜是什么？ (Hǎo de. Nàgè cài shì shénme?) (points to what another customer is eating) |
| Waitress: 那个是水煮牛肉。 (Nàgè shì shuǐzhǔ niúròu.) |
| Mike: 我也要那个。 (Wǒ yě yào nàgè.) |
| Waitress: 好的。还要什么？ (Hǎo de. Háiyào shénme?) |
| Mike: 一碗米饭。 (Yì wǎn mǐfàn.) |
| Waitress: 好的，请稍等。 (Hǎo de. Qǐng shāoděng.) |
| Victor: 重复一次, 加英文翻译。 (Chóngfù yīcì, jiā yīngwén fānyì.) |
| Amber: One more time, with the English. |
| . |
| Waitress: 欢迎光临，您几位？ (Huānyíngguānglín, nín jǐ wèi?) |
| Amber: Welcome. How many are you? |
| Mike: 一位。 (Yí wèi.) |
| Amber: One. |
| Waitress: 请这边走。请坐。 (Qǐng zhèbiān zǒu. Qǐngzuò.) |
| Amber: This way, please. Please have a seat. |
| Waitress: 你想吃什么？ (Nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?) |
| Amber: What would you like to eat? |
| Mike: 你推荐一下吧。 (Nǐ tuījiàn yíxià ba.) |
| Amber: Is there something you can recommend? |
| Waitress: 宫爆鸡丁怎么样？ (Gōngbào jīdīng zěnmeyàng?) |
| Amber: How about Kung Pao chicken? |
| Mike: 好的。那个菜是什么？ (Hǎo de. Nàgè cài shì shénme?) (points to what another customer is eating) |
| Amber: Sure. What dish is that? (points at what another customer is eating) |
| Waitress: 那个是水煮牛肉。 (Nàgè shì shuǐzhǔ niúròu.) |
| Amber: That is stewed spicy beef. |
| Mike: 我也要那个。 (Wǒ yě yào nàgè.) |
| Amber: I want that too. |
| Waitress: 好的。还要什么？ (Hǎo de. Háiyào shénme?) |
| Amber: OK. Anything else? |
| Mike: 一碗米饭。 (Yì wǎn mǐfàn.) |
| Amber: One bowl of rice. |
| Waitress: 好的，请稍等。 (Hǎo de. Qǐng shāoděng.) |
| Amber: OK. Please wait a moment. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Victor: All the conversation is making me hungry. |
| Amber: Mmm, I know. And since I made up this dialogue, I made him order the things I like to eat. |
| Victor: Right. Kung Pao chicken is good. |
| Amber: I think they are good recommendations for everyone. |
| Victor: Definitely. |
| Amber: So, if you don’t learn any other dishes, learn the ones in today’s dialogue. So, let’s take a look at the vocabulary, so you can. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Victor: 几 (jǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: how many (under ten), a few |
| Victor: 几 (jǐ) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 几 (jǐ) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 这边 (zhèbiān) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: here, around here |
| Victor: 这边 (zhèbiān) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 这边 (zhèbiān) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 走 (zǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: to walk, to go |
| Victor: 走 (zǒu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 走 (zǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 坐 (zuò) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: sit |
| Victor: 坐 (zuò) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 坐 (zuò) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 想 (xiǎng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: would like, to want |
| Victor: 想 (xiǎng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 想 (xiǎng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 推荐 (tuījiàn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: to recommend |
| Victor: 推荐 (tuījiàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 推荐 (tuījiàn) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 宫爆鸡丁 (gōngbào jīdīng) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: Kung Pao chicken |
| Victor: 宫爆鸡丁 (gōngbào jīdīng) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 宫爆鸡丁 (gōngbào jīdīng) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 菜 (cài) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: dish (of food) |
| Victor: 菜 (cài) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 菜 (cài) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 水煮牛肉 (shuǐ zhǔ niúròu) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: stewed spicy beef in oil |
| Victor: 水煮牛肉 (shuǐ zhǔ niúròu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 水煮牛肉 (shuǐ zhǔ niúròu) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 还有 (háiyǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: in addition, plus, furthermore |
| Victor: 还有 (háiyǒu) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 还有 (háiyǒu) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 碗 (wǎn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: bowl |
| Victor: 碗 (wǎn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 碗 (wǎn) [natural native speed] |
| Victor: 米饭 (mǐfàn) [natural native speed] |
| Amber: rice |
| Victor: 米饭 (mǐfàn) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Victor: 米饭 (mǐfàn) [natural native speed] |
| VOCAB AND PHRASE USAGE |
| Amber: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Victor: Okay, well then, let’s start with the best parts. What are the dishes he ordered? |
| Amber: Right. Well first, there was one that the waitress recommended. |
| Victor: Yes. But first, the term for “recommend,” he told her, 你推荐一下吧 (nǐ tuījiàn yīxià ba). |
| Amber: Right. So, first of all, we noticed there is a 吧 (ba) at the end of the sentence. |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: Which tells us this is a suggestion. So he is suggesting that she suggest something. |
| Victor: Yeah. And the term for “recommend” is 推荐 (tuījiàn), 推 (tuī) 1st tone and 荐 (jiàn) is 4th tone. |
| Amber: Yeah. And attached to the 推荐 (tuījiàn), we hear the familiar “word softener,” I like to call it, which is attached onto the back of the word. It is 一下 (yīxià). |
| Victor: 一下 (yīxià), right. So, 你推荐一下吧 (nǐ tuījiàn yīxià ba), that means “recommend something for me.” The 一下 (yīxià) just makes it sound a little more polite, softer. |
| Amber: Right. So, we are all dying to know, what does she recommend a foreigner eat? |
| Victor: Well, in this case, it’s a really good dish, and I would say very safe too. |
| Amber: Mm-hmm. |
| Victor: Loved by Chinese and foreigners alike. |
| Amber: Yeah. It’s so loved by foreigners that all of us probably know this by its adopted English name Kung Pao chicken.. |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: Which in Chinese sounds a little different. |
| Victor: Well, it sounds almost the same. |
| Amber: Yeah. It’s just like a slight transliteration. |
| Victor: 宫爆鸡丁 (Gōngbào jīdīng); 宫 (gōng) is 1st tone, 爆 (bào) is 4th tone, 鸡 (jī) is 1st tone, and 丁 (dīng) is 1st tone. |
| Amber : Right. So, basically, it’s a chicken dish, which we hear from the word 鸡 (jī), which means “chicken.” 鸡肉 (Jīròu) means “chicken meat.” Now, the real 宫爆鸡丁 (gōngbào jīdīng), can you describe it for us, Victor? |
| Victor: It got to have peanuts in it. |
| Amber: Spicy. |
| Victor: Some vegetables, yeah. |
| Amber: Just like a chicken is stir fried. |
| Victor: Right, exactly. I would say it tastes slightly better than the American version, I would say. |
| Amber: Yeah, it’s very good. And the next dish, well, as you can tell, I like spicy food because it’s even spicier and more delicious. |
| Victor: Yeah. It is the real deal. |
| Amber: It’s like another one of my favorites. |
| Victor: 水煮牛肉 (Shuǐ zhǔ niúròu). 水 (Shuǐ) is a 3rd tone, 煮 (zhǔ) is 3rd tone, 牛肉 (niú) is 2nd tone, and 肉 (ròu) is 4th tone. |
| Amber: And it’s kind of weird because the literal translation is “water boiled beef.” |
| Victor: It’s far from water boiled. |
| Amber: There’s no, nothing is water. It’s beef basically boiled in lava oil. |
| Victor: It’s red on the top over. Yeah, so “beef” being 牛肉 (niúròu), 水 (shuǐ) being “water,” and 煮 (zhǔ) meaning “to boil.” |
| Amber: Yeah. Anyway, so I don’t see any water involved in this dish, but I may be missing something. But anyway, it’s just basically a bunch of meat in oil, with all these red chillies on top and delicious like sichuan peppers or something. |
| Victor: Super spicy, yeah. |
| Amber: Yeah. Okay. Now, those are just two of the thousands of 菜 (cài) in China. |
| Victor: We heard the word 菜 (cài) in the dialogue. |
| Amber: Which, and it means basically, “a dish, a food.” |
| Victor: Correct and it’s a 4th tone. Now, these are just two of the thousands of 菜 (cài)s in China. |
| Amber: 菜 (Cài), being… |
| Victor: “dish, dishes” |
| Amber: Right. When you order a dish in a restaurant. |
| Victor: Right . |
| Amber: It’s a 4th tone. |
| Victor: Correct. |
| Amber: Okay. Now, we, we did hear that 菜 (cài) word in the dialogue. That was when Mike did some food-spying, which is actually a form of spying that I do often, which means you peek over at the, what the other people are eating and then you ask the waitress, 那个菜是什么 (nàgè cài shì shénme)? |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: Coz you don’t know. You wanna see it before you commit to it. |
| Victor: Right. You’re probably doing more the subtle way. The Chinese people will just point and then ask. |
| Amber: Right. It’s okay to do that, by the way. |
| Victor: There’s nothing about subtlety. |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: Now, in this context, the 菜 (cài) means “dish,” as in the item of food, not the actual plate. |
| Amber: Right. Actually, 菜 (cài) can also be used to refer to a vegetable, or to food in general, things in the food family. |
| Victor: 一碗米饭。 (Yī wǎn mǐfàn.) 一 (Yī) is 1st tone, 碗 (wǎn) is a 3rd tone, 米 (mǐ) a 3rd tone, and 饭 (fàn) 4th tone. |
| Amber: So, break it down, 一 (yī) we know means “one,” 碗 (wǎn) is actually “bowl.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: Then we have… |
| Victor: 米饭 (mǐfàn) |
| Amber: Which is…? |
| Victor: “rice” |
| Amber: Yeah. |
| Victor: “A bowl of rice.” |
| Amber: “A bowl of rice” 一碗米饭 (yī wǎn mǐfàn) |
| Victor: And before we move on, I would also like to focus on pronunciation a little. |
| Amber: Oh, okay. |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: Well, actually, that’s two. There is a slight subtlety in the pronunciation between two of the words that is in the line. |
| Victor: 请这边走。请坐。 (Qǐng zhèbiān zǒu. Qǐngzuò.) |
| Amber: Hmm, this is something to take note of. The first word is 走 (zǒu), which in pinyin is spelled Z-O-U. It’s a 3rd tone and it means “to walk” or “to leave.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: So, that was 请这边走 (qǐng zhèbiān zǒu) “walk this way.” |
| Victor: But then later, we hear the waitress say 请坐 (qǐngzuò). The pinyin here is very similar, but it’s spelled Z-U-O. |
| Amber: Which means “to sit.” So let’s hear the difference, Victor. First was “to walk.” |
| Victor: 走 (zǒu) |
| Amber: And then “to sit”? |
| Victor: 坐 (zuò) |
| Amber: So, they’re very similar in sound, these two words, but very different meanings, so pay attention to that pronunciation. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Amber: So we learned the word for “how many” before, when you were speaking about numbers that are in general smaller, like less than 10. |
| Victor: Yes, that was 几 (jǐ). |
| Amber: Third tone. Now, here, the 几 (jǐ) makes its appearance again. And this time, it’s in a very common phrase you will hear every time you walk into a restaurant. |
| Victor: Yes, just like our waiter today said 您几位 (nǐn jǐ wèi)? |
| Amber: Yeah, and 位 (wèi) is the measure word for “people,” the polite measure word. |
| Victor: So, most times, when you ask how many people, you will simply use this, 您几位 (nǐn jǐ wèi)? |
| Amber: And you noticed, he said 您 (nǐn), which is also the polite form of 你 (nǐ), of “you.” |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: So literally, it’s “You how many p[eople?” So they’re asking just how many of, are in your party, so they can get you a table. |
| Victor: Right. |
| Amber: Now, at this point, I think there’s something I would like to throw in, Victor, and that is that there is another word for “how many.” It’s a good thing to know because it’s gonna come up. |
| Victor: Right and there is a special characteristic about when to use which “how many.” |
| Amber: Right. The one we’ve heard already in a few lessons is 几 (jǐ), of course, we mentioned. It’s generally used for smaller amounts. |
| Victor: Yeah, numbers that are less than 10. |
| Amber: Now, what about numbers greater than 10, Victor? I mean, we don’t always know how many the answer is gonna be, but general sort of rule? |
| Victor: The word is 多少 (duōshǎo). 多 (Duō) is 1st tone and 少 (shǎo) is a 3rd tone. |
| Amber: Right. So, this is used in general when you know the amount is slightly larger, probably larger than 10. |
| Victor: Right, but if you are asking how many people are in this room, you know it’s likely only a few, so you use 几 (jǐ). |
| Amber: Right. So, in the restaurant, they know it’s probably not like a hundred people are going to be sitting at the table, so they say, 你们几位 (Nǐmen jǐ wèi) or 您几位 (Nǐn jǐ wèi)? |
| Victor: Yeah. |
| Amber: So that’s an easy grammar point, something good to keep in mind. Now, there’s something else I wanna discuss for grammar too. |
| Victor: Still? |
| Amber: Yes, exactly! It’s “still.” |
| Victor: Oh, yes, 还 (hái). |
| Amber: Yeah, it’s the word 还 (hái). Now, in the dialogue, we heard 还 (hái) used in combination with another word, one that we’ve heard often, which is 要 (yào), which we know means “to want” or “to need.” |
| Victor: So, when you put 还 (hái) together with 要 (yào), the result is 还要 (háiyào), which means... |
| Amber: “Still to want,” basically, literally. So, the whole phrase logically is… |
| Victor: 还要什么？ (Háiyào shénme)? |
| Amber: “Still to want what?” |
| Victor: Correct. |
| Amber: Or, in English, we would say… |
| Victor: “What else do you want?” |
| Amber: Right. |
| Victor: Maybe not in that same tone, but.. |
| Amber: Yeah, “What else do you want? 还要什么？ (Háiyào shénme)? So, Victor, 你还要什么grammar (Nǐ hái yào shénme grammar)? “What grammar do you still want?” |
| Victor: I don’t want any more grammar. I’m, I’m good. |
| Amber: Okay, I think we learned enough today for grammar. |
Outro |
| Amber: So, have another listen to the dialogue and practice lots and you’ll get lots of good dishes in the restaurants. |
| Victor: Yep and we’ll see you next time. |
| Amber: On Gengo Chinese. 再见! (Zàijiàn!) |
| Victor: 再见! (Zàijiàn!) |
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