Dialogue

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Taiwanese Mandarin Survival Phrases Lesson 15: Please Pass The Chopsticks!
In this lesson, we are going to work on some phrases we can use in a restaurant. We’ll practice saying "Please pass me that," or "Can I have that?"
Let’s start with the phrase, “Please pass me that” or “Please give me that.”
In Chinese, we can say, 請給我那個(Qǐng gěi wǒ nàge).
Let’s break it down by tone:
請(qǐng) is in third tone, falling-rising tone
給(gěi) is in third tone, falling-rising tone
我(wǒ) is in third tone, falling-rising tone
那(nà) is in fourth tone, falling tone
And 個(ge) has no tone.
Normally, 請(qǐng) is the third, falling rising tone, but then we would have three third tones in a row. Because of this, the first two characters have to be the second tone.
Let’s break it down by meaning:
請(qǐng) means "please.”
給(gěi) is "to give.”
我(wǒ) is "I" or "me.”
那個(nàge) means “that.”
When translated, this phrase means “please give me that” or “please pass me that.”
Altogether, we have 請給我那個(Qíng géi wǒ nàge).
Listen again, one more time, slowly:
[Slow] 請給我那個(Qíng géi wǒ nàge).
[Normal] 請給我那個(Qíng géi wǒ nàge).
You can also use this phrase when you are at a restaurant and want to ask for something specific, such as a pair of chopsticks or the soy sauce.
In Chinese, “chopsticks” is 筷子(kuài zi).
Let’s break it down by tone:
筷(kuài) is fourth tone, falling tone.
子(zi) has no tone.
Altogether the phrase becomes 請給我筷子(Qíng géi wǒ kuài zi)
Here’s another example using “soy sauce.”
In Chinese, “soy sauce” is 醬油(jiàng yóu).
醬(jiàng) is in fourth tone.
油(yóu) is in second tone.
Altogether, “Please give me the soy sauce” is 請給我醬油(Qíng géi wǒ jiàngyóu)

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