Learn how to say, "Does this bus go to Taipei?"
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| Taiwanese Mandarin Survival Phrases Lesson 16: Riding the Bus, Part 1 - Does This Bus go to Taipei? |
| In this lesson, you will learn some phrases that you can use when riding a bus in Taipei. |
| In general, the sentence structure you can use to ask if a bus goes to a specific place is: |
| 到(dào), plus the place you want to go, plus 吗(ma). |
| For example, we will use Taipei Station as our destination. |
| “Does this bus go to Taipei Station?” in Chinese, is 到台北車站嗎(Dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma). |
| Let’s break it down by tone: |
| 到(dào) is fourth tone, the falling tone |
| 台(Tái) is second tone |
| 北(běi) is third tone |
| 車(chē) is first tone |
| 站(zhàn) is fourth tone. |
| 吗(ma) has no tone, except the rise in tone to signify a question. |
| Now let’s break it down by meaning: |
| 到(dào) means “to arrive.” |
| 台北(Táiběi) means “Taipei.” |
| 車站 (chē zhàn) literally means “this car,” but in this context, it means “Main Station.” |
| 吗(ma) comes at the end of a sentence to indicate a question. |
| Altogether, we have 到台北車站嗎(Dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| Listen again, one more time, slowly: |
| [Slow] 到台北車站嗎(Dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| [Normal] 到台北車站嗎(Dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| Next are two phrases you might hear in response to your question. |
| The first phrase is 到(dào), which means "Yes, it goes there." This is in fourth tone. |
| Literally, “到(dào)” means "to arrive" but in this situation, it translates in English as "to go." |
| The second phrase is 不到(bú dào), which means "No, it does not go there.” |
| Again, 到(dào) is in fourth tone |
| 不(bù) is fourth tone, the falling tone. |
| By meaning, 不(bù) means "no" and 到(dào) means "go to" |
| The last phrase in this lesson is “Does this bus go to Taipei Main Station?” In Chinese, this is 這個車到台北車站嗎(Zhège chē dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| You can use this phrase to ask anyone, not just another passenger on the bus. |
| Let’s break it down by tone: |
| 這(zhè) is in fourth tone. |
| 個(ge) has no tone; it’s a measure word. |
| 車(chē) is in first tone, the flat tone. |
| Altogether, we have 這個車到台北車站嗎(Zhège chē dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| Listen again, one more time, slowly: |
| [Slow] 這個車到台北車站嗎(Zhège chē dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
| [Normal] 這個車到台北車站嗎(Zhège chē dào Táiběi chē zhàn ma)? |
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