Lesson Four

Where are you going

Basic expressions

Knowing how to look for a place is important while travelling in China, especially if you’ve got lost on the way to your hotel. Of course, the easy way to get back is by taxi. Supposing, a taxi driver asks you ‘Where are you going?’ in Chinese and he speaks no other languages. Let’s learn some phrases which will help you to get about in China.

1.	nǎr	哪儿
	where	where

2.	nín	您
	you (polite form)	you

3.	qù	去
	go	go

4.	lǚguǎn	旅馆
	hotel	travel accommodation for guests

5.	fàndiàn	饭店
	hotel	meal, rice shop

饭店 meal shop means restaurant. However, it is also means grand hotel.

6.	Běijīng	北京
	Beijing	Beijing

7.	nǎ ge	哪个
	which one	which GE?

The following supplementary words might be useful for forming dialogues. There is no need for you to remember all of them at the moment. Repeat after me.

中国	上海	学校	教室	厕所	食堂	商店	体育馆
Zhōng guó	Sàng hǎi	xué xiào	jiào shì	cè suǒ	shí táng	shāngdiàn	tǐ yù guǎn
middle country	on the sea	study school	teaching room	toilet place	food hall	trade shop	body development house
China	Shanghai	school	classroom	toilet	dining hall, canteen	shop	gymnasium

Conversation

Please listen very carefully and repeat after me.

a. 请问，您去哪儿？

qǐng wèn, nǐ qù nǎr

please ask, you go where

Excuse me , where are you going?

b. 我去旅馆。

wǒ qù lǚguǎn

I go hotel

I am going to the hotel.

a. a. 哪个旅馆？

nǎ ge lǚguǎn

which GE hotel

Which hotel?

b. 北京饭店。

Běijīng Fàn diàn

Beijing meal shop

Beijing Hotel.

Notes on expressions

Let’s try to say the retroflexed word 儿 ér as in哪儿nǎr Listen carefully, and repeat after me.

哪儿 nǎr where

哪儿nǎr is used to ask for a location. It is put at a place where an answer is expected. Can you tell the meaning of the following questions?

汤姆去哪儿？

Tāngmǔ qù nǎr

Tom go where

彼得去哪儿？

Bǐdé qù nǎr

Peter go where

他们去哪儿？

tāmen qù nǎr

they go where

你爸爸去哪儿？

nǐ bàba qù nǎr

your father go where

Could you give your answers to all the above questions? For instance, you could say:

汤姆去饭店。

Tānmǔ qù fàn diàn

Tom go meal shop [Do you remember the meaning of “meal shop”?]

彼得去我家。

Bǐdé qù wǒ jiā

Peter go my home

他们去 …

tāmen qù…

They go…

If you have no idea how to answer the above questions, you can certainly say:

对不起，我不知道。

duìbuqǐ, wǒ bù zhīdào

Sorry, I not know

Sorry, I don’t know.

哪 nǎ which, is a question word that is used for a choice among certain things. For example, there are three families that you would like to visit, but you have to choose one of them. People might ask you:

你去哪家？

nǐ qù nǎ jiā

you go which family

Which family would you like to go to?

Practice

1. Listen and repeat the first dialogue.

2. Say the following dialogue in Chinese.

a. Peter, where are you going?

b. I am going to Tom’s home.

a. How many people are there in Tom’s family?

b. There are 5 people in his family.

a. Who are they?

b. His father, mother, elder brother, younger sister and Tom.

a. How many people are there in Daphne’s family?

b. Sorry, I have no idea.

3. Tell your classmates where you really want to go after finishing the course.

Tape version

Part one: new words

1.	Where [QW]
2.	you [polite form]
3.	go
4.	hotel
5.	Beijing
6.	which (one) [QW]

Part two: expressions

A	you go where	Where are you going?
B	I go hotel	I am going to the hotel.
C	which one hotel	Which hotel (are you going to?)
D	who go hotel	Who is going to the hotel?
E	Peter go what hotel	Which hotel is Peter going to?
F	which one is Beijing Hotel	Which one is the Beijing Hotel?

Part three: conversation

a.	please ask, you go where	Excuse me / May I ask where are you going?
b.	I go hotel	I am going to the hotel.
a.	which one hotel	Which hotel?
b.	Beijing Hotel	The Beijing Hotel