Lesson FourWhere are you goingBasic 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.
饭店 meal shop means restaurant. However, it is also means grand hotel.
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.
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
Part two: expressions
Part three: conversation
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