Chinese For Dummies (102 page)

tàiyáng yǎnjìng
太阳眼镜
(
太陽眼鏡
) (tye-yahng yan-jeeng) (
sunglasses
)

wèi shēng jīn
卫生巾
(
衛生巾
)
(way shung geen) (
sanitary napkins
)

yágāo
牙膏
(yah-gaow) (
toothpaste
)

yáshuā
牙刷
(yah-shwah) (
toothbrush
)

yuèjīng yòng miánsāi
月经用棉塞
(
月經用棉塞
)
(yweh-jeeng yoong myan-sye) (
tampons
)

yùndǒu
熨斗
(yewn-doe) (
iron
)

yǔsǎn
雨伞
(
雨傘
) (yew-sahn) (
umbrella
)

zhàoxiàng jī
照相机
(
照相機
) (jaow-shyahng jee)
(
camera
)

zhuǎnjiē qì
转接器
(
轉接器
)
(jwahn-jyeh chee) (
adaptor
)

The sentence structure for the verb
zhuāng
装
(
裝
)
(jwahng) (
to pack
) is
bǎ A zhuāngrù B
把
A
装入
B (bah A jwahng-roo B)
,
which translates into
pack A into B,
even though the word for
pack
comes between what you're packing
(A)
and what you pack it into
(B).

Enlisting the Help of a Travel Agency

Think you can handle traipsing around the world without an advance plan or hotel reservations? Think again. China, for example, is one country you should travel to as part of a
guānguāng tuán
观光团
(
觀光團
) (gwahn-gwahng twahn) (
tour group
). If you don't like the idea of group travel, you should at least make advance reservations for hotels and domestic travel and even for your own private
dǎoyóu
导游
(
導遊
) (daow-yo) (
tour guide
) through a
lǚxíngshè
旅行社
(lyew-sheeng-shuh) (
travel agency
). Remember, you generally hear no
Yīngyǔ
英语
(
英語
) (eeng-yew) (
English
) spoken anywhere in China, so having someone who knows the ropes help you iron out the details ahead of time (including arranging an English-speaking tour guide) can help avoid headaches when you're there.

Talkin' the Talk

Daisy and Michael discuss their travel plans with a local travel agent, Miss Lǐ, in Hong Kong. (Track 19)

Miss Lǐ:

Nǐmen hǎo. Wǒ néng bāng shénme máng?

nee-men how. waw nung bahng shummuh mahng?

Hello. How may I be of help?

Daisy:

Wǒmen hěn xiǎng qù Zhōngguó dàlù. Néng bùnéng yùdìng yíge lǔguǎn?