Chinese For Dummies (104 page)

Use this phrase if you assume the amount is greater than $10.

Xīn Táibì in the ROC

In Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China or ROC, 1 U.S. dollar equals about 30
xīn Táibì
新台币
(
新臺幣
)
(shin tye-bee) (
New Taiwan dollars
). Here's how you say that in Chinese:

Yì měiyuán huàn sānshí yuán xīn Táibì.
一美元
换三十元新台币
. (
一美元
換三十元新臺幣
.)
(ee may-ywan hwahn sahn-shir ywan shin tye-bee.) (
One U.S. dollar is 30 New Taiwan dollars.
)

You see bills in denominations of 50, 100, 500, and 1,000 and coins in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 50 cents. Taiwanese coins are particularly beautiful — they have all sorts of flowers etched into them — so you may want to save a few to bring back to show friends (or just to have). Just make sure you keep enough
língqián
零钱
(
零錢
) (leeng-chyan) (
small change
) on hand for all the great items you can buy cheaply at the wonderful night markets.

Hong Kong dollars

Hong Kong, the longtime financial dynamo of Asia, uses the Hong Kong dollar, or the
Gǎngbì
港币
(
港幣
)
(gahng-bee). Currently, 1 U.S. dollar is equivalent to 7.75 Hong Kong dollars. Here's how you say that in Chinese:

Yì měiyuán
huàn qī diǎn qī wǔ yuán Gǎngbì.
一美元换七点七五元港币
. (
一美元換七點七五元港幣
.)
(ee may-ywan hwahn chee dyan chee woo ywan gahng-bee.) (
One U.S. dollar is 7.75 Hong Kong dollars.
)

Singapore dollars

Singapore is a Mandarin-speaking country in Asia. Its dollars are called X
īn bì
新币
(
新幣
) (shin-bee) and come in denominations of 2, 5, 10, 50, and 100. You can find coins in denominations of 1 cent, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, and 1 dollar.

In Singapore, if you want to say $1.25, you don't use the number
wǔ
五
(woo) (
five
) to refer to the final 5 cents in the amount. You use the term
bàn
半
(bahn), which means
half:
yí kuài liǎng máo bàn
一块两毛半
(
一塊兩毛半
) (ee kwye lyahng maow bahn) rather than
yí kuài liǎng máo wǔ
一块两毛五
(
一塊兩毛五
) (ee kwye lyahng maow woo). You can definitely use the number
wǔ
in Taiwan, Hong Kong, or mainland China, however.

Exchanging Money

You can always
huàn qián
换钱
(
換錢
)
(hwahn chyan) (
exchange money
) the minute you arrive at the airport at the many
duìhuànchù
兑换处
(
兌換處
) (dway-hwahn-choo) (
exchange bureaus
), or you can wait until you get to a major bank or check in at your hotel.

The following phrases come in handy when you're ready to
huàn qián:

Jīntiān de duìhuàn lǚ shì shénme?
今天的兑换率是什么
? (
今天的兌換率是甚麼
?)
(jin-tyan duh dway-hwahn lyew shir shummuh?) (
What's today's exchange rate?
)

Nǐmen shōu duōshǎo qián shǒuxùfèi?
你们收多少钱手续费
? (
你們收多少錢手續費
?)
(nee-men show dwaw-shaow chyan show-shyew-fay?) (
How much commission do you charge?
)

Qǐng nǐ gěi wǒ sì zhāng wǔshí yuán de.
请你给我四张五十元的
. (
請妳給我四張五十元的
.)
(cheeng nee gay waw suh jahng woo-shir ywan duh.) (
Please give me four 50-yuan bills.
)

Qǐngwèn, yínháng zài nǎr?
请问
,
银行在哪儿
? (
請問
,
銀行在哪兒
?)
(cheeng-one, eeng-hahng dzye nar?) (
Excuse me, where is the bank?
)

Qǐngwèn, zài nǎr kěyǐ huàn qián?
请问
,
在哪儿可以换钱
? (
請問在哪兒可以換錢
?)
(cheeng-one, dzye nar kuh-yee hwahn chyan?) (
Excuse me, where can I change money?
)

Wǒ yào huàn yì bǎi měiyuán.
我要换一百美元
. (
我要換一百美元
.) (waw yaow hwahn ee bye may-ywan.) (
I'd like to change $100.
)

No matter where you get money or how much money you plan to convert into local currency, you may have to show your
hùzhào
护照
(
護照
) (hoo-jaow) (
passport
), so always have that ready to whip out.

Talkin' the Talk

Jasmine arrives at the airport in Beijing and needs to change some money. She asks a
xínglǐyuán
(sheeng-lee-ywan) (
porter
) where she can find a place to exchange money. (Track 20)