Chinese For Dummies (108 page)

Tipping in mainland China used to be rare, but the idea is finally catching on, especially now that service with a scowl rather than a smile is fast becoming a thing of the past. (For the longest time, workers simply had no incentive to work harder or with a more pleasant demeanor after the Cultural Revolution. Can you blame workers for having no reason to perform their duties with the idea of customer service in mind?) A 3-percent tip is standard in restaurants (still low compared to Taiwan and Hong Kong). Bellboys and room service attendants typically expect a dollar or two (USD). Tipping in U.S. currency is still very much appreciated, because it's worth about six times as much as the Chinese dollar.

If you get a bill and can't make heads or tails of it, you can always ask the following question to find out whether the tip is included:

Zhàngdān bāokuò fúwùfēi ma?
账单包括服务费吗
?
(
賬單包括服務費嗎
?)
(jahng-dahn baow-kwaw foo-woo-fay mah?) (
Does the bill include a service charge/tip?
)

In English, when you say
15 percent,
you mean 15 percent out of a total of 100. The way to express
bǎifēnbǐ
百分比
(bye-fun-bee) (
percentages
) in Chinese is to start with the larger denomination of
bǎi
百
(bye) (
100
) first and then work your way backward with the percentage of that amount. Here are some examples:

bǎifēn zhī bǎi
百分之百
(bye-fun jir bye) (
100 percent
[Literally:
100 out of 100 parts
])

bǎifēn zhī bāshíwǔ
百分之八十五
(bye-fun jir bah-shir-woo) (
85 percent
[Literally:
85 out of 100 parts
])

bǎifēn zhī shíwǔ
百分之十五
(bye-fun jir shir-woo) (
15 percent
[Literally:
15 out of 100 parts
])

bǎifēn zhī sān
百分之三
(bye-fun jir sahn) (
3 percent
[Literally:
3 out of 100 parts
])

bǎifēn zhī líng diǎn sān
百分之零点三
(
百分只零點三
)
(bye-fun jir leeng dyan sahn) (
0.3 percent
[Literally:
0.3 out of 100 parts
])

For more information on numbers, head to
Chapter 5
.

Talkin' the Talk

Ben and Erin are in a restaurant. They get their bill and discuss how much of a tip to leave.

Erin:

Wǒmen de zhàngdān yígòng sānshí kuài qián. Xiǎo fèi yīnggāi
duōshǎo?

waw-men duh jahng-dahn ee-goong sahn-shir kwye chyan. shyaow fay eeng-guy dwaw-shaow?

Our bill comes to $30 altogether. How much should the tip be?

Ben:

Yīnwèi fúwù hěn hǎo, suǒyǐ xiǎo fèi kěyǐ bǎifēn zhī èr shí. Nǐ tóngyì ma?

een-way foo-woo hun how, swaw-yee shyaow fay kuh-yee bai-fun jir are shir. nee toong-ee mah?

Because the service was really good, I think we can leave a 20-percent tip. Do you agree?

Erin:

Tóngyì.

toong-ee.

I agree.

 Fun & Games

Identify what the following illustrations depict in Chinese. See
Appendix D
for the correct answers.

A. ______________

B. ______________

C. ______________

D. ______________

E. ______________

F. ______________

Chapter 16

Getting Around

In This Chapter

Traveling by plane

Breezing through customs

Shuttling around town

T
raveling halfway around the world to
Zhōngguó
中国
(
中國
)
(joong-gwaw) (
China
) can be a long haul. Knowing the magic traveling words and phrases in Chinese can make your journey as efficient and comfortable as possible. This chapter helps you make your way around the airport and the airplane, survive the customs experience, and board different types of transportation after you reach your destination.

Flying Around the Airport

Consider yourself a veteran traveler just because you've been all through Europe and the Americas? Well, my friend, you're in for a rude awakening. When it comes to finding your way around China, English (or any other Western language) does you little good. You spend a lot of unproductive time trying to interpret the signs to get some sense of which line to stand in and where to go next at the
fēijīchǎng
飞机场
(
飛機場
) (fay-jee-chahng) (
airport
). You need to at least know the
pīnyīn
拼音
(pin-yin) (Literally:
spelled the way it sounds
) Romanization system, if not Chinese characters themselves. If you don't, you'll be up a creek without a paddle. You may end up following the guy next to you, even if it takes you to the bathroom rather than baggage claims. (See
Chapter 1
for more about the
pīnyīn
system of spelling Chinese words.)

Good move to get a head start by reading
Chinese For Dummies
in advance of your trip. You can bone up on some essential words and phrases before the whole airport experience makes you want to get right back on the next plane bound for home.

Making it past the check-in counter

Ready to
bànlǐ dēngjī shǒuxù
办理登记手续
(
辦理登記手續
) (bahn-lee duhng-jee show-shyew) (
check in
)? After lugging your bags up to this point, you finally get to
tuōyùn
托运
(
托運
) (twaw-yewn) (
check
) your
xínglǐ
行李
(sheeng-lee) (
luggage
). You receive a
dēngjīpái
登机牌
(
登機牌
) (duhng-jee-pye) (
boarding pass
) at the check-in counter, at which point you're ready to make your way to the appropriate
chūkǒu
出口
(choo-ko) (
gate
), taking only your
shǒutí xínglǐ
手提行李
(show-tee sheeng-lee) (
carry-on luggage
).

All sorts of questions may be running through your mind about now. Here are some basic phrases that may come in handy during check-in:

Fēijī jǐ diǎn qǐfēi?
飞机几点起飞
? (
飛機幾點起飛
?) (fay-jee jee dyan chee-fay?) (
What time does it depart?
)

Wǒde hángbān hàomǎ shì duōshǎo?
我的航班号码是多少
? (
我的航班號碼是多少
?) (waw-duh hahng-bahn how-mah shir dwaw-shaow?) (
What's my flight number?
)

Wǒ xiǎng tuōyùn xíngli.
我想托运行李
. (
我香托運行李
.) (waw shyahng twaw-yewn sheeng-lee.) (
I'd like to check my luggage.
)

Wǒ xiǎng yào kào chuāng de wèizi.
我想要靠窗的位子
. (waw shyahng yaow cow chwahng duh way-dzuh.) (
I'd like a window seat.
)

Wǒ xiǎng yào kào guòdào de wèizi.
我想要靠过道的位子
. (
我想要靠過道的位子
.) (waw shyahng yaow cow gwaw-daow duh way-dzuh.) (
I'd like an aisle seat.
)

Zài jǐ hào mén hòujī?
在几号门候机
? (
在幾號門候機
?)
(dzye jee how mun ho-jee?) (
Which gate do we leave from?
)

Zhè shì wŏde hùzhào.
这是我的护照
. (
這是我的護照
.) (jay shir waw-duh hoo-jaow.) (
Here's my passport.
)