Chinese For Dummies (122 page)

xī nán
西南
(she nahn) (
southwest
)

When it comes to indicating north, south, east, and west (as well as left and right), you can use either
-biān
è¾¹
(
邊
) (byan) or
-miàn
面
(myan) as a word ending, but not
-tóu
头
(
é ­
) (to), which you can use with other position words such as front, back, inside, and outside. (I cover these position words earlier in the chapter.)

Giving directions often entails multiple instructions. “Make a right, and you're there.” or “Go straight, and you'll see it right in front of you.” doesn't always cut it. Luckily, a common Chinese pattern makes giving multiple directions easy:

xiān
先
+ Verb 1,
zài
再
+ Verb 2. (shyan + Verb 1, dzye + Verb 2.) (
First do Verb 1, and then do Verb 2.
)

Here are some examples:

Xiān wàng dōng zǒu, zài wàng yòu zhuǎn.
先往东走
,
再往右转
. (
先往東走
,
再往右轉
.) (shyan wahng doong dzoe, dzye wahng yo jwan.) (
First walk east, and then turn right.
)

Xiān zhí zǒu, zài wàng xī zǒu.
先直走
,
再往西走
. (shyan jir dzoe, dzye wahng she dzoe.)
(
First go straight, and then turn west.
)

Talkin' the Talk

Linda is walking around Shanghai looking for the Shanghai Museum. She begins to wonder if she's going in the right direction, so she decides to ask a stranger how to get there.

Linda:

Qǐngwèn, Shànghǎi bówùguǎn lí zhèr hěn yuǎn ma?

cheeng-one, shahng-hi baw-woo-gwahn lee jar hun ywan mah?

Excuse me, is the Shanghai Museum very far from here?

Stranger:

Bù yuǎn. Shànghǎi bówùguǎn jiù zài rénmín dà dào.

boo ywan. shahng-hi baw-woo-gwahn jyo dzye run-meen dah daow.

It's not far at all. The Shanghai Museum is on the Avenue of the People.

Linda:

Rénmín dà dào lí zhèr duōme yuǎn?

run-meen dah daow lee jar dwaw-muh ywan?

How far is the Avenue of the People from here?

Stranger:

Rénmín dà dào lí zhèr zhǐ yǒu yì lǐ lù zuǒyòu.

run-meen dah daow lee jar jir yo ee lee loo dzwaw-yo.

The Avenue of the People is only about one kilometer from here.

Linda:

Cóng zhèr zǒu de dào, zǒu bú dào?

tsoong jar dzoe duh daow, dzoe boo daow?

Can I walk there from here?

Stranger:

Kěndìng zǒu de dào. Nǐ xiān wàng nán zǒu, zài dì èr tiáo lù wàng xī zhuǎn. Dì yī ge lóu jiù shì.

kun-deeng dzoe duh daow. nee shyan wahng nahn dzoe, dzye dee are tyaow loo wahng she jwan. dee ee guh low jyoe shir.

It's certainly walkable. First walk north, and then turn west at the second street. It'll be the first building you see.

Linda:

Fēicháng gǎnxiè nǐ.

fay-chahng gahn-shyeh nee.

I'm extremely grateful [for your help].

Stranger:

Méi shì.

may shir.

It's nothing.

 Fun & Games

Use Chinese cardinal directions to indicate whether each building in the illustration is to the north, south, east, or west. (Check out
Appendix D
for the answers.)

A. School: ____________________________________________

B. Post office: ________________________________________

C. Bank: ______________________________________________

D. House: ______________________________________________

Chapter 18

Finding a Place to Stay

In This Chapter

Booking your room reservation

Checking in upon arrival

Requesting hotel service

Paying your bill

T
he right hotel can make or break a vacation. Whether you stay in a capital city or a little backwater town with only one hotel to its name, you still need to know how to check in, check out, and ask for anything you need in between (including the bill). This chapter runs you through the gamut of booking your hotel, checking in at the front desk, checking out at the designated time, and dealing with all sorts of issues that may come up in between.

First, however, I have an astounding fact for you: You have not one, not two, but as many as five ways to say the word
hotel
in Chinese:

bīnguǎn
宾馆
(
宾馆
)
(been-gwahn) (Literally:
a place for guests
)

fàndiàn
饭店
(
飯店
) (fahn-dyan) (Literally:
a place for meals
)

jiǔdiàn
酒店
(jyo-dyan) (Literally:
a place for wine
)

lǚguǎn
旅馆
(
旅館
) (lyew-gwahn) (
hotel
)

zhāodàisuǒ
招待所
(jaow-dye-swaw) (Literally:
a place to receive people
)

Making a Room Reservation

Thinking of
yùdìng
预定
(
預定
)
(yew-deeng) (
reserving
) a hotel
fángjiān
房间
(
房間
) (fahng-jyan) (
room
)? What kind do you want? A single room all for yourself? A double room for you and your special someone? Or perhaps a suite for a special occasion like your
50th wedding anniversary?

You have many kinds of rooms to choose from, depending on your budget and your unique needs:

dānrén fángjiān
单人房间
(
單人房間
) (dahn-run fahng-jyan) (
single room
)

shuāngrén fángjiān
双人房间
(
雙人房間
) (shwahng-run fahng-jyan) (
double room
)