Chinese For Dummies (127 page)

nuǎnqì
暖气
(
暖氣
) (nwan-chee) (
heater
)

yáokòng qì
遥控器
(
遙控器
) (yaow-koong chee) (
remote control
)

Even if you aren't having an equipment emergency, you may want housekeeping
to send the following items right over:

chuīfēngjī
吹风机
(
吹風機
) (chway-fung-jee) (
hair dryer
)

máojīn
毛巾
(maow-jeen) (
towel
)

máotǎn
毛毯
(maow-tahn) (
blanket
)

wèishēngzhǐ
卫生纸
(
衛生紙
) (way-shung-jir) (
toilet paper
)

zhěntóu
枕头
(
枕頭
) (jun-toe) (
pillow
)

Maybe you just need someone to
dǎsǎo fángjiān
打扫房间
(
打掃房間
) (dah-saow fahng-jyan) (
clean the room
). Oh well. Even the best hotels need some tweaking every now and then.

Hey! I almost forgot one of the best kinds of service you can take advantage of on occasion: room service! Before you decide to order room service for food, however, just remember that it's often twice as expensive as dining in the hotel restaurant, because the service is more convenient.

To make a comparison by saying that something is a number of times more expensive than something else, you first use the word
guì
è´µ
(
è²´
) (gway) (
expensive
), followed by the number of times you think it's more expensive and the word
bèi
倍
(bay) (roughly translated as
times
). You can compare the relative cost of two products or services by using the word
bǐ
比
(bee) (
compared to
) in the following pattern:

X
bǐ
Y
guì
#
bèi
X
比
Y
è´µ
(
è²´
) #
倍

Here are some examples:

Zhège fángjiān bǐ nèige guì shí bèi.
这个房间比那个贵十倍
. (
這個房間比那個貴十倍
.) (jay-guh fahng-jyan bee nay-guh gway shir bay.) (
This room is ten times more expensive than that one.
)

Zuò chūzūchē bǐ zuò gōnggòng qìchē guì wǔ bèi.
坐出租车比坐公共汽车贵五倍
. (
坐出租車比坐公共汽車貴五倍
.) (zwaw choo-dzoo-chuh bee dzwaw goong-goong chee-chuh gway woo bay.) (
Taking a cab is five times more expensive than taking the bus.
)

Never drink directly from the tap in your Chinese hotel; the water isn't safe. Every hotel room in China has a large flask of boiling water that you can use to make tea or for drinking water. You can brush your teeth with tap water because you just spit it out. Local Chinese don't dare drink the tap water either, so you're in good company.

Talkin' the Talk

Carl enters his hotel room after he checks in, only to discover the bathroom faucet is broken. He calls for housekeeping and a few minutes later hears a knock on his door.

Housekeeper:

Kèfáng fúwùyuán!

kuh-fahng foo-woo-ywan!

Housekeeping!

Carl:

Qǐng jìn!

cheeng jin!

Come on in!

Housekeeper:

Yǒu shénme wèntí?

yo shummuh one-tee?

What seems to be the trouble?

Carl:

Zhèige shuǐlóngtóu huàile. Yě méiyǒu rèshuǐ.

jay-guh shway-loong-toe hwye-luh. yeah mayo ruh-shway.

This faucet is broken. There's also no hot water.

Housekeeper:

Hěn duìbùqǐ. Mǎshàng sòng shuǐnuǎngōng guòlái kànkàn.

hun dway-boo-chee. mah-shahng soong shway-nwan-goong gwaw-lye kahn-kahn.

I'm so sorry. We'll send a plumber right away to have a look.

Carl:

Xièxiè.

shyeh-shyeh.

Thank you.

As the housekeeper starts to leave, Carl suddenly remembers some other things that the housekeeper may be able to take care of as long as she's there.

Carl:

Xiǎojiě, nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu xǐyī fúwù?

shyaow-jyeh, nee-men yo mayo she-ee foo-woo?

Miss, do you have any laundry service?

Housekeeper:

Yǒu.

yo.

Yes, we do.

Carl:

Hǎo jíle. Jīntiān kěyǐ bǎ zhè xiē yīfú xǐ hǎo ma?

how jee-luh. jin-tyan kuh-yee bah jay shyeh ee-foo she how mah?

Great. Can I have these clothes cleaned today?

Housekeeper:

Kěyǐ.