Chinese For Dummies (53 page)

Lǜ chá
绿茶
(
綠茶
) (lyew chah) (
Green tea
): Green tea is the oldest of all the teas in China, with many unfermented subvarieties. The most famous kind of Green tea is called
lóngjǐng chá
龙井茶
(
龍井茶
) (loong-jeeng chah), meaning
Dragon Well tea.
You can find it near the famous West Lake region in Hangzhou, but people in the south generally prefer this kind of tea.

Hóng chá
红茶
(
紅茶
) (hoong chah) (
Black tea
): Even though
hóng
means
red
in Chinese, you translate this phrase as
Black tea
instead. Unlike Green tea, Black teas are fermented; they're enjoyed primarily by people in Fujian province.

Wūlóng chá
乌龙茶
(
烏龍茶
)
(oo­-loong chah) (
Black Dragon tea
): This kind of tea is semi-fermented. It's a favorite in Guangdong and Fujian provinces in the South, and in Taiwan.

Mòlì huā chá
茉莉花茶
(
茉莉花茶
)
(maw-lee hwah chah) (
Jasmine
):
This kind of tea is made up of a combination of Black, Green, and Wūlóng teas in addition to some fragrant flowers such as jasmine or magnolia thrown in for good measure. Most northerners are partial to Jasmine tea, probably because the north is cold and this type of tea raises the body's ­temperature.

Tea is always offered to guests the minute they enter a Chinese home. The hosts aren't just being polite; the offering of tea shows respect to the guest and presents a way to share something that all parties can enjoy together. It may be considered rude not to at least take a sip. Chinese custom says that a host only fills the teacup to 70 percent of its capacity. The other 30 percent is supposed to contain friendship and affection. Isn't that a nice concept?

You often use the adjective
hǎo
好
(how) (
good
) with a verb to create an adjective that means
good to.
Here are a few examples:

hǎochī
好吃
(how-chir) (
tasty
[Literally:
good to eat
])

hǎohē
好喝
(how-huh) (
tasty
[Literally:
good to drink
])

hǎokàn
好看
(how-kahn) (
pretty, interesting
[Literally:
good to look at or watch
]) This designation can apply to people or even movies.

hǎowán
好玩
(how-wahn) (
fun, interesting
[Literally:
good to play
])

Taking Your Chinese to Go

Restaurants are great, but once in a while you may want to mingle with the masses as people go about buying food for a home-cooked family dinner. Outdoor food markets abound in China and are great places to see how the locals shop and what they buy. And what better way to try out your Chinese? You can always point to what you want and discover the correct term for it from the vendor.

In addition to clothes, books, and kitchen utensils, outdoor markets may offer all sorts of food items:

Ròu
肉
(row) (
meat
):
niú ròu
牛肉
(nyoe row) (
beef
),
yáng ròu
羊肉
(yahng row) (
lamb
), or
jī ròu
鸡肉
(
雞肉
) (jee row) (
chicken
)

Shuǐguǒ
水果
(shway-gwaw) (
fruit
):
píngguǒ
苹果
(
蘋果
)
(peeng-gwaw) (
apples
) or
júzi
桔子
(jyew-dzuh) (
oranges
)

Yú
é±¼
(
魚
)
(yew) (
fish
):
xiā
虾
(
蝦
)
(shyah) (
shrimp
),
pángxiè
螃蟹
(pahng-shyeh) (
crab
),
lóngxiā
龙虾
(
龍蝦
)
(loong-shyah) (
lobster
), or
yóuyú
鱿鱼
(
魷魚
)
(yo-yew) (
squid
)