Chinese For Dummies (56 page)

Most stores in China are open quite early, around 8:00 a.m., and don't close until 8:00 p.m. or even later. If you want a less harried shopping experience, avoid shopping on the weekends, when seemingly a quarter of humanity is out doing the same thing.

Talkin' the Talk

Helaine and Jeffrey discuss going shopping for the day. Here's how they start out.

Helaine:

Wǒ jīntiān xiǎng qù mǎi dōngxi.

waw jin-tyan shyahng chyew my doong-she.

I want to go shopping today.

Jeffrey:

Nǐ qù nǎr mǎi dōngxi?

nee chyew nar my doong-she?

Where will you go to shop?

Helaine:

Wǒ yào qù bǎihuò shāngdiàn mǎi yīfu.

waw yaow chyew bye-hwaw shahng-dyan my ee-foo.

I want to go to the department store to buy some clothes.

Jeffrey:

Tīngshuō zài zhèige chénglǐ dōngxi dōu hěn guì.

teeng-shwaw dzye jay-guh chuhng-lee doong-she doe hun gway.

I've heard that everything's very expensive in this city.

Helaine:

Nà bùyídìng. Kàn shì shénme diàn. Yǒude hěn guì, yǒude yìdiǎn dōu búguì.

nah boo-ee-deeng. kahn shir shummuh dyan. yo-duh hun gway, yo-duh ee-dyan doe boo-gway.

Not necessarily. It depends on the store. Some are really expensive, and some aren't expensive at all.

Jeffrey:

Hǎo ba. Wǒmen zǒu ba. Wǒmen qù mǎi yīfu.

how bah. waw-mun dzoe bah. waw-mun chyew my ee-foo.

Great. Let's go. Let's buy some clothes.

Whenever you see the words
yìdiǎn dōu bú
一点都不
(
一點都不
) (ee-dyan doe boo) before an adjective, it means
not at all (adjective).
This construction is a great way to emphasize something. You can say something like
Wǒ yìdiǎn dōu búlèi.
我一点都不累
. (
我一點都不累
.)
(waw ee-dyan doe boo-lay.) (
I'm not tired in the least.
) or
Tā yìdiǎn dōu búpiàoliàng.
她一点都不漂亮
. (
她一點都不漂亮
.)
(tah ee-dyan doe boo-pyaow-lyahng.) (
She's not at all pretty.
) to get your point across.

Getting What You Want at a Department Store

If you don't have a clue how to begin shopping in China, much less what you want to buy, you may want to start off at one of the many luxury department stores that have sprouted up throughout China in the last decade. Here, you can get almost any name-brand thing you're looking for, from
zhūbǎo
珠宝
(joo-baow) (
jewelry
) and
huāpíng
花瓶
(hwah-peeng) (
vases
) to
yīfu
衣服
(ee-foo) (
clothing
) and
yuèqì
乐器
(
樂器
) (yweh-chee) (
musical instruments
).

Department stores aren't the only places you can shop, but they're certainly the easiest because everything is right there within walking distance and you can browse without fighting off vendors trying to push their wares.

Even though traditional alley markets and shop fronts still exist in China, Western-style shopping malls are quickly putting their imprint on places like Beijing and Shanghai. You can still get the best prices, though, at the many open-air markets and street vendors, which sell traditional arts and crafts and other specialties. Beijing's number one shopping area isn't far from
Tiān'ānmén Square
天安门
(
天安門
) (tyan-ahn-mun square) on
Wángfǔjǐng
王府井
(wahng-foo-jeeng) and
Dōngdān
东单
(
東單
) (doong-dahn) Streets. Or on
Jiànguóménwài Dàjiē
建国门外大街
(
建國門外大街
)
(jyan-gwaw mun-why dah-jyeh) Street.

Just browsing

You may want to call ahead of time to see when the biggest department store in town opens before you decide to stroll on over. It's a nice day outside, you're in a mellow mood, all's right with the world, and all you want to do is just window shop — inside the store. You start out on the
dì yī céng
第一层
(
第一層
) (dee ee tsuhng) (
first floor
), take the
zìdòng lóutī
自动楼梯
(
自動樓梯
) (dzuh-doong low-tee) (
escalator
) all the way up to the
dì sān céng
第三层
(
第三層
) (dee sahn tsuhng) (
third floor
), and enjoy checking out tons of
shāngpǐn
商品
(shahng-peen) (
merchandise
) quietly by yourself, when all of a sudden a
shòuhuòyuán
售货员
(
售貨員
) (show-hwaw-ywan) (
salesperson
) sneaks up behind you and says
Nǐ xiǎng mǎi shénme
?
你想买什么
? (
你想買甚麼
?) (nee shyahng my shummuh?) (
What would you like to buy?
)

At this point, you really just want to be left alone, so you say
Wǒ zhǐ shì kànkàn. Xièxiè.
我只是看看
.
谢谢
. (
我只是看看
.
謝謝
.)
(waw jir shir kahn-kahn. shyeh-shyeh) (
I'm just looking. Thanks.
)

Asking for help

But what if you really do want help? First, you'd better look around for that salesperson you just told to go away. You may not find too many others nearby when you finally need them. If your luck holds, though, here are some questions you may want to ask:

Nǎr yǒu wàitào?
哪儿有外套
? (
哪兒有外套
?) (nar yo why-taow?) (
Where are the jackets?
)

Néng bùnéng bāngmáng?
能不能帮忙
? (
能不能幫忙
?) (nung boo-nung bahng-mahng?) (
Can you help me?
)

Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu Yīngwén de shū?
你有没有英文的书
? (
你有沒有英文的書
?) (nee yo mayo eeng-one duh shoo?) (
Do you have any books in English?
)

Nǐmen mài búmài guāngpán?
你们卖不卖光盘
? (
你們賣不賣光盤
?) (nee-mun my boo-my gwahng-pahn?) (
Do you sell CDs?
)