Chinese For Dummies (57 page)

Qǐng nǐ gěi wǒ kànkàn nǐde xīzhuāng
.
请你给我看看你的西装
. (
請你給我看看你的西裝
.) (cheeng nee gay waw kahn-kahn nee-duh she-jwahng.) (
Please show me your [Western] suits.
)

Wǒ zhǎo yì běn yǒu guān Zhōngguó lìshǐ de shū.
我找一本有关中国历史的书
. (
我找一本有關中國歷史的書
.) (waw jaow ee bun yo gwan joong-gwaw lee-shir duh shoo.) (
I'm looking for a book about Chinese history.
)

Talkin' the Talk

Tania and Klara are in a clothing store. They try to get a
fúwùyuán
(foo-woo-ywan) (
attendant
) to help them locate dresses in their sizes. (Track 12)

Tania:

Xiǎojiě! Nǐ néng bāng wǒmen ma?

shyaow-jyeh! nee nung bahng waw-men mah?

Miss! Can you help us?

Fúwùyuán:

Kéyǐ. Qǐng děng yíxià.

kuh-yee. cheeng dung ee-shyah.

Yes. Just a moment.

After the store attendant puts some boxes away, she returns to help Tania and Klara.

Fúwùyuán:

Hǎo. Nǐmen yào mǎi shénme?

how. nee-men yow my shummuh?

Okay. What did you want to buy?

Tania:

Nǎr yǒu qúnzi?

nar yo chwun-dzuh?

Where are the skirts?

Fúwùyuán:

Qúnzi jiù zài nàr.

chwun-dzuh jyo dzye nar.

The skirts are just over there.

Shopping for Clothes

Going shopping for clothes is an art — one requiring lots of patience and fortitude, not to mention lots of new vocabulary if you're going to do it in Chinese. You need to know how to ask for your own size, how to see whether something is available in a different color or fabric, and in general how to compare apples and oranges (or at least skirts and shirts).

What's your size?

If you ask for clothing in the
dàxiǎo
大小
(dah-shyaow) (
size
) you're used to quoting in the United States when you're in Taiwan or mainland China, you're in for a surprise. The numbers you generally throw out when talking to salespeople in the United States are vastly different from the ones you have to get used to using when dealing with Chinese sizes.

Here are some useful phrases you may want to know:

Dàxiǎo búduì.
大小不对
. (
大小不對
.) (dah-shyaow boo-dway.) (
It's the wrong size.
)

Hěn héshēn.
很合身
. (hun huh-shun.) (
It fits really well.
)

Nín chuān duō dà hào
?
您穿多大号
? (
您穿多大號
?)
(neen chwan dwaw dah how?) (
What size are you?
)

Zài Měiguó wǒde chǐcùn shì wǔ hào.
在美国我的尺寸是五号
. (
在美國我的尺寸是五號
.) (dzye may-gwaw waw-duh chir-tswun shir woo how.) (
In America, I wear a size 5.
)

Instead of using the word
dàxiǎo,
you can say things like the following:

Nín chuān jǐ hào de chènshān?
您穿几号的衬衫
? (
您穿記號的襯衫
?) (neen chwahn jee how duh chun-shahn?) (
What size shirt do you wear?
)

Wǒ chuān sānshíqī hào.
我穿三十七号
. (
我穿三十七號
.) (waw chwahn sahn-shir-chee how.) (
I wear a size 37.
)

Wǒ chuān xiǎohào.
我穿小号
. (
我穿小號
.) (waw chwahn shyaow-how.) (
I wear a size small.
)