Chinese For Dummies (62 page)

lán
蓝
(
藍
) (lahn) (
blue
)

zǐ
ç´«
(dzuh) (
purple
)

Liàozi
料子
(lyaow-dzuh) (
fabric
) is another important consideration when you're picking out clothes. Check out these terms for common clothing ­materials:

duànzi
缎子
(
緞子
) (dwahn-dzuh) (
satin
)

kāiīmǐ
开司米
(
開司米
) (kye-uh-mee) (
cashmere
)

sīchóu
丝绸
(
絲綢
) (suh-cho) (
silk
)

yángmáo
羊毛
(yahng-maow) (
wool
)

Talkin' the Talk

Lauren goes shopping for sweaters with her husband Evan and asks him to weigh in on which color looks best on her.

Lauren:

Zhèi jiàn máoyī nǐ juéde zěnmeyàng?

jay jyan maow-ee nee jweh-duh dzummuh-yahng?

What do you think of this sweater?

Evan:

Nèi jiàn máoyī tài xiǎo. Yánsè yě búpiàoliàng.

nay jyan maow-ee tye shyaow. yan-suh yeh boo-pyaow-lyahng.

That sweater is too small. The color doesn't look good either.

Lauren:

Nǐ xǐhuān shénme yánsè?

nee she-hwahn shummuh yan-suh?

What color do you like?

Evan:

Wǒ xǐhuān hóngde. Búyào nèige hēide.

waw she-hwahn hoong-duh. boo-yaow nay-guh hey-duh.

I like the red one. You shouldn't get the black one.

Lauren:

Hǎole. Nà, wǒ jiù mǎi hóngde ba.

how-luh. Nah, waw jyo my hoong-duh bah.

Okay. In that case, I'll buy the red one.

When the possessive particle
de
is attached to an adjective and there's no noun following it, it can be translated as
the one that is (adjective),
as in
hóngde
红的
(
紅的
)
(hoong-duh) (
the red one
),
dà de
大的
(dah-duh) (
the big one
),
tián de
甜的
(tyan-duh) (
the sweet one
), and so on.

Shopping for Other Items

Of course, clothes aren't the only things in the world to shop for (although I know some would beg to differ with me). How about some antiques or high-tech toys? The possibilities are endless in this consumer-oriented world.

Hunting for antiques

One of the best places in the world to go searching for
gǔdǒng
古董
(goo-doong) (
antiques
) is — you guessed it — China.
Gǔdǒng diàn
古董店
(goo-doong dyan) (
antique shops
) abound in major cities near large stores and in small alleyways. You can buy everything from 200-year-old
diāokè pǐn
雕刻品
(dyaow-kuh peen) (
carved objects
) to 100-year-old
bí yān hú
鼻烟壶
(
鼻煙壺
) (bee yan who) (
snuff bottles
). You can find all sorts of rare things.

After you find the perfect antique item, though, you need to deal with all the possible export restrictions, like for porcelain that is older than 200 years or some types of rare wood products. You have to have a red wax seal put on the item in order to legally take it out of China. The cultural artifacts bureau of the city in which you buy the item must apply the seal.

Slightly southwest of
Tiān'ānmén Square
in
Beijing
lies
Liúlìchǎng
琉璃厂
(
琉璃廠
) (lyoe-lee-chahng), an area considered the best in the city for antiques and other traditional arts and crafts. In
Shanghai,
the
Dōngtái
东台
(
東台
)
(doong-tye)
antiques market is the one to look for, not far from
Huáihǎi Lù
淮海路
(hwye-hi loo). You can even find a Ghost Market in the Old Town Bazaar where folks go for weekend antique shopping. The Ghost Market is so named because of the ungodly hour the vendors begin setting up shop — a time before sunrise when only ghosts can check out what's on sale. Even though you're dealing with antiques, you're still allowed to haggle over the price, so don't be shy trying to get the best deal possible.

Here are some words and phrases that come in handy when you're hunting for antiques:

dēnglóng
灯笼
(
燈籠
) (dung-loong) (
lantern
)

fóxiàng
佛像
(faw-shyahng) (
Buddhas
)