Chinese For Dummies (97 page)

Ernest:

Bǐsài shénme shíhòu kāishǐ?

bee-sye shummuh shir-ho kye-shir?

When does the game begin?

Cecilia:

Kuài yào kāishǐ le.

kwye yaow kye-shir luh.

It's going to start soon.

A few minutes later, the game finally begins.

Ernest:

Wà! Tā méi
tóuzhòng!!

wah! tah may toe-joong!

Wow! He missed the shot!

Cecilia:

Méi guānxi. Lìngwài nèige duìyuán gāng gāng kòulán défēn.

may gwahn-she. leeng-why nay-guh dway-ywan gahng gahng ko-lahn duh-fun.

It doesn't matter. That other player just scored with a slam dunk.

 Fun & Games

What are the people in the pictures doing? Use the correct verb in your response. (See
Appendix D
for the answers.)

A. ___________________

B. ___________________

C. ___________________

D. ___________________

E. ___________________

Chapter 14

Planning a Trip

In This Chapter

Checking your calendar for open dates

Planning around Chinese holidays

Choosing a travel destination

Filling your luggage

Dealing with travel agents

C
areful planning is the key to a successful vacation or business trip. You have to keep in mind not only where you want to go but also the best time to travel. This chapter tells you how to prepare for a trip abroad and how to choose the exact day, date, and year you want to travel. When it comes to making sure your
hùzhào
护照
(
護照
) (hoo-jaow) (
passport
) is still valid and your
qiānzhèng
签证
(
簽證
) (chyan-juhng) (
visa
) is in order, however, you're on your own.
Yí lù píng ān!
一路平安
! (ee loo peeng ahn!) (
Have a good trip!
)

Talking about When You Want to Travel

The time of year you choose to travel can make all the difference in the world for a great (or lousy) vacation. A trip to Beijing during March, just when the dust storms are blowing in from the Gobi Desert, for example, is quite different from a trip during May or October, when pollution is at a minimum and sunny skies are at a maximum. Of course, May and October are peak seasons to travel to China for exactly these reasons, which means hotel prices are also at their peak. Paris in the spring is just as great (and just as expensive) for the same reason. Can't do much to help you there. For more on all things related to dates and seasons, head to
Chapter 5
.

Want to find out when friends plan to leave on their vacation? Just ask them one of these basic questions:

Nǐ jǐ yuè jǐ hào zǒu?
你几月几号走
? (
你幾月幾號走
?) (nee jee yweh jee how dzoe?) (
When are you leaving?
[Literally:
What month and day are you leaving?
])

Nǐ jǐ yuè jǐ hào qù Zhōngguó?
你几月几号去中国
? (
你幾月幾號去中國
?) (nee jee yweh jee how chyew joong-gwaw?) (
When will you be going to China?
[Literally:
What month and day will you be going to China?
])

If you have to answer the preceding questions, just fill in the month and the number of the day you plan on leaving and put those words in place of
yuè
and
hào.
Here are some examples:

Wǒ wǔ yuè sānshí hào zǒu.
我五月三十号走
. (
我五月三十號走
.) (waw woo yweh sahn shir how dzoe) (
I'm leaving on May
30.
)

Wǒ sān yuè yī hào qù Zhōngguó.
我三月一号去中国
. (
我三月一號去中國
.)
(waw sahn yweh ee how chyew joong-gwaw) (
I'm going to China on March 1.
)

Bet you can't wait to start making those travel plans now!

Celebrating the Chinese Holidays

If you travel to China during 2013, you arrive during
shé nián
蛇年
(shuh nyan) (
Year of the Snake
). Want to travel in later years instead?

2014:
mǎ nián
马年
(
馬年
) (ma nyan) (
Year of the Horse
)

2015:
yáng nián
羊年
(yahng nyan) (
Year of the Sheep
)

After the sheep, the following animals come calling:
hóu
猴
(ho) (
monkey
),
鸡
(
雞
) (jee) (
rooster
),
gǒu
狗
(
狗
) (go) (
dog
),
zhū
猪
(
豬
) (joo) (
pig
)
, shǔ
é¼ 
(shoo) (
rat
),
niú
牛
(nyo) (
ox
),
hǔ
虎
(hoo) (
tiger
),
tù
兔
(too) (
rabbit
), and finally the
lóng
龙
(
龍
) (loong) (
dragon
) before the snake comes around again. It's the rat, though (not the snake), who starts the whole new 12-year cycle.