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yourself
mandarin chinese
conversation
elizabeth scurfield
and song lianyi
teach
yourself
mandarin chinese
conversation
elizabeth scurfield
and song lianyi
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First published in UK 2005 by Hodder Education, 338 Euston Road, London, NW1 3BH.
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Copyright 2005 Elizabeth Scurfield and Song Lianyi
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Impression number
Year
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
2010 2009 2008 2007 2006
Contents
track listing
10
12
14
18
20
22
vi
24
26
tones
30
use of apostrophe
30
hyphens
30
31
ChineseEnglish glossary
32
EnglishChinese glossary
35
numbers
38
38
38
seasons
38
subject index
39
grammar index
39
Track listing
CD1
tracks 12: introduction and tones
tracks 312: conversation 1: getting to know people
tracks 1321: conversation 2: exchanging information and asking for a
telephone number
tracks 2228: conversation 3: having a drink and having a meal
tracks 2936: conversation 4: booking a room and booking a table
tracks 3739: conversation 5: asking for directions and going to a local
attraction (beg.)
CD2
tracks 14: conversation 5: asking for directions and going to a local
attraction (conc.)
tracks 512: conversation 6: taking a train and getting a bus
tracks 1319: conversation 7: sightseeing
tracks 2026: conversation 8: being ill and seeing a doctor
tracks 2734: conversation 9: going shopping and buying a souvenir
tracks 3541: conversation 10: making friends and keeping in touch
CD3
track 1: introduction
track 2: conversation 1: part 1
track 3: conversation 1: part 2
track 4: conversation 2: part 1
track 5: conversation 2: part 2
track 6: conversation 2: part 3
track 7: conversation 3
track 8: conversation 4
track 9: conversation 5
track 10: conversation 6
track 11: conversation 7: part 1
track 12: conversation 7: part 2
track 13: conversation 8
track 14: conversation 9
track 15: conversation 10
Nn ho!
Brown N ho!
Wang
Brown Sh.
Wang
Brown Xixie.
Chen
Leigh
Chen
A, L xinsheng, n ho!
Leigh
Chen
Xixie n li ji w.
Wang
Hello.
Brown Hello.
Wang
Brown Yes.
Wang
Leigh
Chen
Leigh
Chen
Leigh
Chen
Dubuq. Mi yu.
Brown Mi gunxi.
Wang
Zh sh w-de dinhu.
Brown Lng yo r sn q b ji li w s.
Wang
Du.
Brown Xixie n.
Wang
Xixie, xixie.
Yo sn r.
Chinese woman S li b w.
Brown
Li b w.
S li b w.
Correct.
Thank you.
132.
685.
4685.
Brown
Lng s yo q.
Yo sn r s li b w lng s yo q.
Xixie n.
Nmen h shnme?
Wang
Wmen h ch.
Waitress
H shnme ch?
Brown
W h hng ch.
Waitress
Nn ne?
Wang
W h l` ch.
Waitress
Qng dng-yi-dng.
Brown
Xixie.
Brown
Xixie.
Waitress
Zh sh nn-de l` ch.
Wang
Xixie.
Brown
Zhn hoh.
Brown
0417.
Thank you.
Waitress
Wang
Waitress
Brown
Waitress
Wang
Waitress
A moment, please.
Wang
Thank you.
Brown
Thank you.
Waitress
Wang
Thank you.
Brown
Nmen ch shnme?
Wang
T ch jiozi.
Waiter
Nn ne?
Wang
W ch mintio.
Brown
Wmen b ch ru.
Waiter
Nmen h shnme?
Brown
Pji.
Waiter
Qng dng-yi-dng.
(A little while later the waiter brings the food but not the beer.)
Waiter
Zh sh nn-de jiozi.
Brown
Xixie.
Waiter
Zh sh nn-de mintio.
Wang
Pji ne?
Waiter
(A little later.)
Brown
Wang
Waiter
Wang
Waiter
Wang
Brown
Waiter
Brown
Beer.
Waiter
(A little while later the waiter brings the food but not the beer.)
Waiter
Brown
Thanks.
Waiter
Wang
Waiter
(A little later.)
Brown
Wang
10
Ling wi.
Receptionist J tin?
Brown
Ling tin.
Receptionist Shu.
11
Receptionist Hello.
Brown
Two people.
Two days.
Receptionist Yes.
12
Passer-by Zi qinbin.
Leigh
Yun bu yun?
S fnzhng?
Passer-by Sh fnzhng.
Leigh
Sh fnzhng.
Yubin.
Xixie.
Passer-by Ni ge yndngchng?
Brown
Passer-by O, zi nibin.
Brown
Yun bu yun?
Q, b fnzhng.
Chzhn de zubin.
Xixie n.
13
Leigh
Passer-by Up ahead.
Leigh
Is it far?
Four minutes?
Ten minutes?
Straight ahead.
Right side.
Thank you.
Brown
Is it far?
Thank you.
14
Q nr?
Leigh
Q Xn.
Clerk
J zhng?
Leigh
Ling zhng.
Clerk
Leigh
Du.
Clerk
Jntin de ma?
Leigh
Du.
Clerk
Brown Ni ge zhnti?
Clerk
D-q zhnti.
Brown D j zhnti?
Clerk
D-q.
Zi nibin.
15
Clerk
Leigh
To Xian.
Clerk
Leigh
Two.
Clerk
Leigh
Thats correct.
Clerk
For today?
Leigh
Yes.
Clerk
Platform number 7.
Number 7.
Over there.
16
Receptionist
Chzch.
Brown
Receptionist
Yu.
Brown
J din?
Receptionist
Leigh
Receptionist
Zi nibin.
Brown
Yun bu yun?
Receptionist
B yun, zu l sn fnzhng.
Brown
Xixie n.
Receptionist
B xi.
17
Brown
Receptionist
Taxi.
Brown
Is there a bus?
Receptionist
Yes.
Brown
What time?
Receptionist
Leigh
Receptionist
Over there.
Brown
Is it far?
Receptionist
Brown
Thank you.
Receptionist
18
Conversation 7: Sightseeing
Part 1: Going sightseeing
Leigh
Guide
Hn xhuan.
Leigh
N xhuan ni ge?
Guide
Ni ge.
Leigh
Ni ge?
Guide
Ni ge hng-de.
Leigh
W y xhuan.
Leigh
B lng.
Guide
Brown W y b lng.
Guide
Leigh
Brown W hn xhuan.
Guide
N wishnme b xhuan?
Leigh
Yngzi hn qgui.
Guide
Ni ge go lu ne?
Leigh
Y b xhuan.
19
Leigh
Guide
Very much.
Leigh
Guide
That one.
Leigh
Which one?
Guide
Leigh
I like it too.
Guide
Leigh
Guide
Leigh
Leigh
It looks strange.
Guide
Leigh
20
Receptionist
Nn znme le?
Leigh
Receptionist
T nr b shfu?
Leigh
Receptionist
T ynggi q yyun.
Leigh
Receptionist
Yu.
Leigh
Hn jn ma?
Receptionist
Doctor W li knkan.
(The doctor examines Peter Brown.)
Doctor
Leigh
Ch Zhngyo ba.
Shnme Zhngyo?
Znme ch?
Doctor Y tin ch sn c.
Leigh
Xixie nn.
21
Leigh
Receptionist
Leigh
Receptionist
Leigh
Receptionist
He should go to hospital.
Leigh
Receptionist
Yes.
Leigh
Very close?
Receptionist
22
Vendor Tujn.
Leigh
W mi ling tio.
Vendor Mi ling tio ba. Y tio sh kui, ling tio shb kui.
Leigh
23
Vendor Scarf.
Leigh
Vendor Have two then. Ten kuai for one and 18 kuai for two.
Leigh
24
Zoshang ho!
Local
Brown
W sh Ynggu-rn.
Local
N ne?
Leigh
W sh Migu-rn.
Local
Leigh
Local
Leigh
Dubuq, w mi yu mngpin.
Local
Mi gunxi.
Brown
W y mi yu.
Local
Leigh
Local
Xixie nmen.
Brown
Local
Xixie nn.
Brown
Local
Leigh
Zijin.
Local
Zijin.
25
Brown
Good morning!
Local
Brown
Im British.
Local
Leigh
Im an American.
Local
Leigh
Local
Local
Leigh
Local
It doesnt matter.
Brown
Neither do I.
Local
Leigh
Local
Thank you.
Brown
Local
Thank you.
Brown
Local
Leigh
Goodbye.
Local
Goodbye.
26
Cultural information
N vs. Nn
The difference between n and nn is similar to tu and vous in
French. Nn is used for people senior to you (generally a generation
above you), people with higher social status (e.g. teachers, officials)
and your superior at work. Many Chinese will probably use nn ho
for foreigners when they say hello. When people know each other
well, they prefer to use n. This is especially true for young people.
However, there are individual differences, i.e. some people tend to
use nn more than others.
Surname first
In most Western names the given name comes first, hence first
name, and the family name comes last, hence last name. In Chinese,
surnames always come first. This is because a surname is shared by
all members of the family, and is regarded as being the most
important. What is important should come first. Your given name is
your own, thus only secondary. If you address someone with his or
her title, such as Dr, Mr, Miss, Professor, etc. the title comes after
the surname or full name: Wng xinsheng, for Mr Wng, Chn
Yngying xiojie for Miss Yngying Chn.
Name cards
In China, exchanging name cards or business cards is far more
common than it is in the West. If you decide to do business in
China, a business card with your name, title and contact details in
Chinese on it will make the initial encounter a little smoother and
convince the Chinese people you deal with that you really mean
business!
Telephone etiquette
In China, the most common greeting when picking up the phone is
wi, although these days more and more people say wi followed by
n ho.
Its very unusual to say your number when picking up the phone.
Credit cards
Plastic cards are popular in China. Recent statistics show there are
nearly 100 million of them in China. However, these are mostly cards
for drawing cash out at ATMs, not full credit cards. Although big
hotels and restaurants in big cities take credit cards, its still much
less common in China than it is in the West. Therefore, you probably
need to ask Shu xnyng k ma? quite often if you don't carry
much cash with you. And certainly before you sit down in a nice
restaurant for a meal with several friends!
Smoking
There is not much awareness at present in China about the danger
smoking poses to health and even less awareness of the dangers of
passive smoking. What brand of cigarette you smoke is a status
symbol and fewer and fewer people in urban China smoke Chinese
cigarettes. Cartons of cigarettes have always been favoured as small
gifts to smooth your way through small-scale negotiations of many
27
28
kinds. Some rural women, doing physical labour either in the town
or country, smoke quite heavily but generally more men smoke than
women.
Single or return?
In China, it is still not easy to book return tickets for train and coach
journeys. You may now book return flights but there is usually no
discount, that is, its simply twice the single fare.
Direct or indirect?
Many Westerners may find the Chinese impolite in that they make
negative comments about things either directly to you or in front of
you to somebody else. For example, they might say to you, You are
too thin for this dress. They believe it to be a fact, at least to them
and therefore not at all impolite. They also like to suggest to you, for
example, when it is cold, that you need to put on more clothes. This,
to a Chinese person, is a sign of care and concern.
Although this has changed a great deal in cities and amongst the
younger generation, it is still fairly common in daily life.
Chinese medicine
Chinese medicine is still very much part of peoples everyday life.
Although Chinese people usually go to a general hospital, rather
than a hospital specializing in Chinese medicine, they often use
ready-made Chinese medicine (powders, pills, balls, plaster, etc.) for
a variety of daily illnesses. People can purchase these medicines in
pharmacies without a prescription.
Size matters!
In China, sizes of clothes and shoes are measured in centimetres.
Loan words
Dinz yujin or ymier both mean e-mail in English. They are
both loan words. Dinz yujin is the literal translation into Chinese
of electronic mail whereas ymier is the transliteration of the word
e-mail into Chinese. Increasingly people are using both the English
words as well as their Chinese translation. For example, Chinese
people will use WTO for Shji Moy Zzh, the World Trade
Organisation, bye-bye for zijin, etc. As you can imagine, young
people tend to use the English words.
29
30
Tones
Chinese is a tonal language. Every syllable in Chinese has its own
tone. Mandarin Chinese has four distinct tones plus a neutral tone.
This means that syllables that are pronounced the same but have
different tones will mean different things.
The four tones are represented by the following marks which are put
over the vowel or over the main vowel of a syllable where there are
two or three vowels:
1st tone, high and level
tone, rising
v 2nd
3rd tone, falling then rising
4th tone, falling
Tone changes
Occasionally syllables may change their tone. When two 3rd tones
occur together, the first one is said as a 2nd tone to make it easier to
say. We have still marked this as a 3rd tone in the booklet
otherwise you may think that it is always a 2nd tone which it isnt.
For example, N ho Hello is actually said N ho.
If three 3rd tones occur together, the first two are normally said as
2nd tones: W y xhuan is said as W y xhuan.
Use of apostrophe
An apostrophe () is used to show where the break comes between
two syllables if there is any possible ambiguity in pronunciation. For
example, shr (not shr), ymier (not ymier ).
Hyphens
We have used hyphens to show you that two syllables are closely
linked together. This will encourage you to say them together. For
example w-de, n-de, Migu-rn.
Qng zi shu y c.
Qng shu mn ydinr.
Du bu du?
Sh shnme ysi?
Tng-b-dng.
31
32
ChineseEnglish glossary
ba youd better or lets
bi hundred
Bijng Beijing
bngdng ice lantern
Bng-m-yng Terracotta Army
b no, not
b xi youre welcome
b zi not to be in
bcu pretty nice / good, not
bad
csu toilet
ch tea
ch a general word for vehicle
chzhn bus stop, station
ch to eat
chzch taxi
c time (as in three times)
d big
d tijqun do Tai Chi
dnrn single person / single
de a little word indicating
possession or belonging
d used before numerals to form
ordinal numbers like first,
second, etc.
d j ? which (ordinal)
number?
din oclock
dinhu telephone
dinz yujin e-mail
du correct, yes
dubuq (Im) sorry
dzi tng stomach ache
fngjin room
pji beer
qinbin the front, ahead (literally
front side)
qgui strange
qng please
qng dng-yi-dng please wait for
a moment
qng wn? may I ask?
q go
ru meat
shnme? what?
sh to be (am / are / is)
sh ma? is it ?
shshi try it, have a go
shu to receive, to accept
shuj mobile (telephone)
shungrn two persons / twin
shfu comfortable
t he, she, him, her
t tower, pagoda
tile too / so
tin day
tio measure word for long, thin
objects
tu tng headache
tujn scarf
wng qin zu walk or go ahead
(literally towards front walk)
wnshang evening
wi hello when answering a call
wi measure word for people
wishnme? why?
w I, me
w li knkan let me have a look
wmen we, us
33
34
zi again
zi to be at or in
zijin goodbye
zoshang ho good morning
znme how, in what way
znmeyng? how about?
(n) znme le? whats the matter
(with you)?
zhng measure word for
tickets
zhnti platform
zh/zhi this
zhi/zh this
zhixi/zhxi these
zhn really
zhxi/zhixi these
zhng kind as in sort, variety
(acts as a measure word)
Zhnggu China, Chinese
Zhngwn Chinese language
Zhngyo Chinese medicine
zh to stay, to live
zu l to walk (literally walk
road)
zu the most
zu to take (bus or train)
zubin left side
zqi football
EnglishChinese glossary
accept (to) shu
again zi
ahead qinbin
also y
American person Migu-ren
appearance yngzi
(not) bad bcu
be (am / are / is) sh
be able to hu
be at or in za
beautiful, handsome pioliang
beer pji
Beijing Bijng
big d
building lu
bus gnggng qch
bus stop, station chzhn
but ksh
buy mi
call (to) jio
can ky
China, Chinese Zhnggu
Chinese language Zhngwn
Chinese medicine Zhngyo
close jn
cold lng
colour yns
come li
comfortable shfu
correct du
credit card xnyng k
currency, Chinese kui
day tin
delicious (good to drink) hoh;
(good to eat) hoch
difficult nn
do Tai Chi d tijqun
drink h
dumpling (boiled) jiozi
eat ch
e-mail dinz yujin, ymier
English / British person
Ynggu-rn
evening wnshang
far yun
football zqi
friend pngyou
front (literally front side) qinbin
go q
go ahead (literally towards front
walk) wng qin zu
goodbye zijin
good morning zoshang ho
good: pretty good bcu
green l`
have yu
he t
headache tu tng
hello n ho
hello (respectful) nn ho
hello (when answering a
telephone call) wi
her t
him t
hospital yyun
how? znme
how about? znmeyng
how many? (small number) j?
hundred bi
35
36
I w
ice lantern bngdng
is it? shma?
kind (acts as a measure word)
zhng
know how to hu
learn xu
left side zubin
let me have a look w li knkan
lets ...ba
like (to) xhuan
(a) little bit yuyidinr or yudinr
live (to) zh
London Lndn
looks yngzi
matter: it doesnt matter mi
gunxi; whats the matter (with
you)? (n) znme le?
may I ask? qng wn?
me w
measure word (for an item of
clothing) jin
measure word (for general use) g
measure word (for long, thin
objects) tio
measure word (for people
(polite)) wi
measure word (for tickets) zhng
meat ru
medicine yo
meet, to ji
minute (literally division or divide
clock) fnzhng
Miss xiojie
mobile (telephone) shuj
most: the most zu
Mr xinsheng
name card mngpin
near jn
nearby fjn
next year mngnin
nice bcu
no, not b
noodles mintio
not (have) mi
not to be in b zi
oclock din
over there nibin / nbin
pagoda t
particle indicating possession or
belonging de
pharmacy yofng
platform zhnti
please qng; please wait for a
moment qng dng-yi-dng
question particle ma?
really zhn
receive shu
red (black for tea) hng
right side yubin
room fngjin
scarf tujn
she t
should ynggi
single person dnrn
small xio
so tile
sorry (Im sorry) dubuq
sort zhng (acts as a measure
word)
stadium yndngchng
stay zh
stomach ache dzi tng
straight yzh
strange qgui
us wmen
37
38
Numbers
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
lng
y
r
sn
s
w
li
q
b
ji
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
sh
shy
shr
shsn
shs
shw
shli
shq
shb
shji
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100 y bi
200 r bi or
ling bi
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
qyu July
byu August
jiyu September
shyu October
shyyu November
shryu December
Seasons
chntin
xitin
qitin
dngtin
spring
summer
autumn
winter
Subject index
39
1
6
9
6
2
5, 6
4
3
1
8
1
2
8
8
2
1
9
7
6
7
Grammar index
adjectives
counting: 110
1199
100+
have, to
location
measure words:
general (g)
item of clothing (jin)
long, thin objects (tio)
polite form for people (wi)
thin and flat, e.g. ticket (zhng)
7, 8
2, 5
9
4
2
5
4
9
9
4
6
40
6
5
2
1, 2
5, 6