How do you ask when a business opened?

[SunDaYu]

Can you say: 你们什么时候来到这儿开始做生意？ or maybe 你们什么时候开店了？

The context is there was a newly opened restaurant here and I wanted to know exactly when they opened up because they seemed to just appear over night.

EDIT: I just realized that this is probably in the wrong section >.< I'm still so green!

[Kenny同志]

If you are asking the boss, you can say：

您这店是什么时候开的?

If you are asking the employees you can say：

你们这店是什么时候开的？

Edited October 18, 2009 at 02:26 AM by kenny2006woo

[kdavid]

要是你想说较口语的话你可以直接的说：

你啥时候开门儿啊？

[SunDaYu]

Thanks for your responses. I heard that you can use“开业＂but I'm not sure if I'm using it correctly。

For example：　他们两天之前开业了。

Edited October 18, 2009 at 02:38 AM by SunDaYu

[Kenny同志]

你啥时候开门儿啊？

I guess you are a foreigner. What you say may lead to confusion and a completely false answer. The meaning of “开张”or “开业” is totally different from that of“开门” .

他们两天之前开业了。

This is kind of written stuff. In spoken Chinese, people might say:

他们大前天开业了。

or：他们店大前天开张了。

In similar contexts, you can say:

他们店是前两天开张的。

他们店是大前天开张的。

开张can also be replaced by 开业。

Edited October 18, 2009 at 02:29 AM by kenny2006woo

[SunDaYu]

Thank for teaching me a more spoken Chinese expression. I actually have already encountered that confusing situation. I asked the manager "你们什么时候开门了？“ but his response was "早上九点“. It wasn't what I meant at all.

Edited October 18, 2009 at 02:42 AM by SunDaYu

[Kenny同志]

You are welcome！

Edited October 18, 2009 at 02:30 AM by kenny2006woo

[roddy]

Folks, can I ask you to remember that posts should not be all in Chinese - I understand it's nice to practice, and that for some posters it's easier than English, but we do need to keep things accessible for those who can't read it. From here

• This is an English-language forum about Chinese. Posts and their titles should be mostly in English, except in sections specifically for practicing Chinese. Obviously the use of some Chinese is necessary for examples, etc, but a non-speaker of Chinese should still be able to understand the purpose of your post.

You are however encouraged to use the Chinese Corner for practicing your Chinese.

[Kenny同志]

Sorry Roddy, I have re-editted my posts. I will try to use Chinese in the right section.