Dialogues for shopping

[website]

Dajia hao,

I think some people here would be interested

in what to say at the supermarket. I couldn't

find much information on the web.

How would you say the following in Hanyu pinyin?

This line is very slow.

Do you have a shopping cart?

Is this line open?

This store is very busy.

He wants a refund. (tuikuan)???

Could you weigh these carrots for me?

Please tell your kid not to urinate on the floor.

Wait your turn. I was here first.

Stop staring at me.

What time do you get off work? Do you want to go out with me?

Could you give me paper money? I don't want coins.

What time do you open? (Ni kai men shenme shihou?)??

The price is wrong. The sign said 2 yuan.

Please give me a discount card application form.

I would like to apply for a job.

I want to find _____.

mustard

mayo

ketchup

BBQ sauce

Mozarella cheese

corndogs

canned pineapple

cereal

lettuce

salad dressing

ground beef

Xiexie!

[skylee]

Dear website,

May I introduce you to one of my favourite tools available on the internet? It is called Lin Yutang Chinese-English Dictionary, and you can access it by clicking the following link -> http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Lindict/

If you click on 英語索引 (English Index), you will find a long list of words, the Chinese explanations (and there is pinyin too) of some of which may be what you want to learn. For example ->

mustard

Another online dictionary which might be useful is -> http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php

Use the translate (翻譯) function, you can translate words like ketchup/mayonnaise into Chinese terms "番茄酱"/"蛋黄酱", and then by pressing the word dictionary button, you will get the pinyin "fan1 qie2 jiang4" / "dan4 huang2 jiang4".

These on-line translators are not very reliable but could be used as reference ->

http://www.worldlingo.com/wl/translate

http://dictionary.reference.com/translate/text.html

I hope they are useful to you.

[Quest]

skylee

[PollyWaffle]

there's a book by a yank & a chinese dude that has a heap of modern chinese with useful stuff like the chinese for carlsberg, fanta, mozarella, etc.... stuff you probably won't find in online dictionaries... i will check it out in the next few daze & post the title, publisher, etc...

polly

[website]

Actually, I have been studying Chinese off and on for more than

seven years. I could probably answer my own questions. The problem

is that I know the words and the grammar, but I don't know the CORRECT way to say something.

For example, my dictionary has the following entry for cereal:

禾 he2 / cereal / grain /

谷类 gu3 lei4 / cereal / grain

Now which one do I use? Do I say:

Wo yao chi he? OR

Wo yao chi gulei?

[Quest]

website, I understand your frustration, but you might want to keep your list short next time. Long lists like this one would only discourage people from answering your question, even if they knew the answers.

[Quest]

I believe "your dictionary" is the one skylee posted earlier.

cereal is 麦片 mai4 pian4

If you know how to read Chinese this page has many of the translations you need for everyday American food.

Since the Chinese have a totally different food culture, don't expect everyone to understand what you mean when you mention waffle, donut, bacon, mayonnaise, etc, even if a proper translation were available.

[in_lab]

website, using online dictionaries, the sentences that you come up with yourself would probably be incorrect. But I think others are more willing to correct your Chinese than come up the answers directly. The sentences you wrote are useful. Why not give the Chinese a try first?

As quest said, giving the names of western food is not always a simple task. If you look at that translation for "mustard," you'll find jie4mo4. But the person very well might believe that you're referring to wasabi, not mustard. As for cereal, I think there's a good chance that a person who hears mai4pian4 won't know that this is something eaten with milk. And these words probaby vary widely by region. I've never seen 蛋黄酱, just mei3nai3zi1, mei2nai3zi1, and sha1la1. (Yes, I know that should mean salad.)

[website]

Hao. I only know about 100 characters. I spent most of my time practicing speaking and vocabulary. I don't know how to read and write Chinese and my listening skills are very poor.

I went to the store today to find western food here in China because I am sick of eating rice two or three times a day. I found ketchup, BBQ sauce, cereal, potato chips, peanut butter, fake cheese, and

jelly. I did not find any whipped cream, canned vegetables, hot dogs, waffles, syrup, pancakes, donuts, lettuce, spaghetti, chili, hamburger buns, Italian bread, potato salad, taco sauce,

frozen french fries, turkey, roast beef, pizza, pot pies, gravy, fruit cocktail, cucumbers, taco shells, tuna fish, fish batter, sloppy joe, or mustard. The food in China is a bit boring. Half the store was dedicated to soy sauce, dumplings, rice, dried meat, bok choy, and cooking oil. Finding foreign food is easy in the US, but difficult in China.

Here are some typical American meals that I miss:

http://www.trenton.k12.nj.us/foodservice/Lunch%20Menu.htm

Yeah, I know I'm a wuss.

Anyway, here is the way I would translate my sentences. Any suggestions are welcome.

This line is very slow.

Zhege paidui hen man.

Do you have a shopping cart?

Ni you che ma?

Is this line open?

Zhege paidui kai ma?

This store is very busy.

Zhege guowu hen mang.

He wants a refund. (tuikuan)???

Ta yao tuikuan.

Could you weigh these carrots for me?

Ni neng zhong zhege huolubo ma?

Please tell your kid not to urinate on the floor.

Qing gaosu nide xioapengyou ting niao zai diban.

Wait your turn. I was here first.

Dengyixia. Wo shi zaiyici.

Stop staring at me.

Bu kan wo!

What time do you get off work? Do you want to go out with me?

Shenme shiho ni xiagong? Ni yao yo yue wo ma?

Could you give me paper money? I don't want coins.

Qing gei wo zhi qian. Wo bu yao zhubi.

What time do you open? (Ni kai men shenme shihou?)??

The price is wrong. The sign said 2 yuan.

Jia bu dui. Dianpai shuo liang kuai.

Please give me a discount card application form.

Qing gei wo zhenko ka.

I would like to apply for a job.

Wo yao gongzuo zai nali.

I want to find _____.

Wo yao zhaodao____.

mustard

mayo

ketchup

BBQ sauce

Mozarella cheese

corndogs

canned pineapple

cereal

lettuce

salad dressing

ground beef

[lulu]

Could you weigh these carrots for me?

Ni neng zhong zhege huolubo ma?

(Ni neng cheng zhexie huluobo ma?)

Stop staring at me.

Bu kan wo!

(Bu yao kan wo!) Or u can also say "Kan shen ma?"

Could you give me paper money? I don't want coins.

Qing gei wo zhi qian. Wo bu yao zhubi.

(Qing gei wo zhi bi. Wo bu yao ying bi.)

"Zhi qian" refers to the money for the dead.

"Zhu bi" is too formal.

What time do you open?

(Ni zhe li shen me shi jian ying ye?)

I would like to apply for a job.

Wo yao gongzuo zai nali.

(Wo xiang shenqing yi fen gongzuo./Wo xiang zhao fen gongzuo. )

[benotnobody]

With all due respect, why must you know how to say "Please tell your kid not to urinate on the floor. "? Is this a problem in China?

[website]

I hope someone can help me translate these phrases in Mandarin, too:

"Speak to me" = "Shuo ni"????

"do it on purpose"

"off and on"

"shut up"

"It was nice talking to you." = "Shuo ni hao."???

"How about this?"

"get rid of it"

"could have'

"should have"

"go around"

"go ahead"

"cash register"

"want anything else"

"Have a nice day." = "Yo haode tian."???

"Check out this book at the library."

"Pull yourself together, man."

"odds and ends"

"What happened?"

"cross the road"

"make fun of him"

I don't know how to put any of these phrases together.

I stay in a city in China that has a population of about 7 million people. People still spit, stare, and pee in public, though. It's a bit of a culture shock.

Xiexie.

[Lu]

Website, a good idea would be to find a Chinese language partner. Virtually everybody in China (ok, that's exaggerated, but not much) is learning English, and in exchange for getting some practice talking English with you, they would be most happy to help you translate these and many more phrases.

And it might help a bit against the culture shock too, when you have someone to explain & introduce all the new things.

Good luck & have a good time!

[skylee]

"Speak to me" - 跟我說話

"do it on purpose" - 故意做的

"off and on" - 斷斷續續

"shut up" - 閉嘴

"How about this?" - 這個怎樣?

"get rid of it" - 弄走它

"could have' - 本來可以 / 可以有

"should have" - 本來應該 / 應該有

"go around" - context?

"go ahead" - context?

"cash register" - 收款機

"want anything else" - do you want anything else? - 還要些甚麼嗎?

"Have a nice day." - 玩得開心點

"Check out this book at the library." - 從圖書館借出這本書

"Pull yourself together, man." - 振作一點

"odds and ends" - 零碎雜物

"What happened?" - 發生甚麼事?

"cross the road" - 過馬路

"make fun of him" - 嘲笑他

Dear Website,

Some of the terms above can be found on the internet (e.g. using the tools I quoted in my previous post).

And do try to learn the language properly.

[website]

The reason I use this board is because I don't meet many people here in China. I am in the outside of Shenzhen and whenever I reply to a "hello"

that people say to me 20 times a day, they giggle and run

away like children. I also don't work or go to school and my girlfriend

is staying at her work dormitory for two months. I just don't talk with many people.

I like to use this forum and the net to learn Chinese

because I can ask a question at 2 AM while sitting

around in my underwear.

I only know a few simplified characters and even fewer traditional ones.

I was wondering how do you say "go around" as in "go around the block" or "go around the city" and "go ahead" as in "don't wait for me, go on ahead" and "go ahead and make my day."

Also what is the difference between "zhu he ni" and "gong xi ni" for "congratulations"?

Thanks.