Lesson 125 - Cars (1)

Yajie:  Dajia hao – Welcome to Chinese Studio on CRI – Wo shi Yajie.
Cam: And wo shi Cam. Yajie, I don’t have my driver’s license yet in Beijing, but I really want to get it.
Yajie:  Before you get that, I think you need to know some relevant words and phrases.
Cam:  Yes I do!  Let’s check Key Words of the Day.

Key Words of the Day
Driving. (开车, kai1che1) Parking. (停车,ting2 che1)  wher can I park? (哪儿能停车 Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1) Please fill my tank with gas. 请加满油. (Qing3 jia1 man3 you2.) All in today’s Chinese Studio.

Yajie: The first basic word is driving, which in Chinese is 开车 (kai1che1)
Cam: 开车 (kai1che1)
Yajie: 开(kai1) means to drive.
Cam: 开(kai1), k-a-i, the first tone.
Yajie: 车(che1) means vehicle.
Cam: 车(che1)
Yajie: 开车 (kai1che1), driving
Cam: 开车 (kai1che1)
Yajie: The opposite word to driving is parking, and in Chinese it’s停车(ting2 che1)
Cam: 停车(ting2 che1)
Yajie: 停(ting2) means to stop. T-i-n-g, the second tone.
Cam: 停(ting2)
Yajie: 停车(ting2 che1)
Cam: 停车(ting2 che1), parking
Yajie: 开车 (kai1che1) Driving. 停车(ting2 che1)Parking.
Cam: 开车 (kai1che1)；停车(ting2 che1)。

Conversation1:

Cam: Yajie, it’s difficult to find a place to park car in big cities. And normally I need to ask for help. Now could you please tell me what’s Chinese for “wher can I park?”
Yajie: Sure. You can say哪儿能停车 (Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1)
Cam:哪儿能停车 (Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1)
Yajie: 哪儿(Nar3), wher.
Cam: 哪儿(Nar3)
Yajie: 能 (neng2), can.
Cam: 能 (neng2)
Yajie: 停车(ting2 che1), Parking
Cam: 停车(ting2 che1)
Yajie: 哪儿能停车 (Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1)
Cam: 哪儿能停车 (Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1) wher can I park?

Conversation2:

Cam: Yajie, sometimes I need to fill my tank with gas, but how do I say that in Chinese?
Yajie: Well, you can say, 请加满油. (Qing3 jia1 man3 you2.)
Cam: 请加点油. (Qing3 man3 dian3 you2.)
Yajie: 请 (qing3), please.
Cam: 请 (qing3)
Yajie: 加 (jia1),  the first tone, means to refuel
Cam: 加 (jia1)
Yajie: 加满 (jia1 man3) , to fill with something.
Cam: 加满 (jia1 man3). 
Yajie: 油 (you2), the second tone., here it means gas.
Cam: 油 (you2)
Yajie: 加满油(jia1 man3 you2) to fill with gas.
Cam: 加满油(jia1 man3 you2)
Yajie: 请加满油. (Qing3 jia1 man3 you2.)
Cam: 请加满油. (Qing3 jia1 man3 you2.) Please fill my tank with gas.
Yajie: Or you can say 加满 (jia1 man3) for short.
Cam: 加满 (jia1 man3), that’s much easier.

Conversation3:

Key Words Reminder
Driving. (开车, kai1che1) Parking. (停车,ting2 che1)  wher can I park? (哪儿能停车 Nar3 neng2 ting2 che1) Please fill my tank with gas. 请加满油. Qing3 jia1 man3 you2.).