Lesson 301 Filling an Apartment I

R: Well guess what Yajie, I’m not homeless anymore! Daijai hao, wo shi Raymond.
Y: That’s great Raymond, Wo Shi Yajie; however the adventure is not over. You’ve got to learn how to fill up your apartment, and Chinese Studio is going to help you do that.
R: Alright, lets hear some of the key words to help fill an apartment.

Key Words of the Day
a refrigerator. 冰箱，a table lamp. 台灯，Vases 花瓶，I would like to buy a refrigerator. 我要买个冰箱。I want a big washing machine. 我要买个大的洗衣机。All in today’s Chinese studio

R:  Hey this food looks good. How are we going to keep it from going bad?
Y: Well what we could do is keep it in a cool place.
R: Well I could just tie it in a bag and hang it outside my window in winter time, but instead I’m going to buy a refrigerator for my apartment. How do you say I want to buy a refrigerator?
Y: Good idea. You can say: wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 bing1 xiang1.
R: wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 bing1 xiang1.
Y: wo3 means I,
R:  wo3,
Y: yao4, would like to do sth,
R:  yao4,
Y: mai3 to buy,
R:  mai3,
Y: ge4 is short for yi2 ge4, it’s one fridge.
R:  ge4,
Y: bing1 is ice, and xiang1 is box, so refrigerator literally means “ice box” in Chinese,
R:  bing1 xiang1,
Y: wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 bing1 xiang1.
R:  wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 bing1 xiang1.  I would like to buy a fridge. 

Conversation 1
A:  我要买个冰箱。
B:  那你要买个什么牌子的冰箱？

Y: Hey Raymond, you’ve been living there for a long time now. And。。。you smell.
R: Hmm you’re right! I guess I should buy a washing machine. But I’m going to need a big one. How do you say I’d like to buy a big washing machine?
Y: first of all, a big washing machine is: da4 de xi3 yi1 ji1.
R: da4 de xi3 yi1 ji1.
Y: da4 is big,
R: da4, 
Y: xi3 yi1 ji1 the machine for washing clothes, so it’s xi3 yi1 ji1,
R: xi3 yi1 ji1
Y: and we just learned how to say “I’d like to buy sth” in Chinese,
R: yes, I remember it’s “wo3 yao4 mai3…”
Y: Good. So I’d like to buy a big washing machine, in Chinese it’s wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 da4 de xi3 yi1 ji1.
R:  wo3 yao4 mai3 ge4 da4 de xi3 yi1 ji1.  I’d like to buy a big washing machine,

Conversation 2
A: 你要买个什么样的洗衣机？
B: 我要买个大的洗衣机。

R: Whoa its getting dark in here. Winter is right around the corner and there’s so much to be done.
Y: Are you tired of using candles? Maybe you need some Rays of Light.
R: Well I guess a table lamp would suffice. How do you say a table lamp?
Y: it’s tai2 deng1.
R: tai2 deng1,
Y: tai2 is table
R:  tai2,
Y: deng1 is lamp,
R: deng1,
Y: tai2 deng1,
R: tai2 deng1, a table lamp,   Hmm your apartment is looking good so far Raymond.
R: Thanks Yajie, and I still need a vase.  How do you say vase?
Y: it’s hua1 ping2.
R: hua1 ping2.
Y: hua1 literally means flower,
R: hua1
Y: and ping2 is a bottle,
R:  ping2,
Y: hua1 ping2
R:  hua1 ping2, vase.
Y: it could also stands for someone has stunning appearance without real ability,
R: got it , hua1 ping2.

Conversation 3
A: 你要买什么？
 B: 我要买个台灯还有一个花瓶。