Lesson 075 – Taxi Cabs (3)

YJ:  Perfect Chinese your way in only five minutes a day – Daijia hao, wo shi Yajie.
Cam:  Wo shi Cam…. It’s been a good week Yajie, because I’m learning how to get around town in a taxi cab.  But yesterday I was in a cab, and the traffic was horrible!  I didn’t know how much longer it was going to take?
YJ:  Why didn’t you ask him?
Cam:  I didn’t know how!
YJ:  Okay, then listen up!

Key Words of the Day
多远，how far, 还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?) How much further ? 我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?) Are we there yet? 多少钱？(duōshao qián) How much is it?  要，need, 发票，receipt, 我要发票。 (wǒ yào fāpiào) I’d like the receipt. All in today’s Chinese Studio.

Cam:  So Yajie, I’ve learned how to say turn left and turn right, and to ask wher to go.  But with the horrible traffic in Beijing, my last trip takes longer than I thought. So how do I say, “How much further is it?”
YJ: It’s还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?)
Cam: 还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?)
YJ: 还有，means still have blah blah left. Here it means it still has certain distance left.
Cam: 还有，hai2 you3.
YJ: 多远 (duō yuǎn) means how far.
Cam: 多远 (duō yuǎn).
YJ: 还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?)
Cam: 还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?) How much further is it?

Conversation1:

YJ: So Cam, if there is really bad traffic, you might not know when you finally arrive at your destination.  So you can ask your cab driver:   我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?) Are we there yet?
Cam: 我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?)
YJ: 我们(wǒmen), we.
Cam: 我们(wǒmen).
YJ: 到了 (dào le), arrived.
Cam: 到了 (dào le). I often hear that on the subway.
YJ: That's right. As we mentioned before吗 is a question mark.
Cam: 吗 (ma).
YJ: 我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?)
Cam: 我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?) Are we there yet?
YJ: or you can just say “到了吗？” for short.
Cam: 到了吗？
YJ: Well then you may hear taxi driver say “到了” if you reach your place.
Cam: dao4 le which would mean arrived.
YJ: Otherwise the driver would say “没到”， not yet. 
Cam: 没到 (méi dào).

Conversation2:

Cam: Then before I leave, I have to be sure to pay the driver.  But before I do that, I have to ask how much my trip cost, which we have learned before.  多少钱？(duōshao qián). Right?
YJ: Exactly. 多少钱？(duōshao qián) How much is it?
Cam: And sometimes I’d like to get the receipt. How do you say it in Chinese?
YJ: It’s我要发票。(wǒ yào fāpiào)
Cam: 我要发票。(wǒ yào fāpiào)
YJ: 要 means need.
Cam: 要 (yào)
YJ: And receipt in Chinese is 发票(fāpiào).
Cam: 发票(fāpiào).
YJ: 我要发票。(wǒ yào fāpiào)
Cam: 我要发票。(wǒ yào fāpiào) I’d like the receipt.  And if I don’t want the receipt, can I say wo bu yao fapiao?
Yajie:  Right!

Conversation3:

Key Words Reminder
多远，how far, 还有多远？(hái yǒu duō yuǎn?) How much further ? 我们到了吗？(wǒmen dào le ma?) Are we there yet? 多少钱？(duōshao qián) How much is it?  要，need, 发票，receipt, 我要发票。 (wǒ yào fāpiào) I’d like the receipt.