Lesson 087 – Bank (2)

YJ:  Welcome to Chinese Studio.  Wo shi Yajie. 
Cam:  Dajia hao, Wo shi Cam.  I’m enjoying these banking lessons Yajie… and I really appreciate knowing how to make transactions when I’m speaking to a bank teller.
Yajie:  Well, we aren’t finished yet!

Key Words of the Day
Can I transfer this into American funds? 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?) Can I apply for a credit card?  我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?) Can I open an account? 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?)／Can I close an account. 我能销户吗？(wo3 neng2 xiao1 hu4 ma?) All in today’s Chinese Studio.

Cam:  How do you say “Can I transfer this into American funds?”
YJ: It’s 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?)
Cam: 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?)
YJ: 我(wo3) means I.
Cam: Ritght, 我(wo3)
YJ: 能 (neng2), can or could.
Cam: 能 (neng2)
YJ: 换（huan4），means change into or transfer into.
Cam: 换（huan4）.
Cam: Ok. And 美元 (mei3yuan3) is American dollar, right?
YJ: Exactly! 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?) can I transfer it into American dollars?
Cam: 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?)

Conversation1:

Cam: Yajie, I also need a credit card.  I know it's awful, but I should get one. So how do I apply for one?
YJ: You can say it like this “我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?)”
Cam: 我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?)
YJ: 申请 (shen1qing3) means “apply for”
Cam: 申请 (shen1qing3)
YJ: 信用卡 (xin4yong4ka3), credit card.
Cam: 信用卡 (xin4yong4ka3)
YJ: xin yong means credit.
Cam: xin yong.
YJ: ka means card, Cam, it's similar pronunciation, right?
Cam: yes, ka.
YJ: xin yong ka, credit card.
Cam: xin yong ka.
YJ: 我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?) Can I apply for a credit card?
Cam: 我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?) Can I apply for a credit card? Yajie, from these two sentences you taught me just now, may we draw a conclusion that “Can I …? ” is equal to “我能….吗？” (wo3 neng2…ma?) in Chinese, right?
YJ: Yes. Right.

Conversation2:

YJ: Now one more example about this “Can I …? ”“我能….吗？”. For example, 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?) Can I open an account?
Cam: 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?)
YJ: 开(kai1), k-a-i, the first tone, to open.
Cam: 开(kai1)
YJ: 户（hu4），is the short Chinese name for bank account.
Cam: hu4.
YJ: 吗 (ma), question mark.
Cam: 吗(ma)
YJ: 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?)
Cam: 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?)  Can I open an account?
YJ:  And if you want to close a bank account, you can say “我能销户吗？” (wo3 neng2 xiao1 hu4 ma?)
Cam: “我能销户吗？” (wo3 neng2 xiao1 hu4 ma?)
YJ: xiao is short for 注销(zhu4xiao1), which means to cancel or close.
Cam: 销(xiao1). So I just need to change kai which means open, into xiao, which means close, and the other parts remain the same.
YJ: Right.

Conversation3:

Key Words Reminder
Can I transfer this into American funds? 我能换美元吗？ (wo3 neng2 huan4 mei3 yuan3 ma?) Can I apply for a credit card?  我能申请信用卡吗？(wo3 neng2 shen1qing3 xin4yong4ka3 ma?) Can I open an account? 我能开户吗？(wo3 neng2 kai1 hu4 ma?)／Can I close an account. 我能销户吗？(wo3 neng2 xiao1 hu4 ma?)