Lesson 101 - Travelling (1)

Yajie, one of the great things about China is that it’s such a diverse country.  I traveled around the country a few months ago, and I loved it.
YJ:  That’s great Cam – but how did you get around?
Cam:  I got the train for a bit, and an airplane as well.  But I struggled, because I couldn’t say those things in Chinese!
Yajie: Well, stay tuned, because travel will be our topic this week on Chinese Studio.

Key Words of the Day
Train火车 (huo3che1)。 Plane 飞机(fei1ji1)。 Car 汽车(qi4che1)。 Bus公交车(gong1jiao1che)。 Is this your first time in Shanghai? 这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 Shang4hai3 ma?) All in today’s Chinese Studio.

YJ: First off, we need to teach you some different modes of transportation.  For instance, train, 火车 (huo3che1). The third tone and the first tone.
Cam: Train火车 (huo3che1).
YJ: 飞机(fei1ji1) is plane.
Cam: 飞机(fei1ji1), all in the first tone, right?
YJ: That’s right.
Cam: And what’s the Chinese for car?
YJ: It’s汽车(qi4che1), the fourth tone, and the first tone. 
Cam: 汽车(qi4che1). I haven’t taken the bus yet in China…. but if I did, how would I say that?
YJ: It’s公交车(gong1jiao1che).
Cam: 公交车(gong1jiao1che).
YJ: Now how about having a quick review before we move to the next part?
Cam: I like that idea.
YJ: Ok. Train火车 (huo3che1)。 Plane 飞机(fei1ji1)。
Cam: Train火车 (huo3che1)。 Plane 飞机(fei1ji1)。
YJ: Car is 汽车(qi4che1)。Bus公交车(gong1jiao1che)。
Cam:  Okay汽车 is car(qi4che1)。Bus is 公交车(gong1jiao1che)。

YJ: Cam, do you like traveling by plane?
Cam: Yes. It’s more efficient. But how do I ask this question in Chinese?
YJ: You can say “你喜欢乘飞机旅行吗？(ni3 xi3huan cheng2 fei1ji1 lǚ3xing2 ma?)”
Cam: 你喜欢乘飞机旅行吗？(ni3 xi3huan cheng2 fei1ji1 lǚ3xing2 ma?)”
YJ: 你 (ni3) is  you.
Cam: 你 (ni3).
YJ: 喜欢 (xi3huan), like to. 
Cam: 喜欢 (xi3huan)
YJ: 乘 （cheng2）means to ride. Here it means to take a plane. 
Cam: I see. 乘（cheng2）.
YJ: and we learned plane just now, it’s 飞机(fei1ji1).
Cam: Right,飞机(fei1ji1)
YJ: 旅行(lǚ3xing2) means traveling.
Cam: 旅行(lǚ3xing2).
YJ: 吗 (ma), question mark.
Cam: 吗 (ma)
YJ: 你喜欢乘飞机旅行吗？(ni3 xi3huan cheng2 fei1ji1 lǚ3xing2 ma?)”
Cam: 你喜欢乘飞机旅行吗？(ni3 xi3huan cheng2 fei1ji1 lǚ3xing2 ma?)”

Conversation2:

YJ: Cam, you went to Shanghai last month, right?
Cam: I sure did, Yajie.  And some Chinese asked me “Is this your first time in Shanghai?”, so  what is the Chinese”di yi ci…” (muttering)
YJ:这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 shang4hai3 ma?)
Cam: Right, now I remember…这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 shang4hai3 ma?)
YJ: Although you’ve been familiar with the sentence, I need to explain word by word for our listeners. So would you like to read with me, Cam?
Cam: oh, I’d love to.
YJ: Ok… First, 这 (zhe4), this.
Cam: 这 (zhe4)
YJ: 是 (shi4), is.
Cam: 是(shi4)
YJ: 你 (ni3) is you.
Cam: 你 (ni3)
YJ: 第一次 (di1yi1ci4), the first time.
Cam: 第一次 (di1yi1ci4),
YJ: 来 (lai2), to come.
Cam: 来 (lai2)
YJ: 上海 (Shang4hai3)
Cam: 上海 (Shang4hai3)
YJ: 这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 Shang4hai3 ma?)
Cam: 这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 Shang4hai3 ma?) Is this your first time in Shanghai?

Conversation3:

Key Words Reminder
Train火车 (huo3che1)。 Plane 飞机(fei1ji1)。 Car 汽车(qi4che1)。 Bus公交车(gong1jiao1che)。 Do you like traveling by plane? 你喜欢乘飞机旅行吗？(ni3 xi3huan cheng2 fei1ji1 lǚ3xing2 ma?). Is this your first time in Shanghai? 这是你第一次来上海吗？(zhe4 shi4 ni3 di1yi1ci4 lai2 Shang4hai3 ma?)