第十七课 理发 Lesson Seventeen: Visiting the Hair Salon

Nillah: Getting the perfect haircut is difficult enough. Sometimes it’s even hard for you to describe what exactly you want in another language. Well, the last thing you want happening to your 头发 is the way too short mushroom-like bob.

 

(Foreign ladies talk about their haircut experiences.)

 

Interviewee A: They came and gave me many pictures, and said “do you wanna this hair style”. But only in Chinese, so I said it’s ok. Well, I thought how I could communicate with them. So I had to communicate with them with signals. I wanna this, this, this. But, at last they understood you. I think that you will get out of the salon happily and are satisfied because they are so professional.

 

Interviewee B: A young girl came and started to make me a massage. I said again like that I don’t want to pay for it. “No, no, no,” they said and continued massage. And I was just like a queen. And one guy said to me in Chinese, “I’m making like that, OK?” and again I showed him my photo. He cut and cut, just like, how to say, master of his job, he was like dancing. It lasted almost two hours. Looking at myself and you see, at last I had this haircut and I really look like a Chinese woman.

 

C: I had a Chinese friend who wrote it down for me, and basicly it was to say “please cut it short” and I also have a sentence which says “cut it shorter”. Because sometimes men are very hesitant to cut women’s hair short and I think in China it’s not much of tradition for women to have short hair. So they can be a little bit hesitant, but I want him to cut really short, so that it would last me four months. Because for me, going to the hairdresser here is rather than I going to the dentist. It’s a somewhat painful thing.

(Nillah and her two friends standing in front of a hair salon)

 

Nillah: If you’re ready to do your haircut in China, it’s impotant that you pocket some key Chinese phrases before going under that knife. That, and the moral support of some of your girlfriends, well of me, today I got Emma and I got Hong who are going to accompany me to the hair salon wher I do my hair and they do their hair as well! Well, girls?

Girls: Right!

Nillah: All right! Let’s get that done before shot down.

 

(Shots on a couple of small hair salon names)

 

Nillah: Hair salons, known as 理发店 or 美发店 can be found between small clothing shops and eateries, in malls, and even in grocery stores.

 

(In front of a fancy, high-end salon)

 

Nillah: At high-end salons, the prices there are comparable to those in the United States. But at most salons here, like the one we’re going into it to do our hair, you should be able to get a decent haircut for much less. So let’s go inside together now, girls!

(Three girls step into hair salon.)

Receptionist: 你好。

Nillah: 你好，请问理发多少钱？

Receptionist: 有三十八或五十八的。

Nillah: 好。

 

Nillah: She’s giving us two prices here, 38 yuan and 58 yuan. You might be asking yourself what are the differences. Well, in many hair salons, a haircutter’s ability to do your hair when you walk into this salon depends on the years of experience in this industry.

 

Emma: 30 yuan or about 6 U.S. dollars? I’ll take my chances.

Nillah: I’m telling with you, I am thinking about my hair dyed today.

Emma: And? Which color?

Nillah: I think I’m gonna go with this one.

(Nillah points to sample)

Emma: So tell the hair stylist 我要染这个颜色。

Nillah: 我要染这个颜色。What about you, Hong?

Hong: Hum…I just wanna have my hair washed.

GRAPHIC FLASH: 我要染这个颜色。颜色 color, 这个 this, 这个颜色 this color, 染 to dye, 要want to, 我 I, 我要染这个颜色。I want to dye my hair this color.

(Nillah is having her hair dyed.)

Hairstylist: 你好。

Nillah: 你好。

Hairstylist: 请问您要理发吗？

Nillah: 对，我要理发。

 

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(Caption: 主持人珍珠（Nillah）在理发。Nillah gets her hair dyed.)

Nillah: If you want to get a haircut, just tell your hairstylist 我要理发. It’s not uncommon to get a head massage while getting your hair washed. Because normally they’ll take up their time to work up the lather and it’s relaxing. And of course this is the perfect time for you to learn the Chinese haircut vocabulary essentials. 

 

(All three girls’ heads are in wash basin.)

 

Emma: Hong, could you please teach me some words for hair salon?

Hong: Oh sure, hum…wash 洗.

Emma: 洗.

Hong: Cut 剪.

Emma: 剪.

Hong: Dry 吹.

Emma: 吹.

Hong: That’s good.

 

Emma: Well Nillah is having her hair dyed, I will have my hair cut. After your hair washed, the chopping begins, but today I’m feeling a bit more adventurous, rather that just having a centimeter off here or there, I’m going to ask my hairstylist to add some texture and layers. To do this, I will say 请帮我做出一点层次, this instructs my hairstylist to adds some angles and layers.

 

GRAPHIC FLASH: 请帮我做出一点儿层次。 层次angles and texture, 一点儿 a little bit, 做出make, 我 I, 帮 help, 请 please, 请帮我做出一点层次。 Please add layers and texture to my hair.

 

Nillah: If you want your hair trimed on the left side, you can say 把我的左边剪短一点。 Andthings aren’t going exactly the way you planned, you can say 好了。停下来，别剪了, which means “ok, stop, don’t cut anymore”.

 

GRAPHIC FLASH: 把我的左边剪短一点儿。 一点儿 a little bit, 短 short, 剪 to cut, 左边 the left side, 我的 mine, 把 a preposition indicating the object is the receiver of the action, 把我的左边剪短一点儿。Please cut my left side a bit shorter.

 

好了。停下来， 别剪了。 好了ok, 停下来 stop, 别 do not, 剪 to cut, 别剪了don't cut anymore,  好了。停下来，别剪了。OK. Don't cut anymore.

 

Emma: 别剪了！ 

(Hong walks to Emma.)

 

Hong: Well if you just want a touch-up, you can say 稍微剪短一点儿就可以了, which means just trim a little.

Emma: 稍微剪短一点儿就可以了。

Hairstylist: 好。

GRAPHIC FLASH: 稍微剪短一点儿就可以了。了a particle at the end of sentence,  可以 ok,就just, 一点儿a little bit, 短short, 剪to cut, 稍微in some sort, 稍微剪短一点儿就可以了。Just trim a little.

 

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(Caption: 主持人珍珠（Nillah）和她的朋友们理发后合影留念。Nillah and her friends take a picture after the haircut.)

Nillah: Wow, you girls look fabulous. And night out is definitely in order. But first, let’s take a picture. For Living Chinese, I’m Nillah Kyakoa.