YJ: Yes.Well Cam, a dinner isn’t complete unless you have something to wash all that food down with.
Cam: Right. I need something to drink!
Key Words of the Day
Beer 啤酒(pi2jiu3)。Water 水(shui3)。Tea。茶(cha2)。 Orange Juice橙汁(cheng2zhi1)。 Coffee，咖啡(ka1fei1)。 Cola。可乐(ke3le4)。All in today’s Chinese Studio.
Cam: Alright Yajie. We learned about some spicy Sichuan food last week, and I know a nice cold beer would go well with that. So how do I ask for a bottle of beer?
YJ: You may say “我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi4 ping2 pi2jiu3)”.
Cam: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi4 ping2 pi2jiu3).
YJ: Right,我(wo3) means I. 要(yao4) means want. y-a-o, the fourth tone.
Cam: 我(wo3) 要(yao4)
YJ: 一(yi4), means one. 瓶(ping2), p-i-n-g, the second tone, means bottle.
Cam: 一瓶 (yi4 ping2) one bottle.
YJ: 啤酒 (pi2jiu3), beer.
Cam: 啤酒 (pi2jiu3).
YJ: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi4 ping2 pi2jiu3), I’d like to have a bottle of beer.
Cam: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi4 ping2 pi2jiu3).
Conversation1:
Cam: Now I’m thirsty and want to have a cup of water. So how do you say that?
YJ: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi4 bei1 shui3).
Cam: cup in Chinese is 杯(bei1), right?
YJ: Yes. 杯(bei1), b-e-i, the first tone.
Cam: 杯(bei1).
YJ: And 水(shui3) is water. S-h-u-i, the third tone.
Cam: 水(shui3).
YJ: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi4 bei1 shui3).
Cam: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi4 bei1 shui3), I want to have a cup of water.
YJ: I know many foreigners are fond of Chinese tea. How about you, Cam?
Cam: Chinese teas is pretty good at times.Tea in Chinese is 茶 (cha2), right?
YJ: Yes. It is. 茶 (cha2), c-h-a, the second tone.
Cam: 茶 (cha2).
YJ: You know, there are various types of Chinese tea, such as 龙井茶(long2jing3cha2), Dragon Well tea; 菊花茶(ju3hua1cha2), chrysanthemum tea; 红茶(hong2cha2), black tea; and 绿茶(lv4cha2), green tea.
Cam: I think my favorite is龙井茶(long2jing3cha2), Dragon Well tea.
YJ: Now how do you say “I want a cup of tea.” in Chinese?
Cam: I think it’s 我要一杯茶。(wo3 yao4 yi4 bei1 cha2).
YJ: Good.
Conversation2:
Cam: I’d like to order some other drinks for ladies at the table, how about some orange juice?
YJ: Cam, you are always considerate. Orange juice in Chinese is橙汁(cheng2zhi1).
Cam: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1).
YJ: Yes. 橙(cheng2) is orange. C-h-e-n-g, the second tone.
Cam: 橙(cheng2).
YJ: 汁(zhi1), z-h-i, the first tone, means juice.
Cam: 汁(zhi1).
YJ: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1).
Cam: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1) , orange juice. So what’s Chinese for coffee?
YJ: It’s 咖啡(ka1fei1)。
Cam: 咖啡(ka1fei1). All in the first tone?
YJ: Right. Now I’ll tell you another word, 可乐(ke3le4)。
Cam: 可乐(ke3le4)。That sounds like cola.
YJ: yes. It is cola. 可乐(ke3le4)。
Cam: 可乐(ke3le4)。
Conversation3:
Key Words Reminder
Beer 啤酒(pi2jiu3)。Water 水(shui3)。Tea。茶(cha2)。Orange Juice橙汁(cheng2zhi1)。Coffee，咖啡(ka1fei1)。 Cola, 可乐(ke3le4)。
