B: Da jia hao, wo shi Mark. you know Y, after yesterday’s towering inferno, my body is still quivering in aftershock. Let’s check out some emergency situations for when the body starts playing up.
Y: I’ve got just the right keywords.
Key words of the day
Diarrhea 拉肚子wher’s a restroom? 洗手间在哪儿？ Do you have some toilet paper? 你有卫生纸吗？He’s having an asthma attack 他有哮喘。All in today’s Chinese Studio
B: Emergencies come in all shapes and sizes. After last night’s spicy Sichuan meal, my stomach has been in a state of revolt. And I know it’s not the sort of thing we like to talk about, but, I’ve got diarrhea. How do you say diarrhea in Chinese, Y?
Y: Argh, you can say: fu4 xie4,
B: fu4 xie4,
Y: fu4 means belly,
B: fu4,
Y: xie4 means have loose bowels,
B: xie4,
Y: fu4 xie4,
B: fu4 xie4, diarrhea,
Y: Of course you can say it in a colloquial way, like this: la1 dui4 zi
B: la1 dui4 zi
Y: la1 means suffer from diarrhea,
B: la1,
Y: dui4 zi is more informal way of saying belly,
B: dui4 zi,
Y: la1 dui4 zi
B: la1 dui4 zi, diarrhea,
Conversation 1
A: 不好，我要拉肚子。洗手间在哪儿？
B: 一直向前，然后左转。
B: So, if need arises, wher’s a restroom?
Y: Learn this expression and you’ll get there quicker, xi2 shou3 jian1 zai4 na3er? wher’s a restroom?
B: xi2 shou3 jian1 zai4 na3er?
Y: xi2 shou3 literally means to wash hands, so it’s a euphemism for toilet,
B: got it, xi2 shou3,
Y: jian1 means the room,
B: jian1,
Y: zai4 na3er means at wher?
B: zai4 na3er?
Y: xi2 shou3 jian1 zai4 na3er?
B: xi2 shou3 jian1 zai4 na3er? wher’s the restroom?
B: And just before disappearing into the xi2 shou3 jian1, I need some toilet paper, do you have some Y?
Y: I’m afraid I don’t have any either… how about asking someone in Chinese? Like this: ni2 you3 wei4 sheng1 zhi3 ma? Do you have some toilet paper?
B: ni2 you3 wei4 sheng1 zhi3 ma?
Y: ni2 you3, do you have something,
B: ni2 you3,
Y: wei4 sheng1 zhi3, toilet paper,
B: wei4 sheng1 zhi3,
Y: ma is used at the end of a question,
B: ma,
Y: ni2 you3 wei4 sheng1 zhi3 ma?
B: ni2 you3 wei4 sheng1 zhi3 ma? Do you have some toilet paper?
Conversation2
A: 请问，你有卫生纸吗？
B: 对不起，我也没有。
B: Thank god that little unpleasant bout is over. And more seriously, a friend of mine suffers from asthma, how do I explain He’s having an asthma attack?
Y: Asthma can be serious, we call it xiao4 chuan3,
B: xiao4 chuan3.
Y: And this is what you should say, ta1 you3 xiao4 chuan3, He’s having an asthma attack.
B: ta1 you3 xiao4 chuan3
Y: He in Chinese is ta1,
B: ta1,
Y: you3, here it means suffer from an illness,
B: you3,
Y: xiao4 chuan3 is asthma,
B: xiao4 chuan3
Y: ta1 you3 xiao4 chuan3
B: ta1 you3 xiao4 chuan3 He’s having an asthma attack.
Conversation 3
A: 他怎么了？好像很难受的样子。
B: 他有哮喘。
