Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Rosy Huang, a Chinese-American woman living with her family in Taipei for a year, wants to purchase a pair of black high-heeled shoes.

Basic Conversation 13-3

1. HUANG	Wŏ xūyào yìshuāng hēisède gāogēnxié.
	I need a pair of black high-heeled shoes.
2. SHOE SALESMAN	Nĭ chuān jĭhàode?
	What size do you wear?
3. HUANG	Wŏ zài Mĕiguo chuān qíhàode. Bù zhīdào nĭmende hàomă gēn Mĕiguode hàomă yíyàng bu yíyàng?
	In America I wear size seven. I wonder if your sizes are the same as or different from American sizes?
4. SHOE SALESMAN	Hàomă bù yíyàng la, búguò wŏ kéyi bāng nĭ shìshi kàn.
	The sizes are different, but I can help you try some on and see.
	(takes out a pair of shoes for her to try on)
	Zhèishuāng dàxiăo zĕmmeyàng?
	How is the size of this pair?
5. HUANG	Hăoxiàng tài xiăole. Yŏu méiyou dà yíhàode?
	They seem too small. Do you have any that are one size larger?
6. SHOE SALESMAN	Zhèishuāng dà yíhào, nĭ shìshi kàn.
	This pair is one size bigger, try it on.
7. HUANG	Zhèishuāng gāng hăo. Zhèishuāng mài duōshăo qián?
	This pair is just right. How much does this pair sell for?
8. SHOE SALESMAN	Yìqiān bā.
	1,800 NT.
9. HUANG	M, piàoliang shi piàoliang, dànshi yìqiān bā tài guìle. Shăo suàn yidian, hăo bu hăo?
	Hm, they do look nice, but 1,800 NT is too expensive. Could you reduce the price a little?
10. SHOE SALESMAN	Gāng shàngshìde, méiyou bànfa.
	They just came on the market, nothing I can do.
11. HUANG	Nà wŏ zài kànkan.
	Then I’ll look around some more.
12. SHOE SALESMAN	Hăode. Yŏu xūyào huānyíng zài lái.
	O.K. If you need anything, you’re welcome to come again.

Build Up

1. Huang
shuāng	pair [M]
yìshuāng	a pair
gāogēn(r)xié	high-heeled shoes [N]
yìshuāng hēisède gāogēnxié	a pair of black high-heeled shoes
Wŏ xūyào yìshuāng hēisède gāogēnxié.	I need a pair of black high-heeled shoes.
2. Shoe salesman
chuān	put on, wear (shoes, clothes) [V]
Nĭ chuān jĭhàode?	What size do you wear?
3. Huang
bù zhīdào	(I) wonder [A+V]
hàomă(r)	number [N]
yíyàng	one kind; the same [NU+M]
A gēn B yíyàng	A is the same as B [PT]
yíyàng bu yíyàng	the same or different
nĭmende hàomă gēn Mĕiguode hàomă	are your numbers the same as or
yíyàng bu yíyàng	different from American numbers
Wŏ zài Mĕiguo chuān qíhàode. Bù zhīdào nĭmende hàomă gēn Mĕiguode hàomă yíyàng bu yíyàng?bu yíyàng?	In America I wear size seven. I wonder if your sizes are the same as or different from American sizes?
4. Shoe salesman
hàomă bù yíyàng	the numbers are different
bāng	help [V]
shìshi kàn	try and see
bāng nĭ shìshi kàn	help you to try some on and see
Hàomă bù yíyàng la, búguò wŏ kéyi bāng nĭ shìshi kàn.	The sizes are different, but I can help you try some on and see.
dàxiăo	size [N]
Zhèishuāng dàxiăo zĕmmeyàng?	How is the size of this pair?
5. Huang
dà yíhào	bigger by one size
dà yíhàode	ones that are a size bigger
Hăoxiàng tài xiăole. Yŏu méiyou dà yíhàode?	They seem too small. Do you have any that are one size larger?
6. Shoe salesman
Zhèishuāng dà yíhào, nĭ shìshi kàn.	This pair is one size bigger, try it on.
7. Huang
gāng hăo	just right
Zhèishuāng gāng hăo. Zhèishuāng mài duōshăo qián?	This pair is just right. How much does this pair sell for?
8. Shoe salesman
Yìqiān bā.	1,800 NT.
9. Huang
piàoliang shi piàoliang	as for being pretty they’re pretty all right
suàn	figure, calculate [V]
shăo suàn yidian	figure by a little less, make cheaper
M, piàoliang shi piàoliang, dànshi yìqiān bā tài guìle. Shăo suàn yidian, hăo bu hăo?	Hm, they do look nice, but 1,800 NT is too expensive. Could you reduce the price a little?
10. Shoe salesman
shàngshì	come on the market [VO]
gāng shàngshìde	they just came on the market
Gāng shàngshìde, méiyou bànfa.	They just came on the market, nothing I can do.
11. Huang
Nà wŏ zài kànkan.	Then I’ll look around some more.
12. Shoe salesman
xūyào	need [N]
yŏu xūyào	if there is a need
huānyíng zài lái	(we) welcome you to come again
Hăode. Yŏu xūyào huānyíng zài lái.	O.K. If you need anything, you’re welcome to come again.

1A. Note the measure shuāng “pair” as in yìshuāng hēisède gāogēnxié “a pair of black high-heeled shoes.” The English word “pair” sometimes means “one of something” (as in “a pair of pants”) and sometimes means “two of something” (as in “a pair of shoes”). Chinese shuāng is always used for two separate and identical items. Thus, shuāng is used for pairs of socks, shoes, sandals, and chopsticks; but shuāng CANNOT be used for pairs of pants, trousers, shorts, or glasses.

1B. If you’re just looking around in a store and a clerk asks what you want, you can say Wŏ zhĭ shi kànkan éryĭ “I’m just looking” or Wŏ zhĭ shi suíbiàn kànkan “I’m just looking randomly.”

2. The verb chuān “put on, wear” literally means “pierce” or “pass through.” Chuān is used for “wearing” things that have an opening in them, e.g., shirts, pants, shoes, and socks, since a part of the body must “pass through” an opening when you wear them. Chuān isn’t used for “wearing” watches, belts, ties, hats, or jewelry, for which you use a different verb (cf. 13-4: SV7 for a fuller discussion of Chinese equivalents of English “wear”).

3A. The speaker in the Build Up says qíhàode “number seven ones,” with a rising Tone Two on qī because of the following falling Tone Four. The tone change on qī is optional here, and other speakers would say qīhàode. Either pronunciation is fine for you to use.

3B. The literal meaning of bù zhīdào is, of course, “(I) don’t know.” Bù zhīdào “I wonder if...” or “I wonder whether...” when used at the beginning of a sentence alerts the listener to the fact that a question is coming and renders the question more gentle and less abrupt. Another example:

Be aware that yàoshi or rúguŏ couldn’t be used to express this kind of “if” that really means “whether.” You could NEVER say *Bù zhīdào yàoshi nĭ xīngqīliù wănshang yŏu méiyou kòng? Simply put, if in the English you could substitute “whether” for the “if,” then you can’t use yàoshi or rúguŏ, but instead should use an affirmative-negative verb construction like yŏu méiyou.

3C. The noun hàomă(r) “number” may co-occur with diànhuà “telephone” to form diànhuà hàomă(r) “telephone number.”

3D. A GĒN B YÍYÀNG TO EXPRESS SIMILARITY. The pattern A gēn B yíyàng “A is the same as B” (lit. “A is the same kind as B”) is a common and useful pattern for expressing similarity and, in the negative, dissimilarity. The basic pattern is:

Yíyàng means “one kind,” so the sentence Zhèige gēn nèige yíyàng literally means “This one and that one are of one kind.” Some more examples:

To indicate in what particular respect the two things compared are similar, stative verbs or other verbal expressions can be added after the yíyàng, which then functions adverbially. For example:

“The dorm is as far from the library as the dorm is far from the dining hall.”

The pattern A gēn B yíyàng is most often used as a predicate, but it can also be used as an attributive. For example:

To express dissimilarity, in other words, that two things aren’t the same or similar, put a bù before the yíyàng and say A gēn B bù yíyàng. The pattern is:

But in refuting a statement expressing similarity, the bù is usually prefixed to the entire expression:

“Clocks aren’t the same as watches.” (someone just said they were, and you disagree)

“Trolleys aren’t as fast as trains.” (someone just said they were, and you disagree)

To make questions with the A gēn B yíyàng pattern, either add ma or use an affirmative-negative verb construction. Examples:

a. Some speakers will abbreviate yíyàng bu yíyàng to yí bù yíyàng, so the last example above could be said as Zhèige gēn nèige yí bù yíyàng?

b. Instead of A gēn B yíyàng, there is an alternate pattern A hé B yíyàng (in Taiwan this is pronounced as A hàn B yíyàng), with the same meaning.

c. The gēn or hé/hán of this pattern is sometimes omitted, for example: Zhōngguo, Mĕiguo dōu yíyàng yŏu yìsi
“China and America are equally interesting.”

d. Another way to approach similarity and dissimilarity is with the verb yŏu, for example: Tāde Zhōngwén yŏu nĭde zhèmme hăo ma? “Is her Chinese as good as yours?”

e. Yet another way to approach similarity is with xiàng (13-2: 6A): Tāde Zhōngwén xiàng nĭde zhèmme hăo ma? “Is her Chinese as good as yours?”

4A. Look at the sentence Wŏ kéyi bāng nĭ shìshi kàn “I can help you try and see.” The verb bāng “help” is a so-called “pivot verb.” In this sentence, the nĭ serves simultaneously as the the object of bāng (bāng nĭ “help you”) and as the subject of the following clause (nĭ shìshi kàn “you try and see”).

4B. Look at the noun dàxiăo “size” in Zhèishuāng dàxiăo zĕmmeyàng? “How is the size of this pair?” Obviously, dàxiăo consists of the stative verb dà “to be big” combined with its antonym xiăo “to be small.” Dàxiăo could be translated literally as “the bigness and smallness of something.” A number of abstract nouns are created by this process of combining antonym pairs. Additional examples include:

5. STATIVE VERBS FOLLOWED BY QUANTITY EXPRESSIONS. A stative verb may be followed by a quantity expression that limits or otherwise clarifies its meaning. The pattern is:

7. Note the two related but different senses of gāng in lines 7 and 10. Zhèishuāng gāng hăo means “This pair is just right” but Gāng shàngshìde means “They just came on the market.” The first gāng means “just, exactly” while the second means “just, a moment ago, very recently.”

9A. CONCESSIVE CLAUSES WITH X SHI X. Concessive clauses involve clauses where speakers concede certain aspects of an argument before making their main point. Concessive clauses are commonly used in Chinese when analyzing the weak and strong points of people, things, situations, etc. The X in the concessive clause can be a stative verb, some other kind of verb, or even a phrase. The second clause, where the main point is made, is usually introduced by dànshi “but,” kĕshi “but,” búguò “however,” or jiù shi “it’s just that.” The basic pattern is:

In English, the concessive clause can sometimes be translated with “all right” or “to be sure,” or sometimes just by contrastive stress. Some more examples of concessive clauses with X shi X...:

“That student sure is slow when he speaks, but his pronunciation is very standard.”

The second iteration of the verb in the concessive clause can take an aspectual suffix, for example:

There can optionally be an adverb before the second X, but never only before the first X. In other words, you could say either Nàrde dōngxi guì shi guì... or Nàrde dōngxi guì shi hĕn guì... “The things there are very expensive, all right...,” but you could NEVER say *Nàrde dōngxi hĕn guì shi guì....

9B. Shăo suàn yidian, hăo bu hăo? “Could you reduce the price a little?” This is obviously a very useful question. Other ways to say this include Néng bu néng shăo suàn yidian? and Néng bu néng piányi yidian?

11. In the given context, the sentence Nà wŏ zài kànkan could mean either “Then I’ll look around some more” or “Then I’ll think it over some more.” Remember that besides meaning “look,” kàn can also mean “consider, think” (cf. 11-4). Regardless of the interpretation, the function of this sentence is to serve as a polite way of informing the salesperson that the customer isn’t going to buy the shoes at the present time.

12. The phrase Yŏu xūyào “There is a need” here contains an implied “if,” so that it really means “If there is a need” or, in better English, “If you need anything.” A fuller version of this phrase would be Rúguŏ nĭ yŏu shémme xūyàode huà “If you have any need.”

AV1–7. FOOTWEAR. The names of these different types of footwear are arranged in alphabetical order of the English translation.

AV9. The literal meaning of Huò bĭ sānjiā bù chīkuī “It pays to shop around” is “(When buying) goods, (if you) compare three establishments, (you) won’t suffer a loss.” This is another example of a súyŭ or “popular saying” (cf. 13-2: AV1).

1. wánquán	completely [A]
Zhèizhŏng zhĭ gēn nèizhŏng zhĭ wánquán bù yíyàng.	This kind of paper is completely different from that kind of paper.
2. wàzi	sock [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
Zhèishuāng wàzi shi gānjìngde háishi zāngde?	Is this pair of socks clean or dirty?

1. xuēzi	boots [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
2. yŭxié	galoshes [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
3. liángxié	sandals [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
4. biànxié	slippers [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
5. tuōxié	slippers [N] (M: shuāng “pair”)
6. qiúxié	sneakers, athletic shoes (M: shuāng “pair”)
7. yùndòngxié	sneakers, athletic shoes (M: shuāng “pair”)
8. xiédiàn	shoe store [N] (M: jiā)
9. Huò bĭ sānjiā bù chīkuī.	“It pays to shop around.” [EX]

Wŏ gēn nĭ yíyàng.	“I’m the same as you.”
Nĭmen Mĕiguo rén dōu yíyàng!	“You Americans are all the same!”
Zuò gōngchē gēn zuò diànchē yíyàng.	“Taking the bus would be the same as taking the trolley.”
Zài zhèr chīfàn gēn zài nàr chīfàn dōu yíyàng.	“Eating here would be the same as eating there.”

Wŏ gēn nĭ yíyàng gāo.	“I’m as tall as you.”
Wŏ gēn nĭ yíyàng xĭhuan chī Zhōngguo cài.	“I like eating Chinese food as much as you do.”

Zhèige gēn nèige yíyàng ma?	“Is this one the same as that one?”
Zhèizhŏng gēn nèizhŏng yíyàng bu yíyàng?	“Is this kind the same as that kind?”

A	GĒN	B	YÍYÀNG
Zhèige	gēn	nèige	yíyàng.
“This one is the same as that one.”

chángduăn	“long short — length”
duōshăo	“much little — amount; how much”
gāo’ăi	“tall short — height”
kuàimàn	“fast slow — speed”
kuānzhăi	“wide narrow — width”
qīngzhòng	“light heavy — weight”
yuănjìn	“far near — distance”

STATIVE VERB	QUANTITY EXPRESSION
dà	yíhào
“be bigger by one number,” “be one size bigger”

Zhèige guì wŭkuài.	“This one is five dollars more expensive.”
Nèibān huŏchē màn liăngge zhōngtóu.	“That train is two hours slower.”

X	SHI	X,	DÀNSHI / KĔSHI / BÚGUÒ / JIÙ SHI + COMMENT
Piàoliang	shi	piàoliang,	dànshi yìqiān bā tài guìle.
“As for being pretty, they (i.e., the shoes) are pretty, but 1,800 is too expensive.”