Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Mr. Yang tries to get Wells to consume some more liquor, but Wells declines. After more eating and drinking, the dinner concludes with Wells thanking the hosts and other guests. Everyone then moves to the living room for fruit and tea (continued from the previous conversation).

Basic Conversation 16-4

1. MR. YANG	(after returning from escorting Mr. and Mrs. Zhang to the elevator) Lăo Wèi, lái, zài hē jiŭ! Wŏ jìng nĭ!
	Larry, come on, have some more liquor! To you!
2. WELLS	Wŏ yĭjīng hēde tài duōle. Shízài shi bù néng zài hēle. Wŏ yĭ guŏzhī dài jiŭ hăo ba.
	I’ve already had too much to drink. I really can’t drink any more. I’ll substitute juice for liquor.
	(after a while, to Mrs. Yang)
	Dàsăo zuòde cài zhēn shi “sè xiāng wèir jùquán.” Guănzi yĕ bĭbushàng!
	Older sister, the food you cook really is perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Not even a restaurant could compare!
3. MRS. YANG	Náli, náli, yìdiănr jiācháng cài éryĭ. Búguò ne, cài suírán bù zĕmmeyàng, nĭ hái shi yào chībăo ó!
	Thank you. It’s just a little home-style cooking. But though the food is nothing special, you do have to get enough to eat, you know!
4. WELLS	Wŏ dōu yĭjīng chīchēngle. Shízài shi tài hăochīle. Zhèmme fēngshèngde yídùn fàn, Dàsăo jīntiān xīnkŭle. Wŏ jìng Dàgē, Dàsăo!
	I’ve already eaten so much, I’m going to burst. It was really delicious. Such a sumptuous meal; Older Sister worked very hard today. Let me toast the two of you!
	(he toasts Mr. and Mrs. Yang, then looks at the other guests)
	Yòu máfan gèwèi dà lăo yuănde lái. Wŏ jìng gèwèi! Jiù suàn shi ménqiánqīng ba.
	And I made you all go to the trouble of coming here from far away. Here’s to all of you! Let’s just consider this a last “bottoms up.”
5. MR. YANG	Gèwèi qĭng dào kètīng zuò. Hē diăn chá, chī diăn shuĭguŏ!
	Everyone please go to the living room and have a seat. Drink some tea and eat some fruit!

Build Up

1. Mr. Yang
Lăo Wèi, lái, zài hē jiŭ! Wŏ jìng nĭ!	Larry, come on, have some more liquor! To you!
2. Wells
hēde tài duōle	have drunk too much
yĭ	take [CV]
guŏzhī	juice [N]
dài	take the place of [V]
yĭ A dài B	take A to substitute for B [PT]
yĭ guŏzhī dài jiŭ	substitute juice for liquor
Wŏ yĭjīng hēde tài duōle. Shízài shi bù néng zài hēle. Wŏ yĭ guŏzhī dài jiŭ hăo ba.	I’ve already had too much to drink. I really can’t drink any more. I’ll substitute juice for liquor.

“sè xiāng wèir jùquán”	“color, aroma, taste all complete” [EX]
guănzi	restaurant [PW]
bĭbushàng	not be able to compare [RC]
guănzi yĕ bĭbushàng	even a restaurant can’t compare
Dàsăo zuòde cài zhēn shi “sè xiāng wèir jùquán.” Guănzi yĕ bĭbushàng!	Older sister, the food you cook really is perfect in color, aroma, and taste. Not even a restaurant could compare!
3. Mrs. Yang
jiācháng cài	home-style cooking [PH]
yìdiănr jiācháng cài éryĭ	only a little home-style cooking
suírán... (T)	although... [PT]
cài suírán bù zĕmmeyàng	though the food is not special
băo	be full, satiated [SV]
-băo	full, satiated [RE]
chībăo	eat one’s fill [RC]
nĭ hái shi yào chībăo ó	you still have to eat your fill
Náli, náli, yìdiănr jiācháng cài éryĭ. Búguò ne, cài suírán bù zĕmmeyàng, nĭ hái shi yào chībăo ó!	Thank you. It’s just a little home-style cooking. But though the food is nothing special, you do have to get enough to eat, you know!
4. Wells
-chēng	fill to the point of bursting [RE]
chīchēng	eat until one bursts [RC]
wŏ dōu yĭjīng chīchēngle	I’m already so full I’ll burst
fēngshèng	be sumptuous [SV]
zhèmme fēngshèngde yídùn fàn	so sumptuous a meal
xīnkŭ	endure hardship [SV]
dàsăo jīntiān xīnkŭle	Older Sister toiled hard today
Wŏ dōu yĭjīng chīchēngle. Shízài shi tài hăochīle. Zhèmme fēngshèngde yídùn fàn, Dàsăo jīntiān xīnkŭle.	I’ve already eaten so much, I’m going to burst. It was really delicious. Such a sumptuous meal; Older Sister worked very hard today.
Wŏ jìng Dàgē, Dàsăo!	Let me toast the two of you!

lăo	very [A]
lăo yuăn	very far
dà lăo yuănde lái	come from very far away
suàn	consider as [V]
ménqiánqīng	finish drinking up alcoholic
	beverages before leaving [EX]
jiù suàn shi ménqiánqīng	consider it as drinking up all the remaining alcohol before leaving
Yòu máfan gèwèi dà lăo yuănde lái. Wŏ jìng gèwèi! Jiù suàn shi ménqiánqīng ba.	And I made you all go to the trouble of coming here from far away. Here’s to all of you! Let’s just consider this a last “bottoms up.”
5. Mr. Yang
kètīng	living room [PW] (M: jiān)
qĭng dào kètīng zuò	please go to the living room and sit
chá	tea [N]
hē diăn chá	drink some tea
Gèwèi qĭng dào kètīng zuò. Hē diăn chá, chī diăn shuĭguŏ!	Everyone please go to the living room and have a seat. Drink some tea and eat some fruit!

2A. YĬ A DÀI B. Consider in this line the sentence wŏ yĭ guŏzhī dài jiŭ “I’ll take juice to substitute for wine” or “I’ll substitute juice for wine.” The pattern yĭ A dài B “take A to substitute for B” is a useful pattern for you to learn. It would be considered bad manners if someone raised his or her glass to toast you and you refused entirely, since this would cause the other party to lose face. Therefore, if you really can’t drink alcohol and don’t wish to suíyì, then you can use this pattern and propose substituting some non-alcoholic beverage such as guŏzhī “juice,” qìshuĭ “soda,” or chá “tea” for the alcohol. To sum up, the basic pattern is:

“Let’s drink tea in place of wine.” (lit. “Let’s take tea and substitute it for wine.” This is quite commonly said.)

“I’m substituting soda for liquor.” (lit. “I take soda and substitute it for liquor.”)

2C. Guănzi “restaurant” is a synonym of fànguăn(r), which you learned in 14-1. Other words for “restaurant” or “dining hall” that you have learned so far include cāntīng (16-4) and shítáng (1-1).

2D. TOPIC + YĔ + NEGATIVE VERB. Toward the end of this utterance, notice Guănzi yĕ bĭbushàng “Not even a restaurant could compare.” A topic followed by yĕ (or dōu) plus a negative verb often carries the connotation “not even.” A fuller version of this would add a lián: lián guănzi yĕ bĭbushàng, with the same meaning. The basic pattern is:

3B. SUĪRÁN...KĔSHI, SUĪRÁN...DÀNSHI, AND SUĪRÁN...HÁI SHI. These three patterns all mean “although…” or “though....” The moveable adverb suīrán occurs in the first or dependent clause, with kĕshi “but,” dànshi “but,” or hái shi “still” in the second or independent clause. The basic pattern is:

(1) In English we use “although” and “though” alone, without a following “but.” However, in Chinese suīrán must be used together with a following kĕshi, dànshi, or hái shi.

(2) In English we can have the “although” or “though” phrase as either the first or the second clause of a sentence, but in Chinese, the phrase with suīrán usually comes first.

(3) Since suīrán is a moveable adverb, it can occur before or after the subject. In other words, you could say either of the following two sentences:

Suīrán wŏ hĕn xĭhuan nèibĕn shū, dànshi tài guìle, wŏ juédìng bù măile.

“Although I like that book very much, it’s too expensive, I decided not to buy it.”

Wŏ suīrán hĕn xĭhuan nèibĕn shū, dànshi tài guìle, wŏ juédìng bù măile.

“Although I like that book very much, it’s too expensive, I decided not to buy it.”

(4) An alternate pronunciation of suīrán “although” that you’ll hear in Taiwan and occasionally elsewhere is suírán. This is how the word is pronounced in the recording of this Basic Conversation.

Now, some more examples of suīrán...kĕshi, suīrán...dànshi, and suīrán...hái shi:

3C. Remember that ó is a sentence final particle that can indicate a friendly warning (11-1: 2C).

4A. Dà lăo yuănde lái “come from very far away” (lit. “come in a very far away manner,” cf. 15-1: 1C). Lăo here means “very,” lăo yuăn means “very far,” and dà intensifies the meaning of the whole: “come from very far away.” Here is a related sentence with lăo yuăn:

4B. Jiù suàn shi ménqiánqīng ba literally means “(This) can be considered as ‘clear before the door,’” i.e., “Let’s consider this as drinking up the remainder of our alcoholic beverages before we get up to leave.” This is said when drinking up all the remaining alcohol in one’s glass at the end of a dinner.

5. IMPORTANCE OF TEA IN CHINESE CULTURE. Chá “tea” is a special beverage in China. It implies conversation and relaxation. Inviting someone to drink tea is a gesture of friendship, as tea serves to facilitate communication, somewhat like cocktails in the United States. Never ask for milk, cream, sugar, or lemon with your tea unless you’re in a Western-style hotel; most Chinese find it curious and regrettable to “spoil” tea in this way. If a Chinese guest comes to your home, the first thing you should do is pour them some tea. Don’t even ask if they want any, or they will feel obligated to decline. Drinking tea is important for good health; besides providing warmth during cold weather, it provides fluids, which are important in the dry Northern Chinese climate, and in the case of green tea, there may even be additional health benefits. When drinking tea, there is a custom (originally from Guangdong but which has spread to Beijing and Taipei and elsewhere) of rapping your knuckles on the table to show your respect and appreciation to the person filling your tea cup; when you stop rapping, the person knows to stop pouring.

SV1. Shuĭ “water.” For reasons of hygiene, it’s important that you not drink tap water when in China. You should drink only boiled water (kāishuĭ, AV3), bottled mineral water (kuàngquánshuĭ, AV9), or purified water (chúnjìngshuĭ, AV13). In Western hotels you can ask for ice water (bīngshuĭ, AV7), but this isn’t something that Chinese people would drink or that smaller restaurants would have available.

SV2. Qìshuĭ(r) “soda” refers to any carbonated soft drink, i.e., soda pop, but not club soda.

AV1–15. BEVERAGES. The names of these beverages have been listed in alphabetical order of the English translations.

AV4. Kĕkŏu Kĕlè “Coca-Cola” not only sounds like English “Coca-Cola” but also has an appropriate meaning; in Classical Chinese, it means “can mouth it, can be happy.” Kĕ is similar to modern Chinese kéyi; kŏu “mouth” is the same kŏu as the measure for people and is also the kŏu in rénkŏu “population;” lè is the lè of kuàilè “be happy.”

AV6. An alternate word for zhāpí “draft beer” that you’ll hear in Taiwan and occasionally elsewhere is shēng píjiŭ, which literally means “raw beer.”

AV12. Băishì Kĕlè “Pepsi-Cola” literally means “(in) one hundred things can be happy (when drinking Pepsi-Cola).”

AV14. Qīxĭ “Seven-Up” literally means “the seven happinesses.” Xĭ is the xĭ of xĭhuan “like.”

1. shuĭ	water [N]
2. qìshuĭ(r)	soda [N]
3. kĕlè	cola [N]
4. cāntīng	dining room (in a house); dining hall, restaurant [PW] (M: jiān)
5. dàikè	teach in place of someone else [VO]
dàikè lăoshī	substitute teacher
Tā suīrán zhĭ shi dàikè lăoshī, kĕshi jiāode bú cuò.	Although she’s only a substitute teacher, she teaches rather well.

1. xìngrénlù	almond milk [N]
2. píngguŏzhī	apple juice [N]
3. kāishuĭ	boiled water [N]
4. Kĕkŏu Kĕlè	Coca-Cola^® [N]
5. yēzhī	coconut milk [N]
6. zhāpí (B)	draft beer [N]
7. bīngshuĭ	ice water [N]
8. niúnăi	milk [N]
9. kuàngquánshuĭ	mineral water [N]
10. júzizhī	orange juice [N]
11. chéngzhī	orange juice [N]
12. Băishì Kĕlè	Pepsi-Cola^® [N]
13. chúnjìngshuĭ	purified water, distilled water [N]
14. Qīxĭ	Seven-Up^® [N]
15. Xuĕbì	Sprite^® [N]
16. Zăofàn chīde băo, wŭfàn chīde hăo, wănfàn chīde shăo.	“Breakfast eat your fill, lunch eat well, supper eat little.” [EX]

Wŏ shínián yĕ xuébuhuì.	“Even in ten years I couldn’t learn it.”
Nĭ yìqiānkuài yĕ măibudào.	“You couldn’t buy it even for a thousand dollars.”
Nĭ sònggĕi wŏ wŏ yĕ bú yào.	“Even if you gave it to me as a present, I wouldn’t want it.”

SUĪRÁN...,	KĔSHI / DÀNSHI / HÁI SHI....
Cài suīrán bù zĕmmeyàng,	nĭ hái shi yào chībăo!
“Though the food is nothing special, you’ve got to get enough to eat!”

TOPIC	YĔ / DŌU	NEGATIVE VERB
Guănzi	yĕ	bĭbushàng.
“Not even a restaurant could compare.”