Intermediate Spoken Chinese

Carl Johnson, an employee at Sino-American Travel Agency in Beijing, tries to call his Chinese business associate He Zhiwen on the telephone but can’t get through to him.

Basic Conversation 17-2

1. JOHNSON	Wéi? Qĭng nín zhuăn sān qī yāo.
	Hello? Please transfer me to 371.
2. OPERATOR	Duìbuqĭ, sān qī yāo fēnjī zhànxiàn. Nín shi dĕng yìhuĭr háishi guò yìhuĭr zài dă?
	I’m sorry, extension 371 is busy. Will you wait a while or call back later?
3. JOHNSON	Wŏ dĕng yideng.
	I’ll wait.
4. OPERATOR	(after a while) Wéi? Nín kéyi gēn sān qī yāo fēnjī jiănghuàle.
	Hello? You can speak with extension 371 now.
5. PERSON ANSWERING TELEPHONE	Wéi? Nín zhăo shéi?
	Hello? Who do you want?
6. JOHNSON	Qĭng nín gĕi wŏ zhăo yixiar Hé Zhìwén.
	Could you please find He Zhiwen for me?
7. PERSON ANSWERING TELEPHONE	Hé Zhìwén, shi ma? Hăo, qĭng dĕng yixia, wŏ qù gĕi nín zhăo. Bié guà, à!
	He Zhiwen? All right, please wait a minute, I’ll go find him for you. Don’t hang up, O.K.?
	(after a while) Wéi? Hé Zhìwén zhèng zài kāihuì ne. Nín yào gĕi tā liú ge huàr ma?
	Hello? He Zhiwen is in a meeting right now. Do you want to leave him a message?
8. JOHNSON	Tā kāiwán huì, qĭng nín ràng tā gĕi wŏ dă ge diànhuà. Wŏ xìng Zhēnsēn, Zhōng-Mĕi Lǚxíngshède. Nín yì tí, tā jiù zhīdaole.
	When he’s finished with his meeting, please have him give me a call. My name is Johnson, from Sino-American Travel Agency. As soon as you
	mention it, he’ll know.
9. PERSON ANSWERING TELEPHONE	Hăode, wŏ jìxialaile. Dĕng tā kāiwán huì, wŏ jiù gàosu ta.
	O.K., I’ve written it down. As soon as he’s finished with his meeting, I’ll tell him.
10. JOHNSON	Máfan nín.
	Much obliged.

Build Up

1. Johnson
zhuăn	transfer [V]
Wéi? Qĭng nín zhuăn sān qī yāo.	Hello? Please transfer me to 371.
2. Operator
fēnjī	extension [N]
zhànxiàn	be busy (of a telephone) [VO]
sān qī yāo fēnjī zhànxiàn	extension 371 is busy
guò yìhuĭr	when a little while has passed
guò yìhuĭr zài dă	call again in a little while
Duìbuqĭ, sān qī yāo fēnjī zhànxiàn.	I’m sorry, extension 371 is busy.
Nín shi dĕng yìhuĭr háishi guò yìhuĭr zài dă?	Will you wait a while or call back later?
3. Johnson
dĕng yideng	wait
Wŏ dĕng yideng.	I’ll wait.
4. Operator
Wéi? Nín kéyi gēn sān qī yāo fēnjī jiănghuàle.	Hello? You can speak with extension 371 now.
5. Person answering telephone
Wéi? Nín zhăo shéi?	Hello? Who do you want?
6. Johnson
Hé Zhìwén	He Zhiwen (Chinese name)
Qĭng nín gĕi wŏ zhăo yixiar Hé Zhìwén.	Could you please find He Zhiwen for me?
7. Person answering telephone
guà	hang, hang up [V]
bié guà	don’t hang up
Hé Zhìwén, shi ma? Hăo, qĭng dĕng yixia, wŏ qù gĕi nín zhăo. Bié guà, à!	He Zhiwen? All right, please wait a minute, I’ll go find him for you. Don’t hang up, O.K.?

kāihuì	hold or attend a meeting [VO]
zhèng zài...	just be in the midst of... [PT]
zhèng zài kāihuì ne	just be attending a meeting
liúhuà(r)	leave a message [VO]
gĕi tā liú ge huàr	leave a message for him
Wéi? Hé Zhìwén zhèng zài kāihuì ne.	Hello? He Zhiwen is in a meeting right now.
Nín yào gĕi tā liú ge huàr ma?	Do you want to leave him a message?
8. Johnson
kāiwán	finish holding (a meeting) [RC]
tā kāiwán huì	when he’s finished his meeting
qĭng nín ràng tā gĕi wŏ	please you have him give me
dă ge diànhuà	a telephone call
Zhēnsēn	(Chinese for “Johnson”)
lǚxíng	travel [V]
lǚxíngshè	travel agency [PW]
yī…jiù...	as soon as [PT]
nín yì tí tā jiù zhīdaole	as soon as you mention it he’ll know
Tā kāiwán huì, qĭng nín ràng tā gĕi wŏ dă ge diànhuà. Wŏ xìng Zhēnsēn, Zhōng-Mĕi Lǚxíngshède. Nín yì tí, tā jiù zhīdaole.	When he’s finished with his meeting, please have him give me a call. My name is Johnson, from Sino-American Travel Agency. As soon as you mention it, he’ll know.
9. Person answering telephone
jì	record [V]
xiàlai	come down [RC]
-xiàlai	down [RE]
jìxialai	write down, note down [RC]
dĕng...	as soon as..., once... [PT]
dĕng tā kāiwán huì	once he’s done with his meeting
Hăode, wŏ jìxialaile. Dĕng tā kāiwán huì, wŏ jiù gàosu ta.	O.K., I’ve written it down. As soon as he’s finished with his meeting, I’ll tell him.
10. Johnson
Máfan nín.	Much obliged.

2A. In addition to meaning “extension,” as here, fēnjī can also mean the extension telephone itself.

2B. Zhànxiàn “be busy (of a telephone)” literally means “occupy the wire” or “occupy the line.” Instead of zhànxiàn, some people say jiănghuà zhōng “in the midst of talking” or dăbutōng “can’t get through.”

2C. Nín shi dĕng yìhuĭr háishi guò yìhuĭr zài dă? “Are you going to wait a while or call back later?” The shi here means “be a case of” or “be a situation where.” The literal meaning of the question would be “You’re a case of waiting for a while, or a case of when a while has passed again calling?”

3. REDUPLICATED MONOSYLLABIC VERBS WITH -YI-. Consider in this line the reduplicated verb dĕng yideng “wait a bit.” Many one-syllable verbs like dĕng can be reduplicated with an optional -yi- “one” in the middle to give a relaxed, casual sense to the verb. The second iteration of the verb is usually neutral tone. Examples:

The reduplicated forms can generally be converted to VERB + yixia, so that dĕng yideng and dĕng yixia are interchangeable, both meaning “wait a bit” or “wait a second.”

6. Qĭng nín gĕi wŏ zhăo yixiar Hé Zhìwén “Please find He Zhiwen for me.” The coverb gĕi here means “for.” Look also at line 7: Wŏ qù gĕi nín zhăo “I’ll go find him for you.”

7A. ZHÈNG ZÀI + VERB + NE TO EXPRESS PROGRESSIVE ASPECT. Examine the sentence Hé Zhìwén zhèng zài kāihuì ne “He Zhiwen is in a meeting right now.” In 10-3: 2A we discussed the use of zài as an auxiliary verb to indicate progressive aspect. This zài is commonly, as in this sentence, accompanied by a preceding adverb zhèng “just” and a sentence final particle ne, which serve to strengthen the sense that an action is in progress. Here are some more examples of the pattern zhèng zài + VERB + ne to express that an action is in progress:

7B. The verb-object compound kāihuì “hold a meeting” or “attend a meeting” usually implies a formal meeting involving three or more people. If only two people are involved, you’d use a different term like tánhuà “talk” or jiànmiàn “see.” To express English “I’d like to meet with you at 10:00” said to one person, you would in Chinese not use kāihuì but instead could say Wŏ shídiăn xiăng gēn nĭ tántan “I’d like to speak with you at 10:00.”

7C. CHINESE MEETINGS. Practically every organization in China—whether company, government office, or university—has a special huìkèshì “reception room” (lit. “receive guest room”) that is furnished with over-stuffed sofas with doilies, which is where guests are received and where meetings are held. It’s in general best to arrive exactly on time, neither too early nor too late. Members of visiting groups enter the huìkèshì in order of rank. High-level participants are received at the entrance or even at their car and are escorted back at the end of the meeting. In a meeting that consists of both Chinese and foreigners, the highest-ranking member of the foreign group usually sits to the right of the highest-ranking Chinese. If there is a conference table, the highest-ranking members may sit across from each other. Meetings often begin with small talk (“How was your trip? You must be tired. Is this your first time in China? Are you married? How many children do you have? How do you like Chinese food?” etc.). The reason for all this small talk is that it’s considered impolite and impersonal to begin talking business immediately. Engaging in small talk is important, as it helps the participants get to know each other better and builds up trust. The lower-ranking participants in the meeting often say very little. It’s mostly the chief Chinese and chief American who will talk, unless one of them calls on one of the others.

8A. Consider Tā kāiwán huì, qĭng nín ràng tā gĕi wŏ dă ge diànhuà “When he finishes holding the meeting, please have him give me a call.” As you learned in 11-2: 8B, the resultative ending -wán means “finish (the action of the verb).” When used with a verb-object compound like kāihuì, -wán is inserted in the middle of a construction, before the object. Some more examples of -wán:

8B. This sentence derives from a deeper structure Wŏ xìng Zhēnsēn, wŏ shi Zhōng-Mĕi Lǚxíngshède rén, literally “I’m surnamed Johnson, I’m a person from Sino-American Travel Agency.” It’s common to identify one’s affiliation with a company or institution using -de in this manner. Some more examples:

8C. YĪ...JIÙ.... The paired adverb pattern yī...jiù... most commonly expresses an instanteous response to a certain situation and is often translated as “as soon as...” or “the moment...” or “the minute...” or “no sooner….” However, this pattern may also express a general habitual situation, in which case it’s translated as “whenever.” The subject of the yī clause may be the same as or different from the subject of the jiù clause; if the subject is the same, it’s often omitted in the jiù clause. The pattern is:

“Why is it that some people master something the minute they start learning it?”

(1) As we’ve seen before in other environments, the syllable yī usually changes to yì before a syllable with a first, second, or third tone, and to yí before a syllable with a fourth tone.

(2) Both yī and jiù are adverbs and therefore must be followed by verbs, never by nouns or pronouns; in other words, the yī and jiù always follow the subjects of their clauses. To say “As soon as you left, he came,” you’d have to say Nĭ yì zŏu, tā jiù láile; you could NEVER say *Yì nĭ zŏu, jiù tā láile.

(3) There is never a -le or -guo at the end of the first clause with yī, as this is a dependent clause which doesn’t take aspect particles.

9A. Look at the sentence Dĕng tā kāiwán huì, wŏ jiù gàosu ta “As soon as he’s finished with his meeting, I’ll tell him.” The verb dĕng, which literally means “wait,” can be placed immediately in front of a sentence consisting of several actions with the meaning “wait until (action one), then (action two).” In better English, it can often be translated as “as soon as” or “once” or simply “when.” It’s often followed by a jiù “then” or zài “then” in the second clause. Here’s another example:

9B. Notice the neutral tone ta in wŏ jiù gàosu ta “I’ll tell him.” In rapid, colloquial Chinese, pronoun objects often lose their tones.

AV2. Qĭng liúyán literally means “please leave speech.” Yán is the Classical Chinese word for “word,” “speech,” or “language.”

AV3. Xìnxiāng is the noun meaning “mailbox,” and xìn is the noun meaning “letter.”

1. lǚxíng	trip [N]
2. chuánzhēn	facsimile, fax [N]
3. shànglái	come up [RC]
-shànglái	up [RE]
náshànglái	take up (to speaker) [RC]
Qĭng nĭ náshànglái.	Please bring it up.
4. shàngqu	go up [RC]
-shàngqu	up [RE]
náshàngqu	take up (away from speaker) [RC]
Qĭng nĭ náshàngqu.	Please take it up (away from me).
5. xiàqu	go down [RC]
-xiàqu	down [RE]
náxiaqu	take down (away from speaker) [RC]
Tā yĭjīng náxiaqule.	She’s already taken it down.

1. dálùjī	telephone answering machine [N]
2. qĭng liúyán	“please leave a message” [PH]
3. yŭyīn xìnxiāng	mailbox for voice mail [PH]
4. shŏujī	cellular phone [N]

BASIC FORM	REDUPLICATED FORM WITH -YI-	REDUPLICATED FORM WITHOUT -YI-	ENGLISH MEANING
kàn	kàn yikan	kànkan	take a look
zŏu z	ŏu yizou	zóuzou	take a walk
tán	tán yitan	tántan	talk a bit

Xiăo Lĭ zhèng zài chīfàn ne.	“Little Li is just eating right now.”
Nĭ zhèng zài zuò shémme ne?	“What are you doing right now?”
Wŏ zhèng zài liànxí xiĕ Hànzì ne.	“I’m just now practicing writing Chinese characters.”

Nĭ chīwánle ma?	“Are you finished eating?”
Duìbuqĭ, dōu màiwánle.	“Sorry, they’re all sold out.” (e.g., tickets)
Tā yĭjīng bă shū kànwánle.	“She has already finished reading the book.”

Tā shi Bĕijīng Dàxuéde.	“She’s from Peking University.”
Wŏ shi Mĕiguo Dàshĭguănde.	“I’m with the U.S. Embassy.”
Wŏ shi Xī’nán Hángkōng Gōngsīde.	“I’m from Southwest Airlines.”

SUBJECT	YĪ	VERB₁	SUBJECT	JIÙ	VERB₂
Tā	yì	lái,	wŏ	jiù	zŏule.
“The minute he came, I left.”

Wŏ yí kàn jiù zhīdaole.	“I knew the minute I looked.”
Tā yì máng jiù zháojí.	“As soon as he’s busy, he gets excited.”
Wŏ yì chī yú jiù bù shūfu.	“Whenever I eat fish, I don’t feel good.”
Tā mĕitiān yí xiàkè jiù huíjiā.	“She goes home each day as soon as classes are over.”
Wŏ yì gēn tā shuōhuà, tā jiù shēngqìle.	“The moment I spoke with him, he got angry.”