Intermediate Spoken Chinese

After Sanchez has made his request for a favor, Cai responds (continued from the previous conversation).

Basic Conversation 18-4

1. MR. CAI	Sòng Xiānsheng, zhèijiàn shì, wŏ jìnliàng bāng nín dătīng dătīng. Zuì wăn lĭbàiwŭ gĕi nín dáfù, hăo ma?
	Mr. Sanchez, I’ll do my best to help you find out about this matter. At the latest I’ll give you an answer by Friday, all right?
2. SANCHEZ	Zhēn shi tài máfan nín le. Búguò wànyī bù róngyi dătīngdào, yĕ búyào miănqiăng.
	I’m really putting you to too much trouble. But if it’s not easy to find out, don’t try too hard.
3. MR. CAI	Wŏ zhīdao. Wŏ jìnlì jiù shì.
	I know. I’ll just do my best.
4. SANCHEZ	Cài Xiānsheng, wŏ kàn shíhou yĕ bù zăole, wŏ jiù bù duō dărăole. Gàocíle.
	Mr. Cai, I think it’s getting late, so I won’t disturb you any more. I’ll be on my way.
5. MR. CAI	Máng shémme? Zài zuò yixia ma.
	Why the rush? Sit a bit longer.
6. SANCHEZ	Bù le, e, găi tiān zài lái bàifăng.
	No, uh, I’ll come again to visit some other day.
7. MR. CAI	Ò, duìle, wŏ tūrán xiángqi yíjiàn shì lai. Wŏ zhèige lĭbàiwŭ yào qù Xīnzhú kàn péngyou, bú zài Táibĕi. Nín lĭbàiliù dă diànhuà gĕi wŏ yĕ kéyi.
	Oh, that’s right, I just thought of something.This Friday I’m going to go to Xinzhu to see a friend, and I won’t be in Taipei. So you could also call me on Saturday.
8. SANCHEZ	Hăode.
	All right.
9. MR. CAI	Wŏ sòng nín xiàlóu.
	Let me see you downstairs.
10. SANCHEZ	Bú yòngle, qĭng liúbù.
	That’s not necessary, please stay inside.
11. MR. CAI	Nà hăo.
	Well, all right.
	(they shake hands)
	Màn zŏu a.
	Take care.
12. SANCHEZ	Zàijiàn!
	Goodbye!
13. MRS. CAI	Zàijiàn!
	Goodbye!

Build Up

1. Mr. Cai
jìnliàng	to the best of one’s ability [A]
dătīng	inquire [V]
wŏ jìnliàng bāng nín dătīng	I do my best to help you inquire
zuì wăn lĭbàiwŭ	at the latest on Friday
dáfù	answer, reply [N]
gĕi nín dáfù	give you an answer
Sòng Xiānsheng, zhèijiàn shì, wŏ jìnliàng bāng nín dătīng dătīng. Zuì wăn lĭbàiwŭ gĕi nín dáfù, hăo ma?	Mr. Sanchez, I’ll do my best to help you find out about this matter. At the latest I’ll give you an answer by Friday, all right?
2. Sanchez
wànyī	if by chance, in case [MA]
dătīngdào	inquire and find out [RC]
wànyī bù róngyi dătīngdào	if it’s not easy to find out about
miănqiăng	do with great effort, force [V]
yĕ búyào miănqiăng	don’t try too hard
Zhēn shi tài máfan nín le. Búguò wànyī bù róngyi dătīngdào, yĕ búyào miănqiăng.	I’m really putting you to too much trouble. But if it’s not easy to find out, don’t try too hard.
3. Mr. Cai
jìnlì	do one’s best [VO]
...jiù shì	just, simply [PT]
Wŏ zhīdao. Wŏ jìnlì jiù shì.	I know. I’ll just do my best.
4. Sanchez
dărăo	disturb [V]
wŏ jiù bù duō dărăole	then I won’t disturb anymore
gàocí	take leave [V]
Cài Xiānsheng, wŏ kàn shíhou yĕ bù zăole, wŏ jiù bù duō dărăole. Gàocíle.	Mr. Cai, I think it’s getting late, so I won’t disturb you any more. I’ll be on my way.
5. Mr. Cai
Máng shémme? Zài zuò yixia ma.	Why the rush? Sit a bit longer.
6. Sanchez
bàifăng	pay a formal call on someone [V]
Bù le, e, găi tiān zài lái bàifăng.	No, uh, I’ll come again to visit some other day.
7. Mr. Cai
tūrán (B)	suddenly [MA]
xiángqilai	think of [RC]
xiángqi yíjiàn shì lai	think of a matter
zhèige lĭbàiwŭ	this Friday
Xīnzhú	Xinzhu [PW]
qù Xīnzhú kàn péngyou	go to Xinzhu to see a friend
dă diànhuà gĕi wŏ	call me on the telephone
Ò, duìle, wŏ tūrán xiángqi yíjiàn shì lai.	Oh, that’s right, I just thought of something.
Wŏ zhèige lĭbàiwŭ yào qù Xīnzhú kàn péngyou, bú zài Táibĕi. Nín lĭbàiliù dă diànhuà gĕi wŏ yĕ kéyi.	This Friday I’m going to go to Xinzhu to see a friend, and I won’t be in Taipei. So you could also call me on Saturday.
8. Sanchez
Hăode.	All right.
9. Mr. Cai
xiàlóu	go downstairs [VO]
Wŏ sòng nín xiàlóu.	Let me see you downstairs.
10. Sanchez
liúbù	“don’t bother to see me out” [IE]
Bú yòngle, qĭng liúbù.	That’s not necessary, please stay inside.
11. Mr. Cai
Nà hăo.	Well, all right.

Màn zŏu a.	Take care.
12. Sanchez
Zàijiàn!	Goodbye!
13. Mrs. Cai
Zàijiàn!	Goodbye!

1A. Notice the preposed topic zhèijiàn shì “(regarding) this matter.” As we’ve so often seen before, Chinese speakers frequently mention the topic of the sentence first, after which they proceed with a comment about the topic.

1B. The verb dătīng “inquire” can also be used as part of an introductory phrase that leads up to a request for information. It smooths the way and makes clear what the speaker intends to do. In this way, it’s particularly useful for non-Chinese speakers, since native Chinese when first approached by a foreigner are often so nonplussed that they may miss the first few words of the foreigner’s speech. Examples:

Duìbuqĭ, wŏ dătīng yixia, nĭmen zhèige bŭxíbān xū bu xūyào Yīngwén lăoshī?

“Excuse me, I’d like to inquire, does this cram school need any English teachers?”

1C. In the sentence Zuì wăn lĭbàiwŭ gĕi nín dáfù “At the latest I’ll give you an answer by Friday” there is no pronoun wŏ. The wŏ is understood, since there is a wŏ in the first sentence of this utterance. Overuse of pronouns, especially of wŏ, is typical of the Chinese spoken by native English speakers. If you use too many wŏ in your speech, it makes you sound “un-Chinese” and could possibly even cause you to come across as arrogant.

1D. If zuì wăn means “at the latest,” how do you think you’d say “at the earliest”?*

1E. REFUSALS. In this Basic Conversation, Mr. Cai is being relatively forthcoming and actually invites the other person to call him on Saturday to find out the result of his inquiry, which is a sign that he’s probably sincere about offering to help. But what if he had wanted to refuse the request? In that case, he could have said something like this:

Shízài bàoqiàn, dànshi zhèijiàn shìqing kŏngpà wŏ zhēnde méiyou bànfă bāng nín.

“I’m truly sorry, but this matter, I’m afraid I really have no way to help you.”

However, this would be considered a very strong response and could seriously strain the relationship between the two individuals involved. If Mr. Cai had wanted to appear at least somewhat helpful, he could have added:

Búguò wŏ yŏu ge péngyou yĕxŭ kéyi bāng nín. Wŏ míngtiān gĕi tā dă ge diànhuà wènwen kàn.

“But I have a friend who might be able to help you. I’ll call him tomorrow and see.”

This could be merely a face-saving excuse, with the other person never hearing about this matter again, or the speaker’s connections with his friend might turn out to be the key element in solving the problem at hand. You can never know for sure. (Of course, if it turns out that someone did introduce someone else who was able to solve your problem, then you’ll owe two people—the person who solved your problem and the introducer!)

You should know that in polite Chinese society, to refuse a request outright is, in most circumstances, considered somewhat rude and even unacceptable, since it makes the other person lose face. Therefore, what Chinese people say to each other in formal situations can’t always be taken at face value. Rather than flatly turn down someone’s request, they might give no response at all; or they might say Hăo, wŏ bāng nĭ wènwen, guò jĭtiān zài gĕi nĭ dă diànhuà “O.K., I’ll ask around for you and call you in a couple of days,” even if they can’t or don’t wish to do something; or they might say Wŏ jìnlì “I’ll try my best” or Dàgài kéyi ba “I suppose we could do that” or Yīnggāi méiyou wèntí “There should be no problem,” and then you might never hear from them again. In Chinese society, this isn’t necessarily considered lying; it could be far worse to come out with a brusque Méiyou bànfă “There’s nothing I can do.” In general, Chinese are a practical people who believe that telling the truth for its own sake is often not so important as maintaining harmony and preserving face (that of the requester as well as of the person requested). Other fairly polite refusals include Hăo, wŏ huì kăolǜ “O.K., we’ll consider it,” Zhèige dĕi yánjiū yánjiū “We’ll have to study this,” Zhèige kĕnéng bú tài fāngbiàn “This might not be very convenient” and Zhèige kĕnéng yŏu yidian kùnnan “There might be some difficulty with this.”

2A. Wànyī means “if by chance” or “in case” (lit. “in the one chance in ten thousand that...”). In the video and the conversation for listening, the speaker nasalizes the vowel of the first syllable so that the -n almost disappears. Some speakers do this if a syllable ending in -n is followed immediately by a syllable beginning with y-. Another example of this phenomenon is yuànyi “would like,” which you learned in 15-4.

2B. Notice that in bù róngyi dătīngdào, the negative stative verb bù róngyi “not be easy” takes the object dătīngdào, with the resultant meaning “not be easy to find out about.”

4A. The reason for the yĕ in shíhou yĕ bù zăole is that “the time no longer being early” is only one of several other, unstated reasons why the speaker should be leaving, including the fact that the speaker has already bothered Mr. Cai too long, etc.

4B. The two phrases Bù duō dărăole “I won’t disturb (you) anymore” and Gàocíle “(I’ll) be leaving now” are frequently used when taking leave of someone.

5A. The máng here is the transitive máng “be busy with” which can take an object (18-1). Máng shémme? means “What’s the hurry?” or “Why the rush?” (lit. “What are you busying yourself with?”) For example, in chatting with someone about how they pass their day, you could ask Nĭ mĕitiān máng shémme?

5B. Zài zuò yixia ma “Sit a bit longer.” As we’ve seen before, it’s very common to invite a guest who has announced her or his decision to depart to sit a while longer.

5C. The ma at the end of Zài zuò yixia ma implies that it’s obvious that the guest ought to sit a while longer: “Sit for a bit longer—this is obviously something that you ought to do!” Be sure you’re clear that this ma is not the question ma but rather the ma that indicates an obvious situation (7-2: 4C).

7A. As we saw previously in 17-1, the introductory phrase Ò, duìle “Oh, yes, that’s right” is often used to introduce a change of topic, as when you’ve just thought of something important that you wish to mention without delay.

7B. An alternate pronunciation of tūrán “suddenly” that you’ll hear in Taiwan and occasionally elsewhere is túrán. This is how the word is pronounced in the conversation for listening.

7C. SPLIT RESULTATIVE COMPOUNDS. Consider in this line the phrase Wŏ tūrán xiángqi yíjiàn shì lai “I suddenly thought of a matter” or “I just remembered something.” In the case of resultative compounds ending in the directional endings -lai or -qu, the object of the verb is either placed in front of the verb as the topic or, as here, is inserted into the verb construction, directly before the -lai or -qu. In this case, the construction is called a Split Resultative Compound. For example, to express “I just thought of her name,” you could say either Tāde míngzi wŏ xiángqilaile or Wŏ xiángqi tāde míngzi laile. The basic pattern is:

7D. Zhèige lĭbàiwŭ “this Friday.” Chinese people are more precise in their use of “this” and “next” than we are in English. In English, “next Friday” is used by some speakers to mean “the next Friday,” but by others to mean “Friday of the next week.” Chinese zhèige lĭbàiwŭ can mean only “Friday of this week,” while xiàge lĭbàiwŭ can mean only “Friday of next week.”

7E. Xīnzhú (lit. “new bamboo”) is a medium-sized city about 75 kilometers southeast of Taipei. It’s known for its excellent mĭfĕn “rice noodles,” for being windy, and for having a majority Hakka population.

7F. Review the two different kàn in lines 4 and 7. In line 4, kàn means “think” or “consider.” In line 7, kàn means “visit.”

7H. The last sentence in this utterance literally means “On Saturday you call me, also is permitted.” This is a Topic-Comment sentence, where the topic is Nín lĭbàiliù dă diànhuà gĕi wŏ and the comment is yĕ kéyi. Of course, the word yĕ “too” isn’t really logical here, since the speaker has just said that he won’t even be in town on Friday! However, using yĕ downplays the speaker’s earlier mistake in initially offering to provide an answer by Friday.

10. Qĭng liúbù “There’s no need to see me out” literally means “Please retain your step.” This is commonly said by guests to hosts when the hosts prepare to escort the guests out of their home.

11. Chinese men sometimes shake hands to say goodbye, while other times they just nod and smile. Chinese women shake hands less frequently than men do. In Western-educated circles or when dealing with foreigners, handshaking is more common than when only Chinese are present.

RESULTATIVE VERB	OBJECT OF VERB	DIRECTIONAL ENDING
xiángqi	yíjiàn shì	lai
“think of something”

Tā náqi bĭ laile.	“He picked up his pen.”
Tā păohuí jiā qule.	“He ran back home.”
Tā zŏujìn wūzili qule.	“She walked into the room.”
Tā shuō tā nábuchū qián lai.	“She says she can’t get the money out.” or “She says she can’t come up with the money.”
Nĭmen náchū bĕnzi lái ba!	“You all take out your notebooks!” or “Take it out of your notebooks!”
Wŏ yĭjīng náhuí shūdiàn qule.	“I’ve already taken it back to the bookstore.”
Zhèibĕn cídiăn cháqi zì lai hĕn fāngbian.	“This dictionary is convenient for looking up characters.”
Tā xiăngchū yíge hăo bànfă láile.	“She thought of a good way.”
Qĭng nĭ bă yĭzi bāndào jiàoshìli lai.	“Please move the chair into the classroom.”

Footnote