Introduction 1
About This Book 1
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 4
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 5
Part 1: Getting Started with Chinese 7
Chapter 1: Chinese in a Nutshell: The Spoken Word 9
Grasping Chinese Dialects 10
P?ny?n Spelling: Beijing, Not Peking 11
Sounding Off: Basic Chinese Sounds 12
Starting off with initials 13
Ending with finals 14
Perfect pitch: Presenting . . . the four tones! 15
Adding Idioms and Popular Expressions to Your Repertoire 17
Chapter 2: The Written Word: Checking Out Chinese Characters 21
Perusing Pictographs, Ideographs, and the Six Scripts 22
The Chinese Radical: A Few Clues to a Character’s Meaning 24
Following the Rules of Stroke Order 25
Rule 1 25
Rules 2 through 9 25
Up, Down, or Sideways? Deciphering the Direction of Characters 26
Traditional versus Simplified Characters: When to Use Which 28
Using a Chinese Dictionary . . . without an Alphabet! 29
Chapter 3: Warming Up with the Basics: Chinese Grammar 31
The Basics of Chinese Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives 32
Nouns 33
Definite versus indefinite articles 36
Adjectives 38
Getting into Verbs, Adverbs, Negation, and Possession 39
Verbs 39
Adverbs 44
Bù and meiy?u: Total negation 44
Getting possessive with the particle de 47
Asking Questions 47
The question particle ma 47
Yes/no choice questions using bù between repeating verbs 47
Interrogative pronouns 48
Chapter 4: Getting Started with Basic Expressions: N? H?o! 51
Making Introductions 52
Acquainting yourself 52
Introducing your friends and family 52
Asking people for their names 53
Greeting and Chatting 55
Addressing new friends and strangers 55
Conversing around the clock 56
Talking about the weather 59
Finding out where people are from 61
Taking (that is, rejecting) compliments 63
Saying goodbye 63
Chapter 5: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight 65
Counting in Chinese 66
Numbers from 1 to 10 66
Numbers from 11 to 99 67
Numbers from 100 to 9,999 68
Numbers from 10,000 to 100,000 and beyond 69
How ’bout those halves? 69
Ordinal numbers 70
Asking how many or how much 70
Telling Time 71
Asking and stating the time 71
Specifying the time of the day 71
Save the Date: Using the Calendar and Stating Dates 75
Dealing with days of the week 76
Naming the months 77
Specifying dates 77
Celebrating Chinese holidays 80
Sizing Up Weights and Measures 81
Chapter 6: Speaking Chinese at Home 85
Hanging Out at Home 85
Hunting for an Apartment 86
Decorating Your New Digs 89
Appointing Your Rooms, F?ngshu? Style 89
The bedroom 91
The bathroom 92
The kitchen 92
The living room 93
The basement 94
The attic 95
Part 2: Chinese in Action 97
Chapter 7: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 99
Establishing a Connection 99
Posing simple introductory questions 102
Chatting about family 103
Making small talk on the job 105
Talking about where you live 108
Chapter 8: Dining Out and Shopping for Food 111
All about Meals 112
Satisfying your hunger 112
Sitting down to eat and practicing proper table manners 114
Getting to Know Chinese Cuisines 115
Dining Out 116
Understanding what’s on the menu 118
Placing an order and chatting with the waitstaff 125
Dipping into some dim sum 127
Finding the restrooms 128
Finishing your meal and paying the bill 129
All the Tea in China 130
Taking Your Chinese to Go 131
Making comparisons 131
How much is that thousand-year-old egg? 132
Chapter 9: Shopping Made Easy 137
Going to Stores 137
Getting What You Want at a Department Store 140
Just browsing 141
Asking for help 141
Shopping for Clothes 143
What’s your size? 143
Comparing quality: Good, better, best 145
Comparing two items 146
What are you wearing? Chu?n versus dai 149
Asking about the color and material 150
Shopping for Other Items 151
Hunting for antiques 152
Getting a Good Price and Paying 153
Negotiating prices at the night market 153
Paying for your purchase (or demanding a refund) 154
Chapter 10: Exploring the Town 157
Attending a Performance 157
Exploring different types of music 158
Buying a ticket 160
Asking whether someone has done something 160
Exploring Museums and Galleries 161
Visiting Historical Sites 163
Going to the Movies 165
Hopping Around Bars and Clubs 167
Chapter 11: Taking Care of Telecommunications 169
Getting Familiar with Telephone Terms 169
Going Mobile with a Cellphone 171
Making a Phone Call 172
Calling your friends 173
Ringing hotels and places of business 174
Phoning a client 175
Sorry, I Can’t Take Your Call Right Now 177
Listening to messages that people leave you 177
Recording and understanding greeting messages 177
Leaving messages 178
Checking Your Email 180
Going Online 182
The Great Wall Firewall, That Is 183
Chapter 12: Chinese at School and Work 187
Going to School 188
Schools and supplies 188
Teachers and subjects 189
Exams and semesters 190
Degrees and diplomas 191
Settling into Your Office Digs 192
Conducting a Meeting 195
Scheduling and planning a meeting 195
Making the initial greeting 196
Starting the meeting 198
Making a presentation 198
Ending the meeting 199
Discussing Business and Industry 201
Chapter 13: Recreation and Outdoor Activities 207
Naming Your Hobbies 208
Exploring Nature 210
Tapping into Your Artistic Side 213
Striking Up the Band 213
Playing on a Team 215
Part 3: Chinese on the Go 219
Chapter 14: Planning a Trip 221
Talking about When You Want to Travel 221
Celebrating the Chinese Holidays 222
Where To? Deciding on a Destination 223
Passports and Visas: Don’t Leave Home without ’Em 227
Packing for Your Trip 228
Enlisting the Help of a Travel Agency 229
Chapter 15: Making Cents of Money 233
Staying Current with Chinese Currency 234
Renminbì (RMB) in the PRC 234
X?n Taibì in the ROC 235
Hong Kong dollars 236
Singapore dollars 236
Exchanging Money 236
Spending Money 239
Using cash 240
Paying with plastic 241
Doing Your Banking 242
Making withdrawals and deposits 243
Accessing an ATM 244
Tips on Tipping 244
Chapter 16: Getting Around 249
Flying Around the Airport 249
Making it past the check-in counter 250
Boarding your flight 253
Going through customs 254
Navigating Around Town 257
Hailing a cab 257
Hopping on the bus 260
Riding the rails 262
Chapter 17: Asking for Directions 267
Avoiding 20 Questions: Just Ask “Where?” 267
Different strokes for different folks: Saying n?r versus saying n?l? 269
Getting direction about directions 270
Understanding the answers to “where” questions 271
Expressing Distances (Time and Space) with Li 274
Using Ordinal Numbers to Clarify Points of Reference 276
Specifying Cardinal Points 276
Chapter 18: Finding a Place to Stay 281
Making a Room Reservation 282
Checking In Before You Hit the Pool 285
Taking Advantage of Hotel Service 287
Counting on convenience 287
Getting problems fixed 288
Checking Out Before Heading Out 292
Chapter 19: Handling Emergencies 297
Calling for Help in Times of Need 297
Receiving Medical Care 298
Deciding whether to see a doctor 299
Describing what ails you 300
Discussing your medical history 305
Making a diagnosis 306
Treating yourself to better health 308
Calling the Police 308
Acquiring Legal Help 309
Part 4: The Part of Tens 311
Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Learn Chinese Quickly 313
Listen to Chinese Being Spoken 313
Check Out a Peking Opera Performance 314
Cook with a Wok 314
Shop for Food in Chinatown 314
Search Online 315
Watch Kung-Fu Flicks 315
Exchange Language Lessons 315
Make Chinese Friends 316
Study Chinese Calligraphy 316
Be Curious and Creative 316
Chapter 21: Ten Things Never to Do in China 317
Never Accept a Compliment Graciously 317
Never Make Someone Lose Face 318
Never Get Angry in Public 318
Never Address People by Their First Names First 318
Never Take Food with the Wrong End of Your Chopsticks 319
Never Drink Alcohol Without First Offering a Toast 319
Never Let Someone Else Pay the Bill Without Fighting for It 319
Never Show Up Empty-Handed 320
Never Accept Food, Drinks, or Gifts Without First Refusing a Few Times 320
Never Take the First “No, Thank You” Literally 320
Part 5: Appendixes 321
Appendix A: Chinese-English Mini-Dictionary 323
Appendix B: Chinese Verbs 355
Appendix C: Fun & Games Answer Key 359
Index 365
