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Key Words of the Day

to rain 下雨,to snow 下雪,hotpot火锅, Can you turn up the heat, please? 请把暖气开大一点,好吗?All in today’s Chinese Studio.

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Cam: The winter is famous for bringing rain in my hometown of Vancouver... how do I say rain in Chinese?

Yajie: it’s 雨 yu3.

Cam: yu3. Then how do I say the rain like in “it rains a lot”?

YJ:I see. you can say 下雨 ( xià yǔ).

Cam: xià yǔ.

YJ: 下 xia4 means to fall,

Cam: xia4

YJ: 雨 yu3 means the rain.

Cam: yu3.

YJ: 下雨 ( xià yǔ).

Cam: 下雨 ( xià yǔ).to rain. It rains a lot in my hometown.

YJ: But in Beijing, we see snow a little more often.  Snow is 雪 xue3.

Cam: xue3.

YJ: When it snows, it’s very beautiful.

Cam: yes, so can I say “下雪 xia4 xue4” which means the snow falling.

YJ: surely you can. “xia4 xue4”下雪

Cam: xia4 xue4. to snow.

Conversation 1:

1.A:看样子好像快要下雨了

B:别忘了带伞,天气预报也说今天会下雨。

2. A:你喜欢下雨还是下雪?

B:我喜欢下雪,因为可以不用带伞。

Cam: Then Yajie I’d like to know what I should eat to keep warm in the winter.

YJ: the first choice would be 火锅.

Cam: What is that?

YJ: it’s hotpot. In Chinese is 火锅 huo3 guo1.

Cam: huo3 guo1.

YJ: 火 huo3 means fire,

Cam: huo3

YJ: 锅 guo1 means pot.

Cam: guo1.

YJ: There are many varieties of hotpot. For the traditional one in Beijing, the pot is made of brass with a wide outer rim around a chimney in which the charcoal burns to heat the soup.

Cam: Sounds interesting. How exactly should I eat it?

YJ: When the soup is boiling, you dip slices of raw meat in the soup where it quickly boils, and then put them into a kind of sauce like sesame sauce, soy sauce, chili oil, and vinegar.

Cam: what kind of meat can it be?

YJ: The meat can be beef, mutton, chicken, fish, prawn, lots of things but not pork if you are in an Islamic restaurant.

Cam: I see. How about vegetables?

YJ: You can put mushrooms or bean curd, which can be cooked quickly. Of course you can try whatever you like.

Cam: Sounds fantastic! Shall we go for it after work?

YJ: Why not!

Conversation 2:

A: 冬天应该吃点什么呢?

B: 一定要吃火锅。

A: 我喜欢吃火锅。

Cam: Yajie,I often get into taxi cabs or offices, and they are so cold!  How do I tell them to turn up the heat??

YJ: you can say qing1 ba3 nuan3 qi4 kai1 da4 yi4 dian3, hao3 ma1? 请把暖气开大一点,好吗?

Cam: qing1 ba3 nuan3 qi4 kai1 da4 yi4 dian3, hao3 ma1?

YJ: 请 qing3 means please,

Cam: qing3 please,

YJ: 暖气 nuan3 qi4 means the heat,

Cam: nuan3 qi4,

YJ: 开大 kai1 da4 means to turn up,

Cam: kai1 da4.

YJ: 一点 yi4 dian3, a little bit,

Cam: yi4 dian3,

YJ: 好吗 hao3 ma, is it ok? It shows your politeness.

Cam: hao3 ma

YJ: 请把暖气开大一点,好吗?

Cam: qing1 ba3 nuan3 qi4 kai1 da4 yi4 dian3, hao3 ma1? Can you turn up the heat, please?

Conversation 3:

1 A: 这太冷了,请把暖气开大一点,好吗?

B: 好的,没问题。

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Key Words Reminder

to rain下雨,to snow下雪,hotpot火锅,Can you turn up the heat, please? 请把暖气开大一点,好吗?All in today’s Chinese Studio.

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