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Key Words of the Day

Beer 啤酒(pi2jiu3)。Water 水(shui3)。Tea。茶(cha2)。 Orange Juice橙汁(cheng2zhi1)。 Coffee,咖啡(ka1fei1)。 Cola。可乐(ke3le4)。All in today’s Chinese Studio.

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Cam:  Alright Yajie.  We learned about some spicy Sichuan food last week, and I know a nice cold beer would go well with that.  So how do I ask for a bottle of beer?

YJ: You may say “我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi1 ping2 pi2jiu3)”.

Cam: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi1 ping2 pi2jiu3).

YJ: Right,我(wo3) means I. 要(yao4) means want. y-a-o, the fourth tone.

Cam: 我(wo3) 要(yao4)

YJ: 一(yi1), means one. 瓶(ping2), p-i-n-g, the second tone, means bottle.

Cam: 一瓶 (yi1 ping2) one bottle.

YJ: 啤酒 (pi2jiu3), beer.

Cam: 啤酒 (pi2jiu3).

YJ: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi1 ping2 pi2 jiu3), I’d like to have a bottle of beer.

Cam: 我要一瓶啤酒(wo3 yao4 yi1 ping2 pi2 jiu3).

Conversation1:

Cam: Now I’m thirsty and want to have a cup of water. So how do you say that?

YJ: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi1 bei1 shui3).

Cam: cup in Chinese is 杯(bei1), right?

YJ: Yes. 杯(bei1), b-e-i, the first tone.

Cam: 杯(bei1).

YJ: And 水(shui3) is water. S-h-u-i, the third tone.

Cam: 水(shui3).

YJ: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi1 bei1 shui3).

Cam: 我要一杯水。(wo3 yao4 yi1 bei1 shui3), I want to have a cup of water.

YJ: I know many foreigners are fond of Chinese tea. How about you, Cam?

Cam: Chinese teas is pretty good at times.Tea in Chinese is 茶 (cha2), right?

YJ: Yes. It is. 茶 (cha2), c-h-a, the second tone.

Cam: 茶 (cha2).

YJ: You know, there are various types of Chinese tea, such as 龙井茶(long2jing3cha2), Dragon Well tea; 菊花茶(ju3hua1cha2), chrysanthemum tea; 红茶(hong2cha2), black tea; and 绿茶(lv4cha2), green tea.

Cam: I think my favorite is龙井茶(long2jing3cha2), Dragon Well tea.

YJ: Now how do you say “I want a cup of tea.” in Chinese?

Cam: I think it’s  我要一杯茶。(wo3 yao4 yi1 bei1 cha2).

YJ: Good.

Conversation2:

Cam: I’d like to order some other drinks for ladies at the table, how about some orange juice?

YJ: Cam, you are always considerate. Orange juice in Chinese is 橙汁(cheng2zhi1).

Cam: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1).

YJ: Yes. 橙(cheng2) is orange. C-h-e-n-g, the second tone.

Cam: 橙(cheng2).

YJ: 汁(zhi1), z-h-i, the first tone, means juice.

Cam: 汁(zhi1).

YJ: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1).

Cam: 橙汁(cheng2zhi1) , orange juice. So what’s Chinese for coffee?

YJ: It’s 咖啡(ka1fei1)。

Cam: 咖啡(ka1fei1). All in the first tone?

YJ: Right. Now I’ll tell you another word, 可乐(ke3le4)。

Cam: 可乐(ke3le4)。That sounds like cola.

YJ: yes. It is cola. 可乐(ke3le4)。

Cam: 可乐(ke3le4)。

Conversation3:

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Key Words Reminder

Beer 啤酒(pi2jiu3)。Water 水(shui3)。Tea。茶(cha2)。Orange Juice橙汁(cheng2zhi1)。Coffee,咖啡(ka1fei1)。 Cola, 可乐(ke3le4)。

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