Using Chinese / Mandarin in Restaurant - Part 1

I would like to make a few upcoming post topical. As for the first topic that I am going to introduce is that how to serve Chinese guests in the restaurant., especially for those restaurants which are based in Bali. For the past few years, Bali has seen huge increment of the Chinese tourists. Thus, equipping the employee/staff to serve the Chinese guests better, company is conducting Mandarin Language Training for its employee.

This post (and a few others followed) are dedicated to those waiter/waitresses who try their very best to serve the Chinese guest. They are the face of the Brand. I hope with this post (again, and a few other followed), they can understand a little bit of the Chinese culture, they can serve a little bit better the Chinese guests and at the end, they can represent their brand much better.

The very first post is the introduction of some vocabularies that are commonly used around the restaurant.

Just a reminder, to help grow your vocabularies, please use the help of PLECO. This app is very very useful! In the very beginning of this blog, I have explained the features and the how-to-use guidelines in Pleco. Please refer to those posts, start from here.

Here are some of the common vocabularies that you might find useful:
1.      Small Plate      : diézi                           碟子
2.      Big Plate         : pánzi                          盘子
3.      Bowl               : wǎn                           碗
4.      Fork                 : chāzi                          叉子
5.      Spoon              : shaózi                        勺子
6.      Chopstick        : kuàizi                         筷子
7.      Napkin             : zhǐjīn                          纸巾
8.      Sauce               : jiàng                          酱
9.      Chili Sauce      : làjiāojiàng                 辣椒酱
10.  Tomato Sauce : fānqiéjiàng                番茄将
11.  Soy Sauce       : jiàngyóu                    酱油
12.  Black soy sauce: shuāngchōu             双抽
13.  Table               : zhuōzi                        桌子
14.  Chair               : yǐzi                             椅子
15.  Cup/Glass        : bēizi                           杯子
16.  Waiter             : fúwuyuán                   服务员
17.  Bill                  : mǎidān                      买单
18.  Settle the bill   : jiézhàng                   结账
19.  Menu card       : càidān                       菜单
20.  Dish/Food       : cài / shíwù                 菜/食物
21.  Vegetable        : shūcài                        蔬菜
22.  Beverages        : yǐnliào                       饮料
23.  Wine                : pútǎojiǔ                     葡萄酒
24.  Liquor             : jiǔ                              酒
25.  Beer                 : píjiǔ                           啤酒
26.  Order               : diǎn                           点             
27.  Welcome                                 : huānyíng                   欢迎
28.  Please come in                         : qǐngjìn                       请进
29.  Please have a seat                    : qǐngzuò                      请坐
30.  Enjoy your food                      : qǐngmànyòng              请慢用
31.  Come again next time             : xiàcì zàilái                 下次再来
32.  Goodbye                                 : mànzǒu                      慢走
(Polite way to say goodbye to guests)
33.  Plain water                  : shǔi / bǎikāishuǐ                    水/白开水
34.  Mineral water              : kuàngquánshuǐ                      矿泉水
35.  Soda                            : qìshuì                                     汽水
36.  Fruit juice                    : shuǐguǒzhī                             水果汁
37.  Cold                            : lěng / bīng                             冷/冰
38.  Ice cube                       : bīngkuài                                冰块
39.  Hot                              : rè / shāo                                热/烧
40.  Warm                          : wēn                                        温
41.  Sugar                           : táng                                       糖
42.  Salt                              : yán                                        盐
43.  Milk                             : niúnǎi                                    牛奶   
44.  Cheese                         : nǎilào                                    奶酪
45.  Sweet                          : tián                                        甜
46.  Sour                             : suān                                       酸
47.  Salty                            : xián                                       咸
48.  Spicy                           : là                                           辣
49.  Bitter                           : kǔ                                          苦
50.  Chef                            : chúshī                                   厨师
51.  Recommend                : tuījiàn                                   推荐
52.  Bestseller                     : rèmài                                     热卖
53.  No smoking seat         : jìnxīyān zuòwèi                      禁烟座位
54.  Smoking seat               : kěxīyān zuòwèi                      可吸烟座位
55.  Self-service/ Buffet     : zìzhùcān                                自助餐


Before going into some common scenarios in the restaurant, please get yourselves familiar with the above vocabularies first.

Check out the next post more

Regards, 
Linda Tan 

Mandarin Training in Bali / Pelatihan Bahasa Mandarin di Bali

Other than maintaining this blog in teaching people how to learn Chinese step by step, I also conduct training session for organizations in Bali that serve the growing Chinese market and those colleges that prepare the students to be ready in this challenging service industry.

WHY MANDARIN? WHY CHINESE?
Mandarin/Chinese is one of the most spoken languages in the world. We cannot deny the growing market of Chinese tourists in Bali. In order to serve the market better, one of the best thing that company can do is to equip their human resources with language skill.

WHY ME AS TRAINER?

If you are looking for quality, customized and easy-to-understand training session for your staff, please contact me at contact number provided below. I will be handling all the training as well as the customized materials/handbook for the training session in your organization.

A bit of my background, I am an HSK, Level 6 certificate holder. HSK is certification issued by the Chinese government for those foreigners who learn Chinese to state their proficiency and credibility in the language. It is something like TOEFL/IELTS for English. There are 6 levels in total, Level 6 being the highest. 

CONTACT DETAILS
To discuss on your organization's need and what I can offer for your organization, please do not hesitate to contact me at:

Phone: +6287868920390

Email: linda_yunitan@yahoo.com

-------------

Selain dari memaintain blog ini dalam mengajarkan cara mudah belajar Bahasa Mandarin, saya juga memberikan training Bahasa Mandarin kepada perusahaan ataupun organisasi di Bali yang melayani tamu/pasar Chinese yang semakin berkembang pada saat sekarang ini. Saya juga mengajar di pusat pelatihan yang mempersiapkan murid-muridnya agar siap untuk bekerja dan bersaing di industri pelayanan yang semakin menantang.

MENGAPA BAHASA MANDARIN? MENGAPA BAHASA CINA?

Bahasa Cina adalah salah satu Bahasa yang paling banyak digunakan didunia. Kita tidak bisa memungkiri perkembangan jumlah turis cina yang datang ke Bali beberapa tahun terakhir ini. Agar dapat melayani tamu/customer Anda dengan lebih baik, salah satu hal terbaik yang dapat dilakukan perusahaan/organisasi di Bali adalah dengan melakukan pelatihan/training Bahasa Mandarin untuk pekerja/staff nya.

MENGAPA SAYA SEBAGAI PELATIH/TRAINER?
Jika Anda mencari pelatih bahasa Mandarin yang berkualitas, materi pembelajaran yang dapat disesuaikan sesuai kebutuhan perusahaan dan juga cara mengajar yang mudah dimengerti, Anda dapat menghubungi saya untuk mendiskusikan lebih lanjut tentang rincian mengenai training Bahasa Mandarin ini. Saya sendiri akan menangai semua sesi training/pelatihan dan juga bahan/buku pegangan siswa yang telah dicocokan sesuai input ataupun kebutuhan dari perusahaan Anda.

Sedikit mengenai latar belakang saya, saya adalah pemegang sertifikat HSK, Level 6. HSK adalah sertifikasi yang diberikan pemerintah Cina untuk orang asing yang belajar Bahasa Mandarin, yang mana berfungsi menyatakan tingkat kemampuan si pelajar dalam menggunakan Bahasa Mandarin/Bahasa Cina. HSK seperti halnya TOEFL/IELTS untuk Bahasa Inggris. Secara total ada 6 level didalam ujian HSK, dimana Level 6 merupakan level tertinggi.

CONTACT DETAILS

Untuk mendiskusikan lebih lanjut mengenai kebutuhan dari perusahaan Anda dan bagaimana saya dapat membantu perusahaan Anda, silahkan menghubungi saya melalui kontak dibawah ini:
Trainer: Linda Tan (Ms)

Phone: +6287868920390

Email: linda_yunitan@yahoo.com


Best Regards,
Linda Tan

Answer for the Exercise on "Perfect" Tense in Mandarin

Here is the answer for the exercise from the previous post on Perfect Tense

1. My little brother has graduated
我的弟弟已经毕业了
Wódedìdi yǐjīng bìyè le


2. Her office had been renovated before.
他的办公室装修过了
Tādebàngōngshì zhuāngxiūguòle


3. My uncle has taken my grandma to the hospital
我的叔叔已经送我奶奶去医院了。
Wǒdeshūshu yǐjīng sòng wǒnǎinai qù yīyuàn le


4. They hasn’t called me yet.
他们还没给我打电话
Tāmen háimei gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà


5. They had never called me before.
他们没给我打电话过
Tāmen měi gěiwǒ dǎdiànhuà guò


6. Have you read this book before?
你读过这本书吗？
Nǐ dúguò zhèběnshū ma?


7. Has she returned your book already?
他把书还给你了吗？
Tā bǎ shū huán gěi nǐ le ma?
(Please refer to the information below regarding the use of 把 bǎ in the sentence)

他还你的书了吗？
Tā huán nǐ de shū le ma?


8. His Wife has prepared the breakfast
他的老婆已经准备早餐了
Tādelǎopo yǐjīng zhǔnbèi zǎocān le



THE USE OF 把 bǎ  IN SENTENCES
 
In Mandarin, there are some active form sentences that do not follow the common sentence structure where an object usually comes after the verb. This sentence structure doesn’t commonly found in other languages

The sentence structure that use 把 bǎ is as followed:
S +把 bǎ + O + Verb + Adverb of Place, if any


Example:
Compare the following sentences that mean:
She hangs the/a picture on the wall


1. 她把图画掉在墙上了
Tā bǎ túhuà diào zài qiáng shàng le


2. 她在墙上掉了一幅图画
Tā zài qiáng shàng diào le yīfú túhuà


The difference here is sentence (1) emphasize on the picture, while sentence (2) emphasize on the activity of hanging up something.


 Look at the following situations below:
a.       When someone ask “where is the picture?”
It is only proper that we answer using the first sentence.
b.      When someone asks “what’s she doing with the wall?”
Then, we answer with the second sentence.



Let’s look at more example to see the differences between the usual sentence structure and the sentence with 把 bǎ.
 
1. 他把我的杯子弄破了。
Tā bǎ wǒdebēizi nòngpò le.


2. 他弄破了我的杯子。
Tā nòng pò le wǒdebēizi


Both sentences mean “he has broken my cup.”


Which sentence do you think is suitable to be used to answer these questions:
a.       What has he done?
b.      What happened to your cup?

If you answer question (a) with sentence (2), then you get it right J and question (b) should be answer with sentence (1)


So in general, the above is how we use the word 把 bǎ in Chinese. There are of course more to it. We will go through it in another post next time.


Happy Learning,
Linda Tan

"Perfect" tense in Chinese

Again, in Chinese there is no change in the form of the verb to identify the time when an activity/event takes place. We normally will add an adverb of time as well as adding word (s) before/after the main verb.

As we know, to identify a continuous/progressive tense, we use the word 在 zài，正zhèng，正在zhèngzài before the Verb

Example:
1.      他吃肉
Tā chī ròu                   
He eats meat

2.      他在吃肉
Tā zài chī ròu 
He is eating meat

3.      昨天我来的时候，他在吃肉
Zuótiān wǒ lái de shíhòu, tā zài chī ròu         
Yesterday when I came, he was eating meat

Today, we are going to discuss about “perfect” tense.

There are a few ways to show that certain activity/event has or had happened:
1.      Using 已经。。。了yǐjīng… le
了Le should be placed after the verb. 了le can be used with/without the word已经“yǐjīng”. However, 已经 yǐjīng can’t be used without 了le

Example:
She has eaten.
他吃了 / 他已经吃了
Tā chī le or tā yǐjīng chī le

I have gone to Beijing
我去北京了 /  我已经去北京了
Wǒ qù Běijīng le / Wǒ yǐjīng qùBěijīng le

2.      Using 过guò
过guò should be used after the verb. The usage sometimes can be combined with 了le. However, without 了 le, 过 guò itself indicates that certain events has taken place.

Example:
I have eaten this （before）.
我吃过这个
Wǒ chī guò zhège.

I have been to Beijing before. (been here means that I have “gone”/”visited” there before)
我去过北京。
Wǒ qù guò běijīng le.


Depending on the context of speaking, at times, there is actually slight difference in the meaning of the sentences using已经…了 yǐjing.. le and using 过guò.

Let’s see the difference.

When I say:
-          我去过北京 wǒ qù guò Beǐjīng --> It means that I had been to Beijing before, the time when it happened can be last month, 2 years ago, etc and I am no longer in Beijing now.
-          我去北京了wǒ qù Beǐjīng le--> This sentence means that I have gone to Beijing and now I am still in Beijing.

When I say:    
-          我吃过这个 Wǒ chī guò zhège  -->  it means that I have eaten this before. The activity of eating not necessarily had just happened at the moment of speaking, it can be 5 minutes ago, it can be yesterday, it can be 2 years ago, the point is that “I have tasted this thing before”
-          我吃了这个 Wǒ chī le zhège --> It means that I have just finish eating this dish or not too long ago I have eaten this.

However, in the following sentences, there is not much difference in meaning:
-          我看了这部电影 Wǒ kàn le zhè bù diànyǐng.
-          我看过这部电影 Wǒ kàn guò zhè bù diànyǐng.

Both of the sentences above means that “I have watched this movie before”, the slight difference maybe in the time when the event of “watching” happened. The impression that people will get is that when you use 过 guò, it feels that the event has happened quite a while ago or not recent, although it might not necessarily true.

The negative sentence for perfect tense is formed by adding 还没 háiméi before the verb or or  没 méi + Verb + 过 guò.

For example:
I haven’t eaten this dish yet                wǒ háiméi chī zhèdào cài
--> Means that I haven’t eaten this dish yet, but I didn’t say that I had never tried it before. I might have or haven’t tasted the same kind of food before

I haven’t eaten this before                  wǒ méi chī guò zhèdào cài
--> Means that I haven’t tried/tasted this kind of dish before

Another example:
She hasn’t worn her skirt yet              tā háiméi chuān tā de qúnzi
--> Means that she has put on her shirt but not her skirt.

She hasn’t worn this skirt before        tā méi chuān guò zhètiáo qúnzi.
--> Means that the skirt is still new as she has never worn it before


Try translating the following:
1.      My little brother has graduated
2.      Her office had been renovated before.
3.      My uncle has taken my grandma to the hospital
4.      They hasn’t called me yet.
5.      They had never called me before.
6.      Have you read this book before?
7.      Has she returned your book already?
8.      His Wife has prepared the breakfast

Regards,

Linda Tan