Using Chinese / Mandarin in Restaurant – Part 3

In taking order, here are some scenarios that might happen after you show the guests to their table.

Source: http://therestaurantexpert.com/upselling-important-guest-experience/

Scenario 1:

Waiter/waitress:   Here is our menu. Please have a look first.
Fúwùyuán:           zhèshì wǒmen de càidān. Qǐng xiānkàn ba.

Guests:                   Okay. Do you have any recommendation?
Gùkè:                     hǎo. Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu shénme tuìjiàn ne?

Waiter/waitress:   This is our best seller menu. (show them the item on the menu)

Fúwùyuán:           Zhèshì wǒmen zuìrèmài de dānwèi.

Guests:                   Is this spicy?

Gùkè:                     zhège là ma?

Waiter/waitress:   No, it’s not spicy.

Fúwùyuán:          bùlà.

Guests:                   Okay. Give me one then. What vegetables that is delicious?

Gùkè:                     hǎo de. Lái yī gè ba. Shénme shūcài hǎochī?

Waiter/waitress:   How about Kangkung?

Fúwùyuán:           kōngxīncài, zěnme yang?

Guests:                   We don’t like that. Do you have any broccoli?

Gùkè:                     wǒmen bù xǐhuān. nǐ yǒuměiyǒu xīlánhuā ?

Waiter/waitress:   We do. This one. (show the item on the menu)

Fúwùyuán:           yǒu. zhège.

Guests:                   I would like to have one of this.

Gùkè:                     wǒ yào zhègè.

Waiter/waitress:   Okay.

Fúwùyuán:           hǎo

Guests:                   That’s all.

Gùkè:                     gòu le.

Waiter/waitress:   How about drinks?

Fúwùyuán:           hē de ne?

Guests:                   Give me one mineral water and one orange juice.

Gùkè:                     gěi wo yīgè kuàngquánshuǐ hé yī běi chéngzizhī.

Waiter/waitress:   For mineral water do you want the cold one?

Fúwùyuán:           kuàngquánshuǐ yào lěng de ma?

Guests:                   Okay.

Gùkè:                     kěyǐ ba.

Waiter/waitress:   Let me repeat your order, one roasted duck, one garlic broccoli, one mineral water and one orange juice.       

Fúwùyuán:           Ràng wǒ zài niàn gěi ni, yīgè kǎoyā, yīfèn xīlánhuā chǎo dàsuān, yīpíng kuàngquánshuǐ, háiyǒu  yībēi chéngzi zhī.

Guests:                   For the Orange juice, less ice please

Gùkè:                     chéngzi zhī shǎobīng, hǎobùhǎo.

Waiter/waitress:   Okay. Your food will be ready in about 20 minutes.

Fúwùyuán:           hǎode. Nǐdecài èrshífēnzhōng zuǒyòu zhǔnbèihǎo.

Guests:                   Thank you.

Gùkè:                     xièxie

Waiter/waitress:   You are welcome.

Fúwùyuán:           bùkèqì

Scenario 2:

Waiter/Waitress: Here is your menu, do you want to order now or have a look first?

Fúwùyuán:           zhèshì nín de càidān. yàoxiànzài diǎn háishì xiān kàn?

Guests:                 Order now. We want a portion of spaghetti bolognaise, one French fries, and then.. 

Gùkè:                     xiànzài diǎn. Wǒmen yào yīfèn fánqiěròujiàng yìdàlìmiàn, yīfèn shǔtiáo, háiyǒu…

Waiter/Waitress: Sorry, for the fries, do you want big or medium?

Fúwùyuán:           bùhǎoyìsi, shǔtiáo, nín yào dàde háishì zhōngde?

Guests:                   Big one please

Gùkè:                     dàde ba

Waiter/Waitress: Okay. Anything else?

Fúwùyuán:           hǎo. háiyǒu ne?

Guests:                   We also want  a bowl of thick corn soup.

Gùkè:                     wǒmen ye yào yīwǎn yùmǐnóng tāng

Waiter/Waitress: Sure.

Fúwùyuán:           hǎo de.

Guests:                   That’s all for now. Can you leave the menu here?

Gùkè:                     xiān lái nàge ba. Nǐ kěǐ bǎ càidān liú zài zhèr ma?

Waiter/Waitress: No problem. Do you want to order any beverages?

Fúwùyuán:         Méi wèntí. Nín yào diǎn xiē yǐnliào ma?

Guests:                   Yes. Please give us 2 bottles of beer.

Gùkè:                     Yào. gěi wǒmen, liǎng píng píjiǔ ba.

Waiter/Waitress: Let me repeat your order first… (Repeat order)

Fúwùyuán:           Ràng wǒ zài niàn gěi nǐ, nǐ diǎn de cài. (Repeat order)

Guests:                   That’s correct.

Gùkè:                     duìle

Waiter/Waitress: Please wait for awhile.

Fúwùyuán:           Qǐng shāoděng yīxià.

Guests:                   Okay

Gùkè:                     Hǎo

Waiter/Waitress: Thank you.

Fúwùyuán:           Xièxie


Conversation can vary from one to another. I don't recommend memorizing sentences but rather to memorize the words as well as the pattern in forming a simple good sentence.

Next post will be the last post on this topic and it will be something to do with billing and payment. Stay updated!

Regards,
Linda Tan

Using Chinese / Mandarin in Restaurant - Part 2

Have you mastered all the common vocabularies from the previous post?

Here is the very first part of conversation that might happen in the restaurant.

(source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thrillist/12-things-you-dont-unders_b_7213180.html)

Welcoming the guest.

SCENARIO 1:

Staff: Good afternoon, Sir. Have you had a reservation?

服务员： 先生，下午好。 您预订餐桌了吗？
Fúwúyuán: xián sheng, xiàwǔhǎo. nín yùdìng cānzhuō le ma?

Guest: Good afternoon. No, I don’t.

客人： 下午好，我没有。
Kèrén: xiàwǔhǎo, wǒméiyǒu.

Staff: Okay, no problem. How many of you?

服务员： 好的，没关系。 你们几位？
Fúwúyuán: hǎode, méiguānxi. Nímen jǐwèi?

Guest: 2 persons.

客人： 两个人
Kèrén: liǎng gè rén.

Staff: 2 persons. May I have your name sir?

服务员：两个人。 请问您的大名？

Fúwúyuán: liǎng gè rén. qǐngwèn nín de dà míng

Guest: Brian

客人： Brian
Kèrén: Brian

Staff: Mr Brian. Please wait for a while, while we check a table for you.

服务员：Brian 先生。请稍等一下，让我们安排您的桌子。
Fúwúyuán: Brian xiān sheng. Qǐngshāoděng yīxià, ràng wǒmen ānpái nín de zhuōzi.

Guest: Okay.

客人： 好。
Kèrén: hǎo

Staff: Mr. Brian!
服务员：Brian 先生！
Fúwúyuán: Brian xiānsheng.

Guest: Yes.

客人： 是
Kèrén: shì

Staff: Your table is ready. Please come with me.
服务员：我们准备好您的桌子了。请跟我来。
Fúwúyuán: wǒmen zhǔnbèihǎo nín de zhuōzi le. Qǐng gēn wǒ lái.

Guest: Sure

客人： 好的。
Kèrén: hǎode.

SCENARIO 2:

Staff: Welcome. Do you have any reservation?

服务员：欢迎。您预订餐桌了吗？
Fúwùyuán: huānyíng. nín yùdìng cānzhuō le ma?

Guest: Yes, we do. Surname Wang, Called Kelly.

客人： 有。姓王，叫凯莉。
Kèrén: yǒu. xìng wáng, jiào kǎilì.

Staff: Yup, I have it. Ms. Kelly Wang, for 4 persons.

服务员： 是的。王凯莉小姐，四位。
Fúwùyuán: shìde. Wáng kǎi lì xiǎojiě, sìwèi.

Guest: Correct.

客人： 对了
Kèrén: duì le.

Staff: Do you want the table in smoking area or non smoking area.

服务员： 您要吸烟区还是禁吸烟区的桌子？
Fúwùyuán: nín yào xīyānqū háishì jìnxīyānqū de zhūozi?

Guest: No smoking area please.
客人：禁吸烟区吧
Kèrén: jìn xīyān qū ba.

Staff: Okay. Please wait for a moment.

服务员： 好的。请稍等一下。
Fúwùyuán: hǎode. Qǐng shāoděng yīxià.

Guest: Sure.

客人： 好的
Kèrén: hǎode.

Staff: Ms. Wang, please come with me.

服务员： 王小姐。请跟我来。
Fúwùyuán: wáng xiǎojiě. Qǐng gēn wǒ lái.

 - Show the table to the guests. -

Staff: Is here okay?
服务员： 这里号吗？
Fúwùyuán: zhèlǐ hǎo ma?

Guest: It’s fine. Thanks.

客人： 可以。谢谢
Kèrén: kěyǐ. Xièxie.

Staff: You are most welcome. This is the menu, please have a look first. My colleague will come to take your order in a moment.

服务员：不客气。这是我们的菜单，请先看。我的同事再会儿来帮您点菜。
Fúwùyuán: bùkèqi. Zhèshìwǒmendecàidān, qǐng xiānkàn. wǒdetóngshìzàihuìr lái bāng nín diǎncài.

Guest: Okay

客人：好
Kèrén: hǎo


If you have trouble in memorizing the whole sentence. Try to breakdown each sentence using all the previous sentence structures that you have learnt from the previous posts. It normally is easier to understand once you understand the structure of the sentence itself.

Happy learning~ Don't forget to watch out for next post on more materials on the same topic.

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

Before and After in Chinese

In describing 2 activities/events that happen one after another, we usually use the words "before" and "after".

In English, we can say:
BEFORE something happen, we do something else first OR
We do something else first BEFORE some other things happen.

AFTER finish with an activity, we will do something else OR
We will do something else AFTER  we completed one activity.

Remember not to get confuse with the placement of "before" and "after" in the sentence.

BEFORE zhīqián  之前

Example:

Before sleep, I “first” brush my teeth

Sleep               shùijiào            睡觉

Brush teeth      shuā yá            刷牙

睡觉之前， 我先刷牙

Shuìjiào zhīqián, wǒ xiān shua yá

Before something happen (2^nd activity), we normally will do Something first (1^st Activity). When using the word “before”, it is often for us to use the word “xiān” that indicates that the subject has completed the activity that follows after the word. Xiān 先 literally means “at first”.

e.g.      she left first                 tā xiān zǒu            她先走

            I eat first                     tā xiān chī             我先吃

Let’s see another example:

My brother puts on his shoes before he goes to school.

1^st Activity: Puts on shoes                  chuān xiézi                  穿鞋子

2^nd Activity: Go to school                   shàng xué                    上学

上学之前， 我弟弟先穿鞋子

Shàng xué zhīqián, wǒ dìdi xiān chuān xiézi.

(Because, the subject that “perform” the 2 activities are the same person, we can also move the subject to the front, see the sentence below. However, the above is more commonly used. Avoid repeating it, because it will be redundant)

我弟弟上学之前， 先穿鞋子

Wǒ dìdi shàng xué zhīqián, xiān chuān xiézi.

AFTER  zhīhòu   之后

Example:

After I brush my teeth, I go to sleep.

刷牙之后， 我就睡觉了

Shuā yá zhīhòu, Wǒ jiù  shuìjiaò le

After putting his shoes on, my brother goes to school

穿鞋子之后，我弟弟就上学去了

Chuān xiézi zhīhòu, wo dìdi jiù shàng xué qù le.

Note: In this case, we add the word jiù… le to emphasize that the 2^nd activities (i.e sleep and go to school) happen RIGHT AFTER the first activities (i.e. brush teeth and putting shoes on).

Try translating the following:
1. Before I study in China, My Chinese is not too good.
(Hint: be careful of the placement of adverb of place)


2. After I move to London, I learn dancing.
(move = bān 搬，dance = tiàowǔ 跳舞)


3. My mother picks up my brother first before picking me up.
(pick up = jiē 接)


4. Before eating, she drinks a cup of water first.

5. After pick up the guests, I send them to the hotel.

(guest = kèrén 客人, send (someone) = sòng 送)

6. I borrow her notes, after she finish writing.
(borrow = jiè 借, notes = bǐjì 笔记)

Happy Learning!  

I am signing off first

我先告退
Wǒ xiān gàotuì,
Linda Tan