Posted by Andrew
The other day, I ordered one of my favorite foods, a 咖喱鸡饭套餐 (curry chicken set meal) complete with a 一杯冻奶茶 (cup of cold milk tea). It was going to be great, but what I hadn’t counted on was the 商务流程 (business process) of this restaurant being 搞混 (mixed-up). First, someone 上门 (came to my door) and 空着手 (empty-handed) said to me that they didn’t have the curry. I ordered some other dish, and before long someone was back from 隔壁 (next door) with food- to my surprise it was the curry!
words
咖喱鸡饭 ga1li3ji1fan4- chicken curry with rice
套餐 tao4can1 - set meal
一杯 yi1bei1 - 1 cup of [something]
冻 dong4 - cold/frozen
奶茶 nai3cha2- milk tea
商务 shang1wu4 - business
流程 liu2cheng2 - process (specifically referring to a fixed process)
搞混 gao3hun4 - to mix up
上门 shang4men2 - door-to-door service
空着手 kong1zheshou3 - empty-handed
隔壁 ge2bi4 - right next door
Posted by Andrew
Yesterday was 七夕节 (Chinese Valentine’s Day). It comes from the story of a mortal cowherd 牛郎 (lit. cowherd) and 织女 (lit. fabric woman), a goddess, who met but eventually were torn apart (versions of why vary). Every year on the 7th day of the 7th month on the 阴历 (lunar calendar), there is a 鹊桥 (bridge of magpies) that allows the two to meet. I was at a 歌厅 (karaoke establishment) yesterday and saw what I presumed were groups of women looking to 发泄 (vent) about the day or to pass the time until they could meet up with their boyfriends. For dinner, nearly every restaurant I saw was full of people busy with 约会 (dates), and a cab I was going to take was 抢走 (stolen away) by a guy holding flowers.
七夕节 qi1xi1jie2 - Chinese Valentine’s Day
牛郎 niu2lang2 - cowherd
织女 zhi2(3)nv3 - fabric woman
阴历 yin1li4 - Lunar calendar
鹊桥 que4qiao2 - bridge of magpies
歌厅 ge1ting1 - lit. song room. Karaoke establishment
发泄 fa1xie4- vent
约会 yue1hui4 - date
抢 qiang2- to steal
Posted by Andrew
Today when I went to get my foreigner registration permit, I ended up in a place specializing in 警务 (police affairs) and realized that I had 走错 (gone to the wrong place). The officer inside informed me that my residence was not within the 范围 (scope) of that particular outpost. When I got to the real outpost, I was informed that my permit had to be signed by the 民警 (civil police) assigned to my particular residence. I got the 签字 (signature) that I needed from someone else at the station, and listed my purpose of stay as 技术交流 (technological exchange) to the 值班 (on-duty) officer. Local Chinese people were updating their 户口本 (household registration) as well. I’m glad I was able to make my way through the process after 咨询 (inquiring)with the station’s 领导 (leader).
警务 jing3wu4 - police affairs
走错 zou3cuo4 - to walk (go) to the wrong place
范围 fan4wei2 - scope
民警 min2jing3 - civil police
签字 qian1zi4 - sign/signature
技术交流 ji4shu4jiao1liu1 - technological exchange
值班 zhi2ban1 - on-duty
户口本 hu4kou3(2)ben3 - Household registration booklet
咨询 zi1xun2 - inquire
领导 ling3(2)dao3 - leader
Posted by Andrew
Living in Shenzhen has placed me near Hong Kong, which puts me near innumerable 茶餐厅 (HK-style cafes). Besides serving one of my favorite dishes - 蛋挞 (egg tart, it should be one of your favorite dishes too) - there are also great 牛肉粥 (beef rice porridge) dishes. For drinks, you’re never at a loss, as you can enjoy some 好力克 (Horlicks almond milk), 朱古力 (Chocolate- usually Ovaltine with ice cubes), 鸳鸯 (coffee and tea mixed together), or 柠乐 (coke with lemon). For great treats, you can always get a good 西多士 (french toast HK style- warning for health-conscious individuals: sometimes it’s fried, others it’s topped with condensed milk) or better yet a 菠萝油 (pineapple bun with butter). Since 茶餐厅 are usually crowded, it makes sense to 搭台 (share a table) with other people.
茶餐厅 cha2can1ting1 - HK-style cafe
蛋挞 dan4ta2 - egg tart (egg custard)
牛肉粥 niu2rou4zhou1 - beef rice porridge
好力克 hao3li4ke4 - Horlicks
朱古力 zhu1gu3li4 - Chocolate
柠乐 - ning2le4- Lemon coke
鸳鸯 yuan1yang1 - coffee and tea mixed together (refers to a “pair” of unlike elements, originated with mandarin ducks)
西多士 xi1duo1shi4 - French toast
菠萝油 bo1luo2you2 - Pineapple bun (with butter)
搭台 da1tai2 - share a table
Posted by Andrew
Hello Readers!
Well, I thought I had done it all, until of course I had to 缴费 (pay the bills) for my internet connection at a local 营业厅 (service hall/center). They could take cash to 办理 (conduct, carry out) the payment 业务 (service), but when I returned home I found that my connection still had 故障 (difficulties). It wasn’t until I called tech support, 拨 (pressed) this and that number to 转机 (transfer) until I found someone who could 诊断 (diagnose) the problem effectively. Even after 重启 (restarting) and several cycles of 拔掉 (pulling out) the cable nothing worked. Later it turned out to be a connection issue on my computer, not 杀毒软件 (anti-virus) as suggested by the technician. Knowing how tech support works back in the US helped me make sense of the call, knowing “is there anything else we can help you with today?” and “your call may be monitored for quality purposes” invoked a bizarre nostalgia.
缴费 jiao1fei4 - pay bills
营业厅 ying2ye4ting1 - service hall
办理 ban4li3 - conduct, carry out, handle (depends on usage)
业务 ye4wu4 - service
故障 gu4zhang4 - difficulty
拨 bo1 - dial (of a number)
转机 - zhuan3ji1 - transfer (of phones)
诊断 zhen3duan4 - diagnose
拔掉 ba1diao4 - pull out
杀毒软件 sha1du2ruan3jian4 - anti-virus software
