Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
The other day I was trying to set up a purchase on 支付宝 (Alipay), an online payment site. When I tried to 充值 (add funds), I found that there was a security certificate problem with my 银盾 (internet banking USB key). Even through I had prepared my 交易密码 (trading password) for the bank and my 支付密码 (payment password) for Alipay, I still couldn’t successfully 汇款 (wire money). After removing my browser security settings and making Internet Explorer (not my choice- only IE is supported for Alipay and internet banking in China) about as safe as an oven made of kindling, I was finally able to 扣钱 (deduct money) from my bank account. After that, my focus shifted to securing a 优惠 (discount). It wouldn’t be a purchase in China if I couldn’t 降价 (lower the price). Well, 加油吧. (come on!)
支付宝 zhi1fu4bao3 - Alipay, a popular Chinese payment platform
充值 chong1zhi2 - add funds
银盾 yin2dun4 - USB key for online banking
交易密码 jiao1yi4mi4ma3 - Trading password
支付密码 zhi1fu4mi4ma3 - payment password
汇款 hui4kuan3 - wire money
扣钱 kou4qian2 - deduct money
优惠 you1hui4 - discount
降价 jiang4jia4 - lower the price
加油吧 jia1you2ba - well, come on, let’s see (said to encourage oneself)
Posted by Andrew
Hello readers!
Have you ever invested in China before? Maybe you’ve heard about the recent 轮胎关税 (tire tariffs) issue. To be sure, a lot of people are investing here. Some people buy shares in an 指数基金 (index fund), while others dream of one day running their own 私募 (private equity) venture. Take a good long look at your 走势图 (trend charts) and do your best to predict the next 升跌 (rise and/or fall) to make your fortune. Betting on downward trends of Chinese 股票 (stocks) is prohibited by Chinese 国家规定 (nationwide regulations), so don’t hedge your financial future on risky 赌博 (gambling) when someone offers you an opportunity to short a stock here.
轮胎 lun2tai1 - tires
关税 guan1shui4 - tariff
指数 zhi3shu4 - index
基金 ji1jin1 - fund
私募 si1mu4 - private equity
走势图 zou3shi4tu2 - trend chart
上升 shang4sheng1 - rise, go up
跌 die3 - fall
股票 gu3piao4 - stock
国家规定 guo2jia1gui1ding4 - national rule/regulation
赌博 du3bo2 - gambling
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
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
Posted by Andrew
On my flight from Beijing to Shenzhen, I flew 海航 (Hainan Airlines), an airline with such strong 服务意识 (service awareness) that they even distributed 问卷 (surveys) at the end of the flight to get 明确 (accurate) data about the customers. It didn’t hurt that they had high-quality 餐具 (utensils) in this case referring to a spoon with a deep scoop, a fork with sharp tines, and a knife with a sharp edge and even 玻璃杯 (glasses for drinks) for first class passengers. Once down to Shenzhen, I picked up a pack of cards which were basically 一模一样 (exactly identical to) American Bee-style 扑克牌 (poker cards) . Speaking in a 坦率 (frank) manner, I have to say that the price is right with the China-homegrown cards but I still prefer the smooth feel of the original.
海航 hai3hang2 - Hainan airlines
服务 fu2wu4 - service
意识 yi4shi4 - awareness
问卷 wen4juan4 - survey
明确 ming2que4 - clear, accurate
餐具 can1ju4 - utensils
玻璃杯 bo1li2bei1 - glass
一模一样 yi4mo2yi2yang4 - absolutely the same
扑克牌 pu3ke4pai2 - poker cards
坦率 tan3shuai4 - frank
