Chinese Speaking Lessons 11--Survival Chinese: Taking a Taxi

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Text

Traditional Characters

Show Translation

坐出租车

Taking a taxi

A：您好！
Hello!

B：您好！
Hello!

A：您去哪儿？
Where do you want to go?

B：我去长城饭店。
I want to go to the Great Wall Hotel.

A：您来中国旅行吗？
Did you come to China for travel?

B：我来出差，顺便玩玩儿。
I'm on a business trip, and would like to take the opportunity to travel around.

A：您以前来过中国吗？
Have you ever been to China before?

B：没来过，这次是第一次。
No, this is my first time in China.

A: 欢迎您。
Welcome to China.

B：谢谢！
Thank you!

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Grammar

Traditional Characters

Summary

Talking about the purpose of an action

Talking about past experience

1.	Talking about the purpose of an action

Add to My Grammar

All the sentences below use serial verbs. In other words, the predicate includes two or more verbs, which together share one subject. The first verb is often "来" or "去," followed by an object, which is often a location or place. The second verb, together with an object, expresses the purpose of the action in the first verb. The sequence of serial verbs cannot be exchanged.

2.	Talking about past experience

Add to My Grammar

过 is an auxiliary word employed after a verb. It indicates past experience. The affirmative form is "verb + 过." The negative form is "没 + verb + 过."

Expansion

Beijing Public Transportation

出租车 (chūzūchē) Taxi

地铁站 (dìtiě zhàn) Subway Stationx

一号线 (yī hào xiàn), 二号线 (èr hào xiàn)...... 十三号线 (shí sān hào xiàn)
Line #1, #2, #13

公交车站 (gōngjiāo chēzhàn) Bus Station

1路 (yī lù)、2路 (èr lù)、3路 (sān lù)....331路
No.1, No.2, No.3…No. 331.

机场快轨站 (jīchǎng kuàiguǐ zhàn) Airport Express Station

Sentence Patterns


1. Nín lái Zhōngguó lǚxíng ma?
您来中国旅行吗？		h
Do you come to China to travel?


2. Wǒ lái chūchāi, shùnbiàn wánwanr.
我来出差，顺便玩玩儿。		h
I'm on a business trip, and would like to take the opportunity to travel around.


3. Nín yǐqián lái guo Zhōngguó ma?
您以前来过中国吗？		h
Have you ever been to China before?


4. Méi lái guo. Zhè cì shì dìyī cì.
没来过。这次是第一次。		h
No, this is my first time in China.

Discussion

Taking a taxi is quite convenient in China and it’s not that expensive either. However, not many Chinese taxi drivers have a good command of the English language. In this Chinese speaking lessons, you will learn daily Chinese phrases such as I am going to..., first time and travel.

Comments

Instructor:	Candice
Length:	18:11
Introduction:	Talking about the purpose of an action and past experience.
	Talking about the purpose of an action and past experience.


坐坐	v.	zuò	to sit
出租车出租車	n.	chūzūchē	taxi
来來	v.	lái	to come
旅行旅行	v.	lǚxíng	to travel
出差出差	v.	chūchāi	to be on a business trip
顺便順便	adv.	shùnbiàn	to take advantage of an opportunity to do something while on one's way to do something else
玩玩儿玩玩兒	v.	wánwánr	to play
以前以前	n.	yǐqián	before
过過	aux.	guò	“过,” when used after a verb, indicates an experience in the past.
来过來過		láiguò	to have been (to a place)
次次	measure word	cì	a measure word, which means “times.”
第一第一	num.	dìyī	an ordinal number that means first.
第一次第一次		dìyī cì	the first time
长城饭店長城飯店	proper n.	Chángchéngfàndiàn	the Great Wall Hotel