Takeaway Chinese

A: Nǐ jīntiān chuān zhè shēn tèbié hǎokàn. 你今天穿这身特别好看。 You look particularly stunning today. Yào cānjiā shénme huódòng ma? 要参加什么活动吗？ Are you going to an event? B: Xièxie. Wǒ shòu yāo qù biǎoyǎn xiǎotíqín. 谢谢。我受邀去表演小提琴。 Thank you. Yes, I was invited to perform violin. A: Nǐ zhēn de yòu piàoliang yòu yǒu cáihuá. 你真的又漂亮又有才华。 Wow, talent and beauty! B: Guò jiǎng la. 过奖啦。 I’m flattered. Wǒ zhèlǐ yǒu liǎng zhāng ménpiào, huānyíng nǐ lái pěngchǎng. 我这里有两张门票，欢迎你来捧场。 Here are two tickets. Would love to have you there!

A: Nǐ xiànzài yǒu kòngr ma? 你现在有空儿吗？ Do you have some free time right now? Kěyǐ bāng wǒ zuò zuìhòu de shōuwěi gōngzuò ma? 可以帮我做最后的收尾工作吗？ Can you help me wrap up? B: Kǒngpà bù xíng, wǒ shǒutóu shang yǒu hěnduō shìqing yào chǔlǐ. 恐怕不行，我手头上有很多事情要处理。 I'm afraid not. I have a lot on my plate at the moment. A: Wǒ jīnwǎn qù Hǎinán, zài bù zǒu jiù gǎn bu shàng fēijī le. 我今晚去海南，再不走就赶不上飞机了。 I'm leaving for Hainan tonight. I'll miss my flight if I don’t leave now. B: Bù hǎo yìsi, wǒ xiànzài zhēn méi shíjiān. 不好意思，我现在真没时间。 I'm sorry, but I really don't have time right now. A: Nà suàn le, wǒ qù wènwèn qítā rén. 那算了，我去问问其他人。 Well, never mind. I'll ask someone else.

A: Wǒ gāng shōudào yījiā zài Shànghǎi de gōngsī fā lái de yóujiàn, ràng wǒ hòutiān qù miànshì. 我刚收到一家在上海的公司发来的邮件，让我后天去面试。 I just got an email from a company in Shanghai. They want me to go for an interview the day after tomorrow. B: Gōngxǐ! Kuàidiǎn dìng jīpiào ba, yàobù gǎnbují le. 恭喜！快点订机票吧，要不赶不及了。 Congratulations! Book your flight now, so you can make it on time. A: Yóujiàn li shuō wǒ kěyǐ cānjiā yuǎnchéng miànshì, tāmen dàoshíhou gěi wǒ fāsòng xiànshàng huìyì liànjiē. 邮件里说我可以参加远程面试，他们到时候给我发送线上会议链接。 They say I can do the interview remotely. They will send me an online conference link. B: Nà hái tǐng rénxìnghuà de. 那还挺人性化的。 That's quite considerate of them. Wǒ zhīqián kàndào yīpiān guānyú yuǎnchéng miànshì de zhùyì shìxiàng, wǒ děnghuìr fā gěi nǐ. 我之前看到一篇关于远程面试的注意事项，我等会儿发给你。 I read an article about tips for remote interviews earlier. I'll send it to you later.

A: Tīngshuō nǐ zuótiān qù kàn zhǎn le, zhǎnlǎn zěnmeyàng? 听说你昨天去看展了，展览怎么样？ I heard you went to see an exhibition yesterday. How was it? B: Wǒ qù le kējì zhǎn. Xiànchǎng de rén shízài tài duō le, wǒ dōu méiyǒu jīhuì zǐxì kàn měi yī jiàn zhǎnpǐn. Dàn xǔduō zhǎnpǐn dōu shì zuì xīn de gāo kējì, fēicháng zhènhàn, yě suàn zhí huí piàojià le. 我去了科技展。现场的人实在太多了，我都没有机会仔细看每一件展品。但许多展品都是最新的高科技，非常震撼，也算值回票价了。 Yes, I went to a technology exhibition. I didn't even have the chance to look at each exhibit carefully because there were so many people there. Many of the exhibits show the latest high-tech, which are very impressive. The ticket was worth it. A: Wǒ yě xiǎng qù kàn, zhǎnlǎn bàn dào shénme shíhou ya? 我也想去看，展览办到什么时候呀？ I want to go see it, too! How long will the exhibition last? B: Yuè dǐ qián dōu yǒu. Bùguò wǒ jiànyì nǐ bìkāi gāofēng, zuìhǎo gōngzuò rì qù. Tíqián wǎngshàng dìngpiào, bìmiǎn xiànchǎng páiduì. 月底前都有。不过我建议你避开高峰，最好工作日去。提前网上订票，避免现场排队。 It's open until the end of the month. I suggest that you avoid the peak hours and go on weekdays. You can book tickets online in advance, so you don’t wait on site.

A： Xīhóngshì zěnme mài? 西红柿怎么卖？ How much are the tomatoes? B： Wǔkuàiqián yījīn. 五块钱一斤。 Five yuan per jin. Fàngxīn mǎi, wǒmen de cài yīxiàng hěn xīnxiān, dōu shì zìjǐ zhòng de, chún tiānrán. 放心买，我们的菜一向很新鲜，都是自己种的，纯天然。 Rest assured to buy, freshness guaranteed. We grew them ourselves and they are completely organic. A： Huángguā háiyǒu ma? 黄瓜还有吗？ Do you have any cucumbers? Yě lái liǎnggēn ba. 也来两根吧。 I’d like to get two. B： Āiyā, huángguā yǐjīng màiguāng le, nǐ yào mǎi jiù zài qù biéjiā kànkan ba. 哎呀，黄瓜已经卖光了，你要买就再去别家看看吧。 Sorry, they’re all sold out. You can check out other stores around here.

A: Nǐ yǒu dǎhuǒjī ma? 你有打火机吗？ Do you have a lighter? B: Méiyǒu. Wǒ yǐjīng jiè yān le. 没有。我已经戒烟了。 No, I don’t. I've quit smoking. A: Nǐ tài yǒu yìlì le! Wǒ zuìjìn yě zài chángshì jiè yān, dàn hái méi chénggōng. 你太有毅力了！我最近也在尝试戒烟，但还没成功。 That takes some willpower! I've been trying to quit too recently, but I’m not there yet. B: Xī yān zhēn de duì shēntǐ wēihài hěn dà, èrshǒu yān hái huì yǐngxiǎng shēn biān rén de jiànkāng. 吸烟真的对身体危害很大，二手烟还会影响身边人的健康。 Smoking really comes with significant health risks, and second-hand smoking affects the health of people around you. A: Wǒ yě shì zhè me xiǎng de. Dàn wǒ zǒng shì fàn yānyǐn. 我也是这么想的。但我总是犯烟瘾。 I agree. But I always give in to the cravings. B: Jiānchí zhù a. Wǒ jiāndū nǐ! 坚持住啊。我监督你！ Hang in there. I'll keep an eye on your progress!

Chinese 101: A conversation about the diverse grilling methods. Stick with us to learn more barbecue-related vocabulary.

A: Kuài kàn! Nà zhī jīnsīhóu shuìjiào de yàngzi zhēn kě'ài. 快看！那只金丝猴睡觉的样子真可爱。 Look! That sleeping golden monkey is so cute. B: Tā shuì de hěn xiāng a. Kàn lái tā fēicháng xiǎngshòu zhèlǐ de shēnghuó. 它睡得很香啊。看来它非常享受这里的生活。 It's sleeping so soundly. It looks like it’s enjoying its life here. A: Shì ya, zhěng gè dòngwùyuán gānjìng zhěngjié. Sìyǎngyuán zhēnde hěn yòngxīn de zhàoliào zhè xiē dòngwù. 是呀，整个动物园干净整洁。饲养员真的很用心地照料这些动物。 Yeah, the zoo is nice and clean. The keepers are doing a great job taking care of these animals. B: Xū! Zánmen xiǎo diǎn shēng shuōhuà, bié chǎo xǐng tā. 嘘！咱们小点声说话，别吵醒它。 Shh! Let's be quiet so we don't wake it up.

A: Yī huìr xiàbān, yào bù yào yīqǐ qù zuò dìtiě? 一会儿下班，要不要一起去坐地铁？ Do you want to take the subway together after work? B: Jīntiān bù néng hé nǐ yīqǐ zǒu le. Wǒ xiànzài jiù yào huíjiā shōushi xíngli, wǎnshang bā diǎn de fēijī qù hǎinán, míngtiān jiù zhèngshì kāishǐ dùjià shēnghuó la! 今天不能和你一起走了。我现在就要回家收拾行李，晚上八点的飞机去海南，明天就正式开始度假生活啦！ I can't today. I must go home to pack. I have a flight to Hainan at 8pm tonight. My vacation starts tomorrow! A: Nà wǒ děng huìr mǎi diǎn cài, qù wǒ bà mā jiā hé tāmen yīqǐ chīfàn. Zhēn xiànmù nǐ néng chūqù lǚyóu, xīwàng nǐ wán de kāixīn. 那我等会儿买点菜，去我爸妈家和他们一起吃饭。真羡慕你能出去旅游，希望你玩的开心。 Okay, I'll get some groceries later and have dinner with my parents. I’m so jealous you get to go travelling. I hope you’ll have a good time. B: Wǒ gèng xiànmù nǐ! Hé jiārén zài yīqǐ, píng píng dàn dàn jiù shì xìngfú. 我更羡慕你！和家人在一起，平平淡淡就是幸福。 I’m jealous of you, too! You can spend quite time with your family! That’s the best kind of happiness in life.

A: Wa, zhège tèxiào shì zěnme zuò de? 哇，这个特效是怎么做的？ Wow, how did you create this special effect? Kànqǐlái hěn fùzá. 看起来很复杂。 It looks very complicated. B: Qíshí bìng bù máfan. 其实并不麻烦。 It wasn't that much work, actually. Zhǐ xūyào xiàzǎi yīgè chājiàn, zài zìjǐ tiáozhěng yīxià cānshù jiù kěyǐ le. 只需要下载一个插件，再自己调整一下参数就可以了。 All I needed to do was download a plug-in and adjust the parameters. A: Nà zěnme néng ràng zhèlǐ de shēngyīn tīngqǐlái gèng zìrán yīxiē ne? 那怎么能让这里的声音听起来更自然一些呢？ Then how can I make the sound here more natural? B: Kěyǐ jiārù dànrù hé dànchū xiàoguǒ, zhèyàng jiù bùhuì xiǎnde hěn tūwù le. 可以加入淡入和淡出效果，这样就不会显得很突兀了。 You can create fade-in and fade-out effects so that it won't seem that abrupt.