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Lesson Introduction
You dare to journey the Silk Road and not buy any silk? No one in their right mind comes to China and leaves with less than two extra carry-on bags. Cash or credit card? Expensive or not? In this lesson Ken and Jenny, a.k.a. shoppicus maximus, teach you about shopping in Mandarin Chinese.
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jenny zhuDecember 22, 2005
Hey, Smelling Christmas right now? Last minute shopping and expecting some fat credit card bills that will keep you working hard in the new year to pay-off? Well, all the laowais here must feel so lucky that they can get posh gifts(eg, pearls, silk, pashmina,etc) for not much more than the cost of a UPS delivery back home. But that's of course dependent on how seasoned a shopper you are.(Attention: strictly for market shopping)。 You can't afford to not know some essential 杀价 /sha(1) jia(4)/bargaining terms. 1.太贵了/ tai(4) gui(4) le! /It's too expensive! 2.便宜一点/pian(2) yi(2) yi(1) dian(3)!/cheaper! 3. 我不要/wo(3) bu(2) yao(4)/I don't want it, then follow with the ultimate WMD-walk away. You'll be chased and eventually triumph!
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BazzaDecember 22, 2005
I usually avoid the crowds and shop on ebay.
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DavidDecember 22, 2005
In Shanghai I watched a customer and bookseller bargaining, the customer walked away three times only to be called back to re-negotiate each time. Truely grueling, shopping is a pro-sport in China. mai bu liao 卖不了 can't sell it for that guo lai le 过来了 come back over suan le...hao de 算了...好的 forget it...ok (context: you can have it for that) Any others have some fun experiences about shopping in China?
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RobespierreJanuary 2, 2006
In the PDF download of the "Shopping" lesson, an incorrect character is used: 在上海我必须用现金付款吗？可不可以用信用卡. The dialogue uses 钱 not 款. :) RP
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LantianApril 14, 2006
LOOKY-LOO - In the US it's hard nowadays to find a salesperson to help you, well you can expect the opposite in China, you can't stop them from following you up and down, up and down, left and right, roundabout and every which way you go （I've tried the previously just described route). I don't know if it's a cheap five-finger discount survellience system, commission system, or just plain 'Chinese' courtesy...but sometimes it bugs me. I usually say this, it works ..sometimes, especially if I scowl a little, 光光一下, another website recommended this 光看不买 - (guang kan bu mai, looking-not buying) I'm just looking. The latter sounds a little put-offish to me, what does Cpod recommend. I'd like to be friendly but firm, the words are just lacking in me right now. 因该怎么说啊？有时候她们陪我太近了，我要说‘哎呀，太近了，给我多空间好吧。我有问题的时候我再叫你好不好？她们都不收听我的话，哎～以后我式一下别的方法，说“沉鱼落雁陪我看光我怎么能认真的买东西？”
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Ken CarrollJuly 11, 2006
David, I beleive the term is "jie mu", rather than "jia mu". (It's always better to have a native speaker confirm these things, of course..Jenny!!!)
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Jeff 傑夫November 27, 2006
Hi Everybody, I was bored yesterday so I decided to revisit this golden classic cpod episode and remix it into an audio drill with practice pauses for repeating the phrases aloud. You should be able to download the file from the following link: http://www.mediamax.com/jeffreymather/Hosted Enjoy!
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Mike in EwshotFebruary 9, 2007
Hopefully some people may find this useful – ie some of the vocabulary from the discussion. I hope it is correct. The majority of the look ups is from the MDBG online dictionary one at http://www.mdbg.net/chindict/chindict.php. 购物 gou4 wu4 shopping 节目 jie2 mu4 program / item (on a program) 预习 yu4 xi2 to prepare a lesson 单词 dan1 ci2 word 讨价还价 tao3 jia4 huan2 jia4 haggle over price 货物 huo4 wu4 goods / commodity / merchandise 货品 huo4 pin3 products 制度 zhi4 du4 (political or administrative) system or institution
dave says
great lessonApril 23, 2007
user33225 says
Jeff, you are a gem for doing the drills, but apparently because the one for 'shopping' is greater than the size allowed for one download (10MB), I can't get it. Don't know if this is a common problem, but is it possible to make it a teeeeeeeny bit smaller?May 15, 2007
nonixskis3 says
The male speaking in the dialogue here is doing a wonderful job! His voice is very clear and not too fast so I can understand it easily.May 27, 2007
redsith says
I'm wondering if in china they also say Pao Mian (sorry my pinyin is awful) for instant noodles. I've never been to China, only Taiwan, and in Taiwan they all say Pao Mian, i've never once heard Fang Bian MianJune 20, 2007
Lantian says
ERRANDS - I did a search of the podcasts, looks like searching by hanzi is impossible? Anyway, for a future lesson how about going over "趟”。tang4 It seems very useful to me, and is the closest thing to the English "I'm going to go do some errands" that I've come across. It's also a verb that seems to not be covered in typical textbooks, etc. 因为我后天要回去一趟, If it's in a previous podcast, please point it out for me. 谢！June 25, 2007
jie2fu1 says
I kind of forgot about that remix I posted last year -- looks like it's still there! But I don't think anybody could download the file because it was too big :( Sorry about that... well, I was bored again so if anybody is still interested, I shrunk it down so now so it should work. Geez... this is pretty far back in the in cpod archives here... http://www.mediamax.com/jeffreymather/HostedSeptember 20, 2007
sudan says
firstly , how are you? i think your lesson presentation is very good , i hope you are all fine yassir / sudanOctober 29, 2007
jane says
大家你好! I feel great improvements have been made to the site. I like the numbered tones and the addition of Traditional Characters. I am not sure about the ommision of the translation in the Expansions .The exercises have also improved especially the Vocab.test. I like the immediate result that shows you where you have made a mistake and so save time trying to find out. Could this facility be added to the other tests.November 24, 2007
ncjones says
请问，其他和其它有什么区别？May 9, 2008
amber says
hi ncjones, 其他 (qítā) can be used when speaking of people or objects. 其它 (qítā) is only used for objects.May 12, 2008
dini says
September 27, 2008
wow, listening to this pod from 2005, I notice how much better the lessons have become over the years! this one is going so slow compared to the ones now!! good work!
urbandweller says
January 12, 2009
Da jia hao!
can anybody clarify the meaning of 市场?
the PDF says "market"
Does that mean the independently owned outdoor style that you see on the streets??
Like the kind in the video where Jenny was checking out the fruits and veggees??
:) xiexie nimen.
pearltowerpete says
January 12, 2009
Hi urbandweller
A 市场 is a "market." This is indeed the kind you saw in the video.
A supermarket, by the way, is 超市 chao1shi4. 超 is a handy prefix or substitute for "很" or “非常.”
miantiao says
January 12, 2009
hi urbandweller
it means any kind of market
菜市场 food market
超级市场 （超市）department store
上市 to come onto the market
房地产市场 （房市） housing market
股市 stockmarket
miantiao says
January 12, 2009
urbandweller
department store should read as 百货公司 or just 百货, like pete said above 超市 is a supermarket. In fact both are usually in the same store here in china (carrefour,isitan,ityokado,wallmart)and so both can refer to the same place.
urbandweller says
January 12, 2009
太棒了！！thanks for the extra info...if i am not mistaken it looks like the 超 is the same as one for super man 超人！Ha ha!
The carrefour was one of my favorite places to go in china...where else can you buy a new pair of socks, tea, disposable contacts, and fresh fruit all in one place! it was amazing! Is the super market the same as a "hyper" market?? I heard Jenny used that term before...not sure if she jsut made it up though... :)
pearltowerpete says
January 12, 2009
Hi urbandweller,
超市的超 is 超人的超， you are correct. "Hyper-market" seems to be Franglais. The French refer to Carrefour as a hypermarket, but I've certainly never heard an American use that term for Walmart, etc.
And I agree, they are incredibly comprehensive. But success is fickle. About a year ago, Walmart drastically cut back its operations here. Marks and Sparks just opened a branch near my home in Shanghai, although its future looks dicey to me. They are in retreat elsewhere in Asia.