Chinese For Dummies (65 page)

kǎlā'ōukè jī
卡拉欧克机
(
卡拉歐克機
)
(kah-lah-o-kuh jee) (
karaoke machine
)

MP3 bōfàngqì
MP3
播放器
(MP3 baw-fahng-chee) (
MP3 player
)

ruǎnjiàn
软件
(
軟件
)
(rwahn-jyan) (
software
)

sǎomiáoyí
扫描仪
(
掃描儀
) (saow-myaow-ee) (
scanner
)

shèxiàng jī
摄像机
(
攝像機
)
(shuh-shyahng jee) (
camcorder
)

shǒutíshì
手提式
(show-tee-shir) (
laptop
)

xiǎnshìqì
显示器
(
顯示器
)
(shyan-shir-chee) (
monitor
)

xiǎo píngbǎn diànnǎo
小平板电脑
(
小平板電腦
) (shyaow peeng-bahn dyan-naow) (
small tablet PC
)

yìngjiàn
硬件
(eeng-jyan) (
computer hardware
)

zǔhé yīnxiǎng
组合音响
(
組合音嚮
)
(dzoo-huh yeen-shyahng) (
stereo system
)

Getting a Good Price and Paying

Folks the world over want to get good deals on their purchases. At least they should. This section helps you discover the joys (and pitfalls) of haggling in Chinese.

Negotiating prices at the night market

One of the fun things to do in Taiwan and mainland China is to visit one of the lively night markets that abound. There, you can find anything from clothing and jewelry to antiques and food. Because the Chinese love to shop and
tǎojià huánjià
讨价还价
(
討價還價
) (taow-jyah hwahn-jyah) (
haggle
), you have plenty of company on your sojourns.

You should always assume that prices are negotiable in an open air market. You can always ask one of the following and see what happens:

Néng bùnéng piányì yìdiǎr?
能不能便宜一点儿
? (
能不能便宜一點兒
?) (nung boo-nung pyan-yee ee-dyar?) (
Can you sell it more cheaply?
)

Néng bùnéng shǎo yìdiǎr?
能不能少一点儿
? (
能不能少一點兒
?) (nung boo-nung shaow ee-dyar?) (
Can you lower the price?
)