Chinese For Dummies (78 page)

zhuǎnfā xìnxī
转发信息
(
轉發信息
)
(jwan-fah sheen-she) (
forward a message
)

Talkin' the Talk

Gary and Laurie discuss how to e-mail each other.

Laurie:

Zěnme fā yíge diànzǐ yóujiàn ne?

dzummuh fah ee-guh dyan-dzuh yo-jyan nuh?

So how do you send an e-mail?

Gary:

Shǒuxiān nǐ děi dǎkāi “xÄ«n yóujiàn.”

show-shyan nee day dah-kye sheen yo-jyan.

First you have to open up to “new mail.”

Laurie:

Ránhòu ne?

rahn-ho nuh?

And then?

Gary:

Ránhòu tiánhǎo shōujiànrén de diànzǐ yóuxiāng dìzhǐ hé yóujiàn de tímù. Xiěhǎo xìn, jìu kěyǐ fā le.

rahn-ho tyan-how show-jyan-run duh dyan-dzuh yo-shyahng dee-jir huh yo-jyan duh tee-moo. shyeh-how sheen, jyo kuh-yee fah luh.

After that, you have to fill in the recipient's e-mail address and type in the subject. After you're finished writing the message, you can finally send it.

 Fun & Games

Match each of the Chinese phrases to the correct English phrase. Turn to
Appendix D
for the answers.

Chapter 12

Chinese at School and at Work

In This Chapter

Navigating the world of school

Keeping your office supplied

Having business meetings

Making presentations

T
ime to get down to
shēng yì
生意
(shuhng yee) (
business
). Your
shēng yi,
that is. Want to know how to manage that job in Jiangsu or how to deal with the head honcho? This chapter helps you do business in Chinese — everything from making a business appointment to conducting a meeting.

Because China has the fastest growing economy in the world, it's no wonder you gravitated to this chapter. Think of it. China is the fastest-growing source of international profits for U.S. companies, with over a billion potential customers. The United States is China's second largest trading partner (after Japan) and has hundreds of satellite offices everywhere from Shanghai to Shenzhen. With hundreds of billions (that's right, billions) of dollars in exports throughout the world, China is most decidedly making its mark.

Before you get that job in Wuhan, though, you need to get a good education. This chapter helps you navigate the academic side of things, from kindergarten through college and beyond.

Going to School

You may get out of it for the first 5 or 6 years of life, but eventually we all have to
shàng xué
上学
(
上學
) (shahng-shweh) (
go to school
) for about 12 years or so. The following sections break down everything you need to know about school-related terms.

Schools and supplies

Table 12-1
lists all the different kinds of
xué xiào
学校
(
學校
) (shweh shyaow) (
school
) you or your children may be ready to attend.

Table 12-1 Schools

Say you've applied for
dà xué
and gotten into the one that was (lucky you) your
shǒu xuǎn
首选
(
首選
) (show shwan) (
first choice
). By the end of the first day of class, you need to buy
kèběn
课本
(
課本
) (kuh-bun) (
textbooks
) and
yòngpǐn
用品
(yoong-peen) (
supplies
). Here are some supplies you may need, depending on the
kè
课
(
課
) (kuh) (
classes
) you register for:

bǐjìběn
笔记本
(
筆記本
) (bee-jee-bun) (
notebook
)

bǐjìběn diànnǎo
笔记本电脑
(
筆記本電腦
) (bee-jee-bun dyan-naow) (
laptop
)

gāngbǐ
钢笔
(
鋼筆
) (gahng-bee) (
ballpoint pens
)

jìsuàn qì
計算器
(
计算器
) (jee-swan chee) (
calcuator
)

mùtān lābǐ
木炭蜡笔
(
木炭蠟筆
) (moo-tahn lah-bee) (
charcoal crayons
)