Chinese For Dummies (82 page)

qiānbǐ
铅笔
(
鉛筆
) (chyan-bee) (
pencil
)

xiàngpíjīn
橡皮筋
(shyahng-pee-jeen) (
rubber band
)

If you can't find some indispensable item just when you need it, you can always ask someone in the next
xiǎogéjiān
小隔间
(
小隔間
)
(shyaow-guh-jyan) (
cubicle
). The simplest way to ask is by using the phrase
Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu
_____?
你有没有
_____? (nee yo mayo _____?) (
Do you have any _____?
) Use that phrase as often as you like. Just make sure you can reciprocate whenever your
tóngshì
同事
(toong-shir) (
co-worker
) needs something as well.

Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu dìngshūjī?
你有没有钉书机
? (
你有没有訂書機
?) (nee yo mayo deeng-shoo-jee?) (
Do you have a stapler?
)

Nǐ yǒu méiyǒu gāngbǐ?
你有没有钢笔
? (
你有没有鋼筆
?) (nee yo mayo gahng-bee?) (
Do you have a pen?
)

Talkin' the Talk

Ollie and Tommy are co-workers in Xi'an. Ollie is about to go into a meeting but can't find his notebook. He quickly checks with his good friend Tommy in the next cubicle.

Ollie:

Tommy! Wǒ jíde yào mìng! Kuài yào kāihuì le, kěshì zhǎobúdào wǒde bǐjìběn.

Tommy! waw jee-duh yaow meeng! kwye yaow kye-hway luh, kuh-shir jaow-boo-daow waw-duh bee-jee-bun.

Tommy! I'm in such a hurry! We're about to have a meeting, and I can't find my notebook.

Tommy:

Wǒ yǒu bǐjìběn. Jiè gěi nǐ.

waw yo bee-jee-bun. jyeh gay nee.

I have a notebook. I'll loan it to you.

Ollie:

Tài hǎo le! Xièxiè.

tye how luh! shyeh-shyeh.

That's great. Thanks.

Whenever you add -
de yào mìng
得要命
(duh yaow meeng) right after a verb, you add a touch of drama and emphasize whatever the verb is. For example, if you say you're
lè
i
ç´¯
(lay), that means you're tired. But if you say you're
lèi de yào mìng
累得要命
(lay duh yaow meeng), that means you're absolutely exhausted. If you're not just
máng
忙
(mahng) (
busy
) but rather
máng de yào mìng
忙得要命
(mahng duh yaow meeng), you're extremely busy, ­running around like a chicken without a head. Here are some useful phrases to ­compare:

Wǒ lěng.
我冷
. (waw lung.) (
I'm cold.
)

Wǒ lěng de yào mìng.
我冷得要命
. (waw lung duh yaow meeng.) (
I'm freezing.
)

Jīntiān hěn rè.
今天很热
. (
今天很熱
.) (jeen-tyan hun ruh.) (
It's very hot today.
)

Jīntiān rè de yào mìng.
今天热得要命
. (
今天熱得要命
.) (jeen-tyan ruh duh yaow meeng.) (
It's a real scorcher today.
)

If you're going to emphasize a verb by adding -
de yào mìng
after it, you can't also use
hěn
很
(hun) (
very
) in the same breath. It makes your statement redundant.

Conducting a Meeting

Congratulations! You've finally set up shop in your new office in Beijing or welcomed your business partners from Taiwan and are all set to have your first business meeting. But just what is the purpose of your
huìyì
会议
(
會議
) (hway-ee) (
meeting
)? Is it to
yǎnshì
演示
(yan-shir) (
give a presentation
) about a new
chǎnpǐn
产品
(
產品
)
(chahn-peen) (
product
)? Is it to
tánpàn
谈判
(
談判
)
(tahn-pahn) (
negotiate
) a
hétóng
合同
(huh-toong) (
contract
)? How about
shòuxùn
受训
(
受訓
)
(show-shwun) (
training
) — either you or your Chinese colleagues? Do you have a specific
yìchéng
(
议程
)
議程
(ee-chung) (
agenda
) in mind already? I hope so. You definitely don't want to look unprepared.

Scheduling and planning a meeting

You may be one of those people who needs to
ānpái huìyì yìchéng
安排会议议程
(
安排會議議程
) (ahn-pye hway-ee ee-chung) (
schedule a meeting
) just to prepare for another meeting. Here are some things you may want to do at such a preliminary meeting:

jiějué wèntí
解决问题
(
解決問題
) (jyeh-jweh one-tee) (
solve problems
)

tǎolùn wèntí
讨论问题
(
討論問題
) (taow-lwun one-tee) (
discuss problems
)

tuánduì jiànshè
团队建设
(
團隊建設
) (twan-dway jyan-shuh) (
team ­building
)