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Chinese at the convenience store

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Convenience stores are everywhere in Chinese cities and the exchange at the till is almost always the same four questions. Learn those and the rest is pointing.

The questions the cashier will ask you, in the order they ask them, plus the things you are most likely to be buying and how to pay for them.

What the cashier asks

要袋子吗
yào dàizi ma
do you want a bag?
Bags usually cost a little.
要加热吗
yào jiārè ma
shall I heat it up?
有会员卡吗
yǒu huìyuánkǎ ma
do you have a membership card?
扫这里
sǎo zhèlǐ
scan here
Power banks you can rent

Many shops, cafés and stations have machines that rent out power banks by the hour, unlocked by scanning a code. You can return one to a different machine across town, which makes a flat phone a small problem rather than a big one.

What you say

不用了
búyòng le
no thanks
这个多少钱
zhège duōshao qián
how much is this one?
可以扫码吗
kěyǐ sǎo mǎ ma
can I scan to pay?
我用现金
wǒ yòng xiànjīn
I'll pay cash
Hot water is a normal request

Asking for hot water is completely ordinary in China, where many people drink it plain. Most convenience stores and every train have a supply, and nobody will think it an odd thing to want.

Things you might want

矿泉水
kuàngquánshuǐ
bottled water
充电宝
chōngdiànbǎo
a power bank
雨伞
yǔsǎn
an umbrella
纸巾
zhǐjīn
tissues

Small requests

有热水吗
yǒu rèshuǐ ma
is there hot water?
洗手间在哪儿
xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr
where's the toilet?
可以充电吗
kěyǐ chōngdiàn ma
can I charge my phone?
有没有吸管
yǒu méiyǒu xīguǎn
do you have a straw?
有没有 is the verb, 不, verb question from day 16.

The daily course builds these phrases into real conversation, one short lesson a day. Days 1 to 7 need no account, and a free account opens the rest of the first month.

Start Day 1 →
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