One tea, please
You finished this day
You cannot put a number straight onto a noun in Chinese. Today you meet the small word that goes in between, and after that you can order anything you can point at.
Asking for things
Four ways to ask, all of them normal in a café or a restaurant.
Chinese has no would to make a request polite, because verbs never change their form. Politeness comes from 请 at the front, from 想 softening 要, and from your voice. That is why 我要 is not rude at a counter in the way I want can sound in English. It is simply the verb for want, and you will hear Chinese customers use it all day.
Measure words
Number, then a measure word, then the noun. Always in that order.
English does this with some nouns: a cup of tea, a sheet of paper, a pair of shoes. Chinese does it with every noun that has a number, or 这 or 那, in front of it. Many measure words describe the shape or the container, which makes them easier to guess than they look. 个 works as a fallback for most things and is always understood. 一 shifting between yì and yí is the same kind of change 不 made on day 2, and the spelling stays put in both cases.
At the counter
Enough to point, confirm and finish.
这个 and 那个 are the measure word rule at work. This and that behave like numbers, so they need 个 between them and the noun, as in 这个人, this person. It is also why pointing and saying 这个 is so useful. It orders anything, and it needs no noun at all.
In much of China warm or hot water is what people drink with a meal, and many restaurants bring it without being asked. Tea often arrives the same way. If you want your drink cold, ask for 冰的, bīng de, the iced one, and in smaller places be ready for room temperature to be the coldest thing on offer.
8 questions. Get 5 right to finish the day.
Which measure word goes with 咖啡 in a café?
- 瓶 píng
- 杯 bēi
- 碗 wǎn
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杯 bēi 杯 is cup, for drinks. 碗 is bowl, 瓶 is bottle.
Type this one in pinyin.
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zhège 这 this, plus the general measure word 个.
Why does 一个人 have 个 in the middle?
- 人 is plural
- a number needs a measure word before the noun
- 一 is not a number
- it sounds more polite
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a number needs a measure word before the noun Number, measure word, noun. Always.
If you do not know the right measure word, use
- 碗 wǎn
- 个 gè
- 瓶 píng
- 杯 bēi
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个 gè 个 is the general one, understood with almost anything.
Is 我要 rude when ordering at a counter?
- yes, always add 请
- only in the south
- no, it is the ordinary verb for want
- only when speaking to 您
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no, it is the ordinary verb for want Chinese verbs have no would form. 我要 is normal.
Type the Chinese for that's all.
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jiù zhèxiē Literally just these.
In 一杯, 一 is said yì. Why?
- it is a regional accent
- 杯 is a fourth tone
- 一 is always yì
- 一 becomes a fourth tone before first, second and third tones
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一 becomes a fourth tone before first, second and third tones Before a fourth tone it rises to yí instead, as in 一个.
来一碗面 is
- an invitation to come over
- a way to order a bowl of noodles
- a question
- a complaint
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a way to order a bowl of noodles 来 is the everyday verb for ordering food.
Question 1 of 8
Character 1 of 29
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Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.