Mandarin
By : Romnick V. Dianzon
Er ling yi jiu nian shi yue er
shi liu
Let's drink! But the
question is, drink
what??? Water, coffee,
beer or juice! Either
one, you'll need to learn
this first! Try it today!
“Wǒ yào hē píjiǔ.”
Wǒ yào hē” means “I want to
drink.”
“Wǒ yào hē” means “I want to
drink.”
And the most three popular drinks
here are “píjiǔ”, “kāfēi” , and
“kělè”.
“Píjiǔ”means “beer,” “kā fēi” means
“coffee,” while “kělè” means “coke”.
“Wǒ yào hē píjiǔ.”
“Wǒ yào hē kāfēi.”
“Wǒ yàohē kělè.”
“I want to drink beer.”
“I want to drink coffee.”
And “I want to drink coke.”
A: Nǐ yào hē shénme?
B: Wǒ yào hē píjiǔ.
A: Nǐ yào hē shénme?
B: Wǒ yào hē kāfēi.
A: Nǐ yào hē shénme?
B: Wǒ yào hē kělè.
A: Hǎo de.
Ni xihuan he
shenme?
Lesson 6
Wines and Drinks
Píjiǔ
-beer
Xiāngbīnjiǔ- champagne
Wēishìji- whisky
Pútaojiǔ- wine
Hóngpútaojiǔ- red wine
Báipútaojiǔ- white wine
Máotáijiǔ- a Chinese liquor
Kuàngquánshuǐ- mineral water
Júzishuǐ- orange juice
Xuěbì- Sprite
Niúnǎi- milk
Suānnǎi- yoghurt
Kāfēi- coffee
Jiǔ- alcoholic drink
Píjiǔ- beer
Hóngjiǔ- red wine
Yǐnliào- beverage, drink
Xǐhuān (v) like
Báijiǔ (n) white spirit
Tài (adv) too (much)
Huāchá(n) scented tea
Háishì (conj)or
Lǜchá (n) green tea
Jīngcháng (adv) often
Guì (adj) expensive
Hǎohē (adj) good (to drink)
Piányi (adj) cheap
Juéde (v) feel, think
Ok, so now you’ve got the names of a bunch of different drinks in
Chinese. But what good are they if you don’t know how to offer them to
someone or order them yourself? Here are some useful phrases for you:
What would you like to drink? ( nǐ xiǎng
hē diǎn shén me)
Would you like to drink…? (nǐ xiǎng hē…
ma)
Would you like to drink … or …? (nǐ
xiǎng hē… hái shì…)
I’d like to drink some… (… – wǒ xiǎng hē
diǎn…)
Please give me… (qǐng gěi wǒ…)
Of course, you’ll need to use the correct measure word
when ordering drinks. Here are some examples:
a bottle ( 一瓶 – yì píng)
a glass/cup ( 一杯 – yì bēi)
a can ( 一听 – yì tīng)
a pot ( 一壶 – yì hú)
CONVERSATION 1 : DO YOU LIKE WHITE SPIRIT?
A: Nǐ xǐhuān hē báijiǔ ma ?
B: Bú tài Xǐhuān hē báijiǔ, ， xǐhuān hē chá.
A: Nǐ xǐhuān hē huāchá háishì lǜchá ?
B: Huāchá . Wǒ jīngcháng hē huāchá
Xǐhuān (v) like
Báijiǔ (n) white spirit
Tài (adv) too (much)
Huāchá (n) scented tea
Háishì (conj) or
Lǜchá (n) green tea
Jīngcháng (adv) often
Translation
Do you like to drink white spirit?
-I don't really like ( I don't like too much
to drink white spirit ), I like to drink tea.
-Do you like to drink scented tea or
green tea?
- Scented tea. I often drink scented tea.
CONVERSATION 2 : HAVE YOU EVER
DRUNK GREEN TEA?
A: Nǐ hē guo lǜchá ma ?
B: Méi yǒu. Lǜchá guì bu guì ? Hǎo
hē ma ?
C: Bù piányi, hěn guì. Wǒ juéde hěn
Guì (adj) expensive
hǎo hē.(adj) good (to drink)
Hǎohē
Piányi (adj) cheap
Juéde (v) feel, think
Translation
- Have you drunk green tea?
- No, Is green tea expensive? Is it
good?
- It's not cheap, it's very
expensive. I think it's really good.
Chinese Etiquette – Drinking
1. When the host tops up everyone’s
cups of green tea, whose cup should
they top up first?
a. Their own cup should be topped first
b. The cup of the eldest female at the table
c. The cup of the person sitting next to the
host
d. The cup of the youngest person at the
table
2. Which direction must the spout
of the teapot be facing?
a. Towards the seat where nobody is
sitting
b. Towards the seat where the host is
sitting
c. Towards the seat where the eldest is
sitting
d. Towards the seat where the guest of
honor is sitting
3. How must younger members of the
dinner party clink their drinks with an
elder at the table?
a. By clinking the elder’s glass with their
forefinger
b. By clinking the elder’s glass with the base of
their glass
c. By clinking below the rim of the elder’s glass
d. By clinking the underside of the elder’s glass
4. During drinking or speaking, what
happens to your chopsticks?
a. Nothing, as eating carries on as
normal
b. Should be kept off the table, to signify
a pause in eating
c. Should be placed on your plate, as
eating isn’t allowed
d. Should be balanced on your rice bowl,
so people know you’re on a drinking
5. What’s the best way to turn down the
drinking of alcohol at the table without
offending the host?
a. Tell the host before the party you don’t drink
b. Accept the offers, but use them to buy the
host a bottle of wine
c. Refuse offers to drink with as much
politeness as possible
d. Tell the host you’re paying for the meal
before the meal has started
Drinking
1. c. The cup of the person sitting next to the
host
2. a. Towards the seat where nobody is sitting
3. c. By clinking below the rim of the elder’s
glass 4. c. Should be placed on your plate /
as eating isn’t allowed
5. c. Refuse offers to drink with as much
politeness as possible.
