UNIT 5 STAGE 5 Introduction to Chinese Writing III This section is intended to upgrade your ability to read Chinese business cards and further interact with people. Specifically, this section will (1) introduce you to some more Chinese surnames and titles; (2) help you learn how to ask about surnames and given names, and hànzì that you don t recognize; and (3) help you inquire about people s occupations, majors, and addresses. Traditional Simplified I. ASKING FOR PEOPLE S NAMES In this section, eleven more Chinese surnames are introduced: Xú Sün Zhü Hú Guö Lín Hé Liáng Zhèng Dèng Öuyáng 徐孙朱胡郭林何梁郑邓欧阳 徐孙朱胡郭林何梁郑邓欧阳 70 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
When meeting people for the first time, Chinese consider it polite to ask for surnames instead of full names. Nín guìxìng? May I ask what your surname is? 繁体字简体字 您贵姓? 您贵姓? Compared to xìng, míng is the given name. Xìngmíng means full name, and is only used formally such as on IDs cards, signed forms and so on. 姓名 姓名 If you want to ask about the full name, you would use another term: míngzi. When you meet someone of your age or younger in an informal situation, you can ask: Nî jiào shénme míngzi? What is your name? 名字 你叫什么名字? 名字 你叫什么名字? Reading Chinese surnames can sometimes be a challenging task because some Chinese surnames are uncommon characters that few people recognize. It is important to learn how to say a person s surname correctly. You really do not want to take the chance that you might greet a person incorrectly at the first meeting by misreading his or her surname. To ask for the correct reading of a character, you can ask: zênme niàn? 怎么念? 怎么念? Niàn is the verb for reading aloud. 念 念 我姓冯 / 我姓冯 Unit 5, Stage 5 71
If you have trouble reading someone s surname on his/her business card, you can ask politely Duìbuqî, qîngwèn nínde xìng zênme niàn? Excuse me, could you please tell me how to read your surname? 繁体字简体字 对不起, 请问您的姓怎么念? 对不起, 请问您的姓怎么念? Likewise, when having trouble reading full names, you can ask Duìbuqî, qîngwèn nínde míngzi zênme niàn? Excuse me, could you please tell me how to read your full name? Duìbuqî means I m sorry or excuse me. This is used to express that you have inconvenienced or will inconvenience someone, or cannot comply with a request. You can replace nín with nî, but being polite is usually preferable. 对不起, 请问您的名字怎么念? 对不起 您, 你 对不起, 请问您的名字怎么念? 对不起 您, 你 If you are meeting Mr. Chen, Chén xiänsheng, for the first time, and you would like to confirm that he is Mr. Chen, you can ask him politely 陈先生 陈先生 Qîngwèn, nín shi Chén xiänsheng ma? Excuse me, are you Mr. Chen? 请问, 您是陈先生吗? 请问, 您是陈先生吗? If he is Mr. Chen, he may respond to you Shì, wô jiùshì. Yes, I am. 是, 我就是 是, 我就是 Jiùshì means exactly. 就是 就是 72 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
繁体字简体字 If you look at Mr. Chen s name card or name tag and you don t know how to pronounce his name, you may ask Chén xiänsheng, nínde míngzi zênme niàn? Mr. Chen, could you tell me how to pronounce your name? 陈先生, 您的名字怎么念? 陈先生, 您的名字怎么念? If you want to confirm the person attending the meeting is Ms. Zhu, the accountant, you can ask the person next to you: Qîngwèn, tä shi Zhü kuàijì ma? Excuse me, is she Ms. Zhu, the accountant? 请问, 她是朱会计吗? 请问, 她是朱会计吗? If she is Ms. Zhu, the accountant, the response may be: Duì, tä jiùshì Zhü kuàijì. Yes, she is Ms. Zhu, the accountant. 对, 她就是朱会计 对, 她就是朱会计 Bù negates verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Bù, tä búshì Chén xiänsheng. No, he is not Mr. Chen. Bù, tä búshì Zhü kuàijì. No, she is not Ms. Zhu, the accountant. 不 不, 他不是陈先生 不, 她不是朱会计 不 不, 他不是陈先生 不, 她不是朱会计 Unit 5, Stage 5 73
When you are trying to find out who the head of a department is, you can use shuí, who or whom, in a general question to ask about identity. Qîngwèn, nîmen zhûrèn shi shuí? Excuse me, who is your department head? To find out what his or her name is, you can ask in various ways Qîngwèn, nîmen zhûrèn xìng shénme? Excuse me, what is the surname of your department head? 繁体字简体字 谁 请问, 你们主任是谁? 请问, 你们主任姓什么? 谁 请问, 你们主任是谁? 请问, 你们主任姓什么? Qîngwèn, nîmen zhûrèn jiào shénme míngzì? Excuse me, what is the name of your department head? If you think Deng might be his or her surname, you can ask Qîngwèn, nîmen zhûrèn xìng Dèng ma? Excuse me, is Deng the surname of your department head? 请问, 你们主任叫什么名字? 请问, 你们主任姓邓吗? 请问, 你们主任叫什么名字? 请问, 你们主任姓邓吗? To find out who the person is that you have just seen at a party or in a meeting, you can ask someone else Qîngwèn, tä shi shuí? Excuse me, who is she? Qîngwèn, tä jiào shénme míngzì? Excuse me, what is his name? Tä jiào Xú Dàhâi. His name is Xu Dahai. 请问, 她是谁? 请问, 他叫什么名字? 他叫徐大海 请问, 她是谁? 请问, 他叫什么名字? 他叫徐大海 74 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
II. TITLES AND TERMS OF ADDRESS 繁体字简体字 In Chinese, some titles may indicate people s position and occupation. For example: zôngjïnglî general manager dôngshìzhâng chair of the board zôngcái president of a company kuàijì accountant göngchéngshï engineer yïshëng doctor, physician 总经理董事长总裁会计工程师医生 总经理董事长总裁会计工程师医生 You may use these titles to address people in a professional and formal manner. For example: Hú dôngshìzhâng, nín hao! How do you do, Mr. Hu (the chairman of the board). Some of the terms can be shortened this way: Sün zôngjïnglî = Sün zông Hú dôngshìzhâng = Hú dông Zhèng göngchéngshï = Zhèng göng 胡董事长, 您好! 孙总经理 = 孙总 胡董事长 = 胡董 郑工程师 = 郑工 胡董事长, 您好! 孙总经理 = 孙总 胡董事长 = 胡董 郑工程师 = 郑工 Unit 5, Stage 5 75
繁体字简体字 In informal situations, you may also address a medical doctor using the term dàifu instead of yïshëng. For example: 大夫 / 医生 大夫 / 医生 Qîngwèn, Hé dàifu zài ma? Excuse me, is Dr. He in? 请问, 何大夫在吗? 请问, 何大夫在吗? You may ask people what their occupations are: Nín zuò shénme göngzuò? What s your occupation? Or Nín shi zuò shénme göngzuò de? What do you do? Wô shi göngchéngshï. I m an engineer. 您做什么工作? 您是做什么工作的? 我是工程师 您做什么工作? 您是做什么工作的? 我是工程师 他是邓总 / 他是邓总 76 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
繁体字简体字 If you are talking to someone in academia, you can exchange professional information by asking one s academic field - zhuänyè, which means major. 专业 专业 Nínde zhuänyè shi shénme? What is/was your major? Wôde zhuänyè shi wùlî. My major is/was physics. 您的专业是什么? 我的专业是物理 您的专业是什么? 我的专业是物理 Or you may use yánjiü, research, to answer such a question if you are an expert doing research in this field. 研究 研究 Wô shi yánjiü qîyè guânlî de. My research interest is/was business administration. For a student, you may use xué to learn to ask and answer the same question: Nî shi xué shénme zhuänyè de? What is your major? Wô shi xué wùlî de. My major is physics. 我是研究企业管理的 学 你是学什么专业的? 我是学物理的 我是研究企业管理的 学 你是学什么专业的? 我是学物理的 广州市 / 广州市 Unit 5, Stage 5 77
III. COMPANY NAMES AND ADDRESSES 繁体字简体字 When talking about your occupation, Chinese would also ask about where you work. For example: Nín zài nâr göngzuò? Where do you work? Or you may ask in a more polite way: Nín zài nâr gäojiù? Where do you work? Gäojiù is a more polite phrase to ask where one works by implying that the other person has a high or prestigious position. You should never use this term to refer to yourself. If you are working in a company, göngsï, you may say: Wô zài Huámêi Màoyì Göngsï göngzuò. I work at the Sino-American Trade Company. You may find information about where people work from their business card. Besides göngsï, you will probably encounter gûfèn yôuxiàn göngsï, a joint stock limited liability company. For example: 您在哪儿工作? 您在哪儿高就? 高就 公司 我在华美贸易公司工作 股份有限公司 您在哪儿工作? 您在哪儿高就? 高就 公司 我在华美贸易公司工作 股份有限公司 Huámêi Gûfèn Yôuxiàn Göngsï the Sino-American Company, Ltd. 华美股份有限公司 华美股份有限公司 杭州市 78 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
繁体字简体字 Jítuán, group, is the word used for a large trading and/or holding entity. For example: 集团 集团 Zhöngguó Zhöngxìn Jítuán Göngsï the CITIC Group 中国中信集团公司 中国中信集团公司 In a large organization such as jítuán or göngsï, there will be specialized offices. Two such offices are the Foreign Affairs Office, wàishìchù, and the Human Resources Office, rénshìchù. 集团 / 公司外事处 人事处 集团 / 公司外事处 人事处 Wài means outside or foreign. Shì means affairs or official matters. Chù means office or agency. The Human Resources Office includes the term rénshì, which literally means human-matters. 外事处人事 外事处人事 More often than not, you may also find a foreign trade center in those large organizations. Foreign trade is duìwài màoyì. 对外贸易 对外贸易 Duìwài literally means facing-outwards. 对外 对外 江西省 Unit 5, Stage 5 79
繁体字简体字 A center is zhöngxïn. A foreign trade center is: Duìwài Màoyì Zhöngxïn If you want to know where the company is located, you can ask: Nîmen göngsï zài nâr? Where is your company? Or Nîmen göngsï de dìzhî shi shénme? What is the address of your company? 中心 对外贸易中心 你们公司在哪儿? 你们公司的地址是什么? 中心 对外贸易中心 你们公司在哪儿? 你们公司的地址是什么? When locating a place, Chinese put larger places before smaller ones. So to answer this question about the address, let s first take a look at the Chinese hierarchical administrative system. In the Chinese government, the largest administrative division after the nation is shêng, province, which is equivalent to state in the US. Under shêng, there are shì, cities. And within one city, there may be many qü, districts. Then comes the street and street number. For example: 省市区 省市区 Shändöng shêng Shandong Province 山东省 山东省 Shändöng shêng Qïngdâo shì Qingdao, Shandong 山东省青岛市 山东省青岛市 80 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
繁体字简体字 Shändöng shêng Qïngdâo shì Shìnán qü Shinan District, Qingdao, Shandong Shändöng shêng Qïngdâo shì Shìnán qü Xiänggâng lù liùshíbä-hào 68 Xianggang Rd., Shinan District, Qingdao, Shandong Now you can answer the question regarding the address of the company: Wômen göngsï de dìzhî shi Shändöng shêng Qïngdâo shì Shìnán qü Xiänggâng lù liùshíbä-hào. The address of our company is 68 Xianggang Rd., Shinan District, Qingdao, Shandong. 山东省青岛市市南区 山东省青岛市市南区香港路 68 号 我们公司的地址是山东省青岛市市南区香港路 68 号 山东省青岛市市南区 山东省青岛市市南区香港路 68 号 我们公司的地址是山东省青岛市市南区香港路 68 号 When referring to a particular office such as the human resources office in a company, be sure to mention the company name first: Huámêi Màoyì Göngsï rénshìchù the Human Resources Office, Sino-American Trade Company 华美贸易公司人事处 华美贸易公司人事处 Sometimes qü may not be included in the address. If you are not familiar with the streets, you can ask: 区 区 Nîmen göngsï zài nâge qü? Which district is your company located in? Hâidiàn qü. Haidian district. 你们公司在哪个区? 海淀区 你们公司在哪个区? 海淀区 Unit 5, Stage 5 81
Here is a map showing some of the provinces, shêng, the municipalities directly under the central government, zhíxiáshì, autonomous regions (which are also provinces), zìzhìqü, and the special administrative regions, tèbié xíngzhèngqü. 青海省 82 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
Here are some provinces in China: 繁体字简体字 Shänxï Hénán Hébêi Guângdöng Guângxï Zhuàngzú zìzhìqü Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Húnán Húbêi Qïnghâi Hâinán Sìchuän Jiängxï Yúnnán Nèimênggû zìzhìqü Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Táiwän 山西 河南 河北 广东 广西壮族自治区 湖南 湖北 青海 海南 四川 江西 云南 内蒙古自治区 台湾 山西 河南 河北 广东 广西壮族自治区 湖南 湖北 青海 海南 四川 江西 云南 内蒙古自治区 台湾 北京市 Unit 5, Stage 5 83
There are four cities which are directly under the central government, called zhíxiáshì: Bêijïng (shì) Shànghâi (shì) Tiänjïn (shì) Chóngqìng (shì) 繁体字简体字 直辖市 直辖市 北京 ( 市 ) 北京 ( 市 ) 上海 ( 市 ) 上海 ( 市 ) 天津 ( 市 ) 天津 ( 市 ) 重庆 ( 市 ) 重庆 ( 市 ) Xiänggâng, Hong Kong, and Àomén, Macau, are two special administrative regions under the central government. Xiänggâng tèbié xíngzhèngqü Àomén tèbié xíngzhèngqü Here are some other large cities in China: Xï än Guângzhöu Nánjïng Wûhàn Qïngdâo Dàlián Hángzhöu 香港, 澳门 香港特别行政区澳门特别行政区 西安 广州 南京 武汉 青岛 大连 杭州 香港, 澳门 香港特别行政区澳门特别行政区 西安 广州 南京 武汉 青岛 大连 杭州 青岛市 84 CHINESE: COMMUNICATING IN THE CULTURE
You already know how to ask politely about a character you don t know: Qîngwèn zhège zì zênme niàn? Excuse me, how do I pronounce this character? 繁体字简体字 请问, 这个字怎么念? 请问, 这个字怎么念? You may make your inquiry in different ways. For example, you can ask about the name of a road as follows: Duìbuqî, wô bú-rènshi zhè liângge zì, zhèshì shénme lù? Sorry, I don t know these two characters. Could you tell me which road this is? Zhèshì Jiêfàng Dàjië. This is Jiefang Street. Rènshi means to recognize or to know. It also can be used to express whether or not you know someone. For example: Wô hái bú-rènshi Huáng zhûrèn, nî néng gêi wô jièshào yíxià ma? I don t know Mr. Huang, the director, yet. Could you introduce him to me? Dängrán kéyi. Of course. Xièxie. Thanks. Bú-yòng xiè. Don t mention it. 对不起, 我不认识这两个字, 这是什么路? 这是解放大街 认识 我还不认识黄主任, 你能给我介绍一下吗? 当然可以 谢谢 不用谢 对不起, 我不认识这两个字, 这是什么路? 这是解放大街 认识 我还不认识黄主任, 你能给我介绍一下吗? 当然可以 谢谢 不用谢 内蒙古自治区 / 内蒙古自治区 Unit 5, Stage 5 85