Lesson 017 The Line's Busy.

S: Da jia hao! Come and learn hanyu, with Learn Chinese Now!. Woshi S.
M: Woshi ML. 今天 today jīntiān, we have lots to learn.
S: Yes, we’re going to learn a bit about phoning, and some numbers. Try to mimic everything.
M:Stuart is using my mobile phone. 他在用我的手机。Ta zai yong wo de shouji.
S: 我在打电话。Wo zai da dianhua.
S: Busy! 占线,zhàn xiàn. I’ll try again. 我再打一遍。Wǒ zài dǎ yī biàn.电话号码是,dianhua hàomǎ shi 0 123 , líng yī èr sān.
S: 还是占线。Hái shì zhàn xiàn. 我再打一遍。Wo zai da yi bian. Ling yi er san. Ling yi er san.
VOICE – 喂? wéi.
S: 你好。玛丽在吗? Mǎlì zài ma?
VOICE: 打错了。 Dǎ cuò le.
M: Poor Stuart. 占线,然后,打错了。First it’s busy, then, wrong number. Zhànxiàn, ránhòu, dǎ cuò le!
S: Oh dear. Let’s go over the new words, then I’ll try again.
M: First, we had, 占线,ZHAN XIAN, zhan xian. Literally meaning, ‘occupy line’. So, zhànxiàn, line’s busy. Hái shì zhàn xiàn. It’s still busy. Hái shì zhàn xiàn.
S: Then we heard a few numbers. Try zero to three, everybody.
M: Zero líng, one, yī, two, èr, three, sān. Again, ling, yi er san, ling, yi er san. 好!
S: And I’ll dial again. Wo zai da yi bian.
M: 再 ZAI zài, here means ‘again’. Zài. It’s the same zài as in, can you guess? Dui le! Same as in 再见,zàijian, again see, or, ‘see you’. Dǎ yī biàn. yi bian, YI BIAN, means ‘one time’. So, zài dǎ yī biàn. dial again. Zai da yi bian. Wo zai da yi bian.
S: Then I said, ‘dianhua haoma shi’
M: 电话号码。Hàomǎ HAO MA hàomǎ, is ‘number’. So what does ‘dianhua haoma shi yi er san’ mean? Right. The telephone number is 1 2 3.
S: And how do people answer in China. Right, it’s usually with, 喂, wéi. Say it everybody, wéi.
M: Wéi, that’s not too difficult! Then Stuart asked, ‘is Mary there?’
S: Mali zai ma?
M: Is Mary there?
S: And then, the dreaded answer…
VOICE: 打错了,dǎ cuò le!
M: Cuò CUO cuò, 4th tone, means ‘wrong’. Da cuo le, dialed wrong, meaning, ‘wrong number’. Say it, da cuo le, da cuo le. Fei chang hao.
S: Wǒ zài dǎ yī biàn. Dianhua hàomǎ shi, líng yāo èr sān. Ling yao er san.
S: Hái shì zhàn xiàn! Wo zai da yi bian. Ling yao er san. Ling yao er san.
VOICE – 喂, wéi.
S: 你好. Mǎlì zài ma?
VOICE: Dǎ cuò le!
M: Da cuo le! What a way to end our lesson. Let’s hope Stuart does better next time.
S: Me too. But did you hear the other word for ‘one’? Yes, it’s yāo. We usually say yāo YAO yāo instead of yī for telephone numbers and such. Ok, that’s all for today, and don’t forget to practice! Zai jian.
M: Zaijian!

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