Asking For Directions (Part 2)
Conversations
Background: A Vietnamese tourist plans to visit the Shanghai World Expo 2010 but got lost in Shanghai Metro. He is asking for help from a metro station staff.
Conversation 1:
| yóu | kè | ： | dǎ | rǎo | yí | xià， |
| 游 | 客 | ： | 打 | 扰 | 一 | 下， |
| Tourist | ： | Excuse me, | ||||
.
| qǐng | wèn | qù | shì | bó | yuán | de | gāo | kē | xī | lù | rù | kǒu | zěn | me | zǒu？ | |||
| 请 | 问 | 去 | 世 | 博 | 园 | 的 | 高 | 科 | 西 | 路 | 入 | 口 | 怎 | 么 | 走？ | |||
| May I know the way to the West Gaoke Road entrance of Shanghai Expo? | ||||||||||||||||||
.
| gōng | zuò | rén | yuán | ： | nǐ | kě | yǐ | zuò | dì | tiě | iù | hào | xiàn |
| 工 | 作 | 人 | 员 | ： | 你 | 可 | 以 | 坐 | 地 | 铁 | 六 | 号 | 线 |
| Staff | ： | You may take the number 6 metro line | |||||||||||
.
| zài | gāo | kē | xī | lù | zhàn | xià | chē | |||||
| 在 | 高 | 科 | 西 | 路 | 站 | 下 | 车 | |||||
| and alight at West Gaoke Road stop. | ||||||||||||
.
conversation 2:
| yóu | kè | : | yuǎn | ma？ |
| 游 | 客 | : | 远 | 吗？ |
| Tourist | : | (Is it) far? | ||
.
| gōng | zuò | rén | yuán | : | bú | shì | hĕn | yuăn. |
| 工 | 作 | 人 | 员 | : | 不 | 是 | 很 | 远. |
| Station staff | : | Not very far. | ||||||
.
| yóu | kè | : | yào | zǒu | duō | jiǔ ? |
| 游 | 客 | : | 要 | 走 | 多 | 久 ? |
| Tourist | : | How long (is) needed (if I) walk? | ||||
.
| gōng | zuò | rén | yuán | : | dà | yuē | shí | fēn | zhōng. |
| 工 | 作 | 人 | 员 | : | 大 | 约 | 十 | 分 | 钟. |
| Station staff | : | About 10 minutes. | |||||||
.
Conversation Breakdown and Explanation
When you asking for directions … You can say:
| qǐng | wèn | qù | shì | bó | yuán | de | gāo | kē | xī | lù | rù | kǒu | zěn | me | zǒu？ |
| 请 | 问 | 去 | 世 | 博 | 园 | 的 | 高 | 科 | 西 | 路 | 入 | 口 | 怎 | 么 | 走？ |
| May I know the way to the West Gaoke Road entrance of Shanghai Expo | |||||||||||||||
- 请 qǐng it’s a polite expression, which is mean please.
- 请问 qǐng wèn = May I ask .
- 高科西路 gāo kē xī lù refers to a road = West Gaoke Road. where,
- 西 xī = west
- 路 lù = road
- 怎么走 zěn me zǒu means how to walk (how to get to)
It is used in asking for direction in Mandarin.
Eg: 中国馆怎么走？ zhōng guó guǎn zěn me zǒu (where 中国馆 zhōng guó guǎn = China Pavilion)
How to get to China Pavilion?
Directions to take the metro:
| zuò | dì | tiě | liù | hào | xiàn | zài | gāo | kē | xī | lù | zhàn | xià | chē |
| 坐 | 地 | 铁 | 六 | 号 | 线 | 在 | 高 | 科 | 西 | 路 | 站 | 下 | 车 |
| Take the number 6 metro line and alight at West Gaoke Road stop. | |||||||||||||
- 坐 zuò = Sit or in this case, it also means ‘to Take’ as in to Take a train, a bus or any other transportation means.
- 地铁 dì tiě = metro
- 六号线 liù hào xiàn = Line number 6. where,
- 六 liù = 6
- 号 hào = number
- 线 xiàn = line
- 下车 xià chē = to alight
Asking if the destination is far :
| yuǎn | ma？ |
| 远 | 吗？ |
| (Is it) far? | |
- 远 yuǎn = Far
- 吗 ma : this sentence structure is a very commonly used for asking questions. By adding a 吗 ma behind a sentence, you can very often change sentence into a question.
Asking how long you need to walk to destination :
| yào | zǒu | duō | jiǔ ? |
| 要 | 走 | 多 | 久 ? |
| How long (is) needed (if I) walk? | |||
- 走 zǒu = Walk
- 多久 duō jiǔ = How long / How much time
| dà | yuē | shí | fēn | zhōng. |
| 大 | 约 | 十 | 分 | 钟. |
| About 10 minutes | ||||
- 大 约 dà yuē = approximately
- 十 shí = 10 (ten)
- 分钟 fēn zhōng = minutes
