Just this one....

About

On entering the Chinese bazaar, Jake had been intent on purchasing a t-shirt, or perhaps a long-sleeved

shirt. He had wanted something adorned with Chinese characters to commemorate his trip. Which raised

the question of how exactly he had ended up in this state: arms stretched full of imitation Prada bags,

Timberland jackets and pashmina shawls and his wallet considerably lighter than when he left the hotel.

Suffice it to say that learning how to say no is an important skill in China. There are a few ways of

accomplishing this though, and in today's Chinese lesson we cover one of the less obvious. Instead of

just coming right out with a refusal, we teach you to emphasize only the item you want. "It's this one,"

you'll say, "exactly this one." This is a polite way to control the conversation while making sure you're

understood. And it can come in especially useful when you're shopping. Good luck!

Sentences

你想要哪个?

nǐ xiǎng yào nǎ ge ?

Which one do you want?

这个。

zhège 。

This one.

那个怎么样?

nà ge zěnmeyàng ?

How about that one?

不,就这个。

bù , jiù zhège 。

No, exactly this one.

Vocabulary

我

wǒ

I

pronoun

你

nǐ

you

pronoun

她

tā

she

pronoun

他

tā

he

pronoun

想要

xiǎng yào

to want

verb

哪个

nǎ ge

which one

phrase

这个

zhège

this one

phrase

那个

nàge

that one

phrase

怎么样

zěnmeyàng

how about it

phrase

就

jiù

exactly

adverb