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Simple resturaunt phrases....
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Strawberries513 -

wowie... I have been studying for over a year and I am still not sure how to say the following
resturaunt phrases in Mandarin. If anyone could help I would appreciate it. (and maybe let me know
how formal the phrases are so I dont sound like and idiot when i use them in the wrong resturaunt.)

(when waiter askes you what you will have to drink) I will have water

Waiter! Waitress! (to get thier attention)

ok I know, they are very basic but I want to be sure!! Thanks



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Yang Rui -

I'll have water: 我喝矿泉水 / 我要一瓶矿泉水

This should get you a bottle of mineral water, although you may also get water that's been
purified for drinking. If you just want water from the tap that's been boiled and will be served
hot, you can ask for 白开水 or 开水

Sometimes Chinese people get confused ordering water and have to explain very carefully exactly
what they want.

As for calling the waiter or waitress, in my experience it depends where you are. In the north
they tend to just shout " 服务员!" for both men and women.

In the south it seems more common to say "小姐!" for women and "先生!" for men.

If you want to be very informal in Guangdong you can say 靓女 for women and 帅哥 for men.










xiaojiang216 -

我想她应该客气一点儿










gougou -

Also see here










kudra -

presumably if you are practicing this in the US, you can drop all the modifiers of water that
signify boiling, purifying, and all that lest they think you are nuts....

But it might be useful to bookmark this post and review before you get on the plane.

The other thing about practicing in the US, is that you won't necessarily know if the servers are
from the north or south, or Taiwan, or whatever. 先生 seems safe for any male server, but my
impression is 小姐 may not be ok if the server is significantly older than you, in which case
I'm not sure. I've heard lao3ban3niang2 (I have no IME on this computer) but that might have been
a Taiwan thing. I could be wrong about the inappropriateness of 小姐, check with a native
speaker....

edit: I seem to be repeating myself.










kudra -

haven't looked at this module, but check out the bottom of this page
http://www.fsi-language-courses.com/Chinese.aspx

Optional Module: Restaurant

I'd be really surprised if it, and everything else you need, isn't covered there. It is probably
basic enough that it isn't dated.










Koneko -



Quote:

I could be wrong about the inappropriateness of 小姐, check with a native speaker....

Well, in Northern China, some people will associate the word, 小姐, to prostitute.
Hence, it's advisable not to say this phrase, 小姐来来来, in Northen China, which makes you
sound like calling a whore.

If, however, the waitress is older than you. You may certainly call her 老板娘, provided she's
the owner of the restaurant and she's serving you. Otherwise, I think it's better to call her
大婶 .

K.










Strawberries513 -

ok thanks. I will only be using these in the US (for the time being).

so can I say "我喝水“？ And what about just saying "对不起“to get the servers attention
if they are passing our table?










elina -



Quote:

And what about just saying "对不起“to get the servers attention if they are passing our table?

I would say: 小姐 or 小伙子 or 服务员，麻烦你，帮我倒杯水来，谢谢。










Koneko -



Quote:

so can I say "我喝水“？

This is merely my personal preference, I think 我想要喝水 would be better and more polite
than 我喝水.

K.












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