You can stop holding it in now, because in this lesson we're going to teach you the magical phrase "where is the washroom". Combine this with general agitation and hopping from foot to foot for best effect. And when when it works you can get started learning directions the hard way.For those of you who are new to Popup Chinese, we encourage you to approach our lessons as bite-sized units you can learn at the pace of one a day: listen to our podcast first and see if you can understand our simple dialogue. When you're done, fire up The Fix to test your memory and speaking skills. Pay special attention to the tones. And in a day or two, review the materials with our customizable PDFs and transcripts. And let us know if you have any questions - we're always here to answer them.
brett
said on February 6, 2009
I'm pretty clearly at the Elementary level, but enjoyed this nonetheless.
ander.cori
said on February 6, 2009
I wish all washrooms in China looked as clean as the one pictured ... and had toilet paper ;-)
orbital
said on February 6, 2009
just don't open the lid ander, because it might not flush. my first apartment in Shenzhen had one of those.
leanne
said on February 6, 2009
One thing to remember before you sit down, you have to prepare your own toilet paper in China.
jim.veseley
said on February 6, 2009
this lesson feels a bit tough for the absolute beginner level. I'd definitely have had trouble if it were my first lesson, especially since people are still struggling with pinyin at that point. That last sentence is a ringer.I'd ease up a bit.
trevelyan
said on February 7, 2009
the last line there is definitely a challenge. we felt it was a bit too easy for the elementary level, but maybe too challenging for absolute beginners as well.
no-one should feel badly about finding it challenging. just keep pushing ahead.
Echo
said on February 7, 2009
Always have nightmares about horrible toilets. 虽然不太相信迷信，但是也很想知道为什么一直做这么郁闷的梦 :(
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
ander.cori
said on February 8, 2009
As tough as this lesson may be, its invaluable!
Ive learned to carry my own paper, as for the smell I think I ought to carry incense sticks to burn ;-)
Lunetta
said on February 12, 2009
That last sentence is really a challenge. To my ears it sounds like the guy pronounces the shou part as rou. What exactly is happening here? Is it common in the spoken language, is it regional etc.?
steve4nlanguage
said on February 17, 2009
Lunetta brought up some good questions; to my ears also it sounds like the guy is saying "xi ROU jian."
Echo
said on February 17, 2009
Lunetta & Steve,
Hey guys !
Errr... I don't want to break your hearts, but it sounds just like "shou3". Maybe you can listen again?
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
Lunetta
said on February 18, 2009
Done that, but have to say that it keeps sounding like something changes in the guy's pronounciation of 洗手间.
Echo
said on February 18, 2009
@Lunetta,
Because the guy spoke faster than the girl, and the pronounciation of 手 wasn't changed. The guy put 洗 and 手 together, so "sh" here sounds a bit softer and lighter. In China, you will find a lot of people in the street speak even faster when they are on their normal speed :(
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
weijin
said on February 19, 2009
yeh people speak ridiculously fast here! i just give them a blank look ha ha
jim.veseley
said on February 20, 2009
That blank look thing is a two way street. One of the hardest things in my experience is trying to tell a joke. Your Chinese has to be good enough that people understand the joke, and also understand that you're trying to tell a joke.
Who walked into what bar? Are you talking about Bar Street? etc.
Echo
said on February 20, 2009
@weijin,
Haha, you remind of my own experience when I was in Shanghai. The thing was even worse because I got a Chinese face, so every 上海人 tried to speak 上海话 to me!!! It is no way for a new arrived 北方人 to understand what they are talking about.
@jim,
Actually sometimes there is nothing to do with your Chinese. Usually we just don't think western jokes are humorous. That's one of the biggest cultural gaps.
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
weijin
said on February 20, 2009
ha ha 有时也听不太清楚是普通话还是上海话
Echo
said on February 22, 2009
@weijin,
多数时候是上海味的普通话...
--Echo
echo@popupchinese.com
k503
said on April 19, 2009
@Lunetta, @Steve,@Echo
"xi3shou3jian1" in the last sentence sounded like
"xi3rou3jian1" to me too.
Gail天堂的声音
said on April 19, 2009
@k503,
yes, some Beijingers even say "xi3shou3jian1 " like "xi3ou3jian1"...
舒雅
said on September 5, 2013
I wonder if this is appropriate to have my 11-12 yr old Chinese students listen to... There are a lot of pinyin pronunciation recordings on the internet, but most are either a. boring b. bad English c. bad 口语 I enjoy Popup Chinese but I wonder if the parents will....
jaynewman.china
said on September 5, 2013
舒雅 ,Risky. As a parent (16 and 13) I wouldn't mind (and indeed I've tried to get mine to look at it) because there's not much here they won't hear in the playground. But many parents I've known would be shocked, and could easily take them out of the class. So not an ideal commercial decision.Rather than offering it to them as a full subscription, can you pick and choose which lessons to give them? There's lots here that wouldn't be a problem, but would require screening first.
