Chinese For Dummies (110 page)

Bǎ nǐde zuòyǐ kàobèi fàngzhí.
把你的座位靠背放
. (bah nee-duh dzwaw-ee cow-bay fahng-jir.) (
Put your seat back to the upright position.
)

Bù zhǔn chōuyān.
不准抽烟
. (
不准抽煙
.) (boo jwun cho-yan.) (
No smoking permitted.
)

Jìjǐn nǐde ānquándài.
系紧你的安全带
. (
繫紧你的安全帶
.)
(jee-jin nee-duh ahn-chwan-dye.) (
Fasten your seat belt.
)

Rúguǒ kōngqì yālì yǒu biànhuà, yǎngqìzhào huì zìdòng luòxià.
如果气压壓力有变化
,
氧气罩会自动落下
. (
如果空氣壓力有變化，氧氣罩會自動落下
.) (roo-gwaw koong-chee yah-lee yo byan-hwah, yahng-chee-jaow hway dzuh-doong lwaw-shyah.) (
If there's any change in air pressure, the oxygen mask will automatically drop down.
)

You use the coverb
bǎ
把
(bah) when you want to put the object right up front before you state the verb that tells what you did or will do with the object. (See
Chapter 18
for more on this unique coverb.)

If you're not a nervous flyer, you'll probably spend all your time listening to music through the
ěrjī
耳机
(
耳機
) (are-jee) (
headset
), flipping dials on the radio or channels on the television, or trying to sleep. Hopefully the flight is showing a good
diànyǐng
电影
(
電影
) (dyan-yeeng) (
movie
) on such a long trip.

Going through customs

If you survive all the turbulence and the boring movie on your long flight without having a breakdown, good for you! The next test you have to get through is the
hǎiguān
海关
(
海關
) (hi-gwahn) (
customs
) experience. After you get to customs, you see many
hǎiguān guānyuán
海关关员
(
海關關員
) (hi-gwahn gwahn-ywan) (
customs officers
), none of whom may understand English.
Table 16-1
lists the items you need to have ready at customs. The ­following phrases should come in handy, too:

Nǐ dǒng Yīngyǔ ma?
你懂英语吗
? (
你懂英語嗎
?) (nee doong eeng-yew mah?) (
Do you understand English?
)

Wǒ shì Jiānádà rén.
我是加拿大人
. (waw shir jyah-nah-dah run.) (
I'm Canadian.
)

Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.
我是美国人
. (
我是美國人
.) (waw shir may-gwaw run) (
I'm American.
)

Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.
我是英国人
. (
我是英國人
.) (waw shir eeng-gwaw run.) (
I'm British.
)

Xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?
洗手间在哪儿
? (
洗手間在哪兒
?) (she-show-jyan dzye nar?) (
Where are the restrooms?
)