买火车票 Buying a Train Ticket in Chinese

明天míngtiān，我wǒ和hé朋友péngyou要yào坐zuò火车huǒchē去qù北京Běijīng，我们wǒmen去qù火车站huǒchēzhàn买mǎi票piào。

Tomorrow my friend and I are taking the train to Beijing, so we go to the station to buy tickets.

服务员fúwùyuán问wèn：“你们nǐmen去qù哪儿nǎr？”

The clerk asks, "Where are you going?"

我wǒ说shuō：“去qù北京Běijīng，要yào两liǎng张zhāng九jiǔ点diǎn的de票piào。”

I say, "To Beijing — two tickets for the nine o'clock, please."

服务员fúwùyuán看kàn了le看kàn，说shuō：“九jiǔ点diǎn的de没有méiyǒu了le，十shí点diǎn的de可以kěyǐ吗ma？”

The clerk checks and says, "The nine o'clock is sold out. Would ten work?"

我wǒ问wèn朋友péngyou，朋友péngyou说shuō：“可以kěyǐ，十shí点diǎn也yě不bù晚wǎn。”

I check with my friend, who says, "That's fine — ten isn't late either."

服务员fúwùyuán说shuō：“好hǎo，两liǎng张zhāng票piào，一共yígòng四十sìshí块kuài。”

The clerk says, "Alright — two tickets, forty kuai in total."

我们wǒmen买mǎi了le票piào，出来chūlai的de时候shíhou，朋友péngyou说shuō：“明天míngtiān我们wǒmen早zǎo一点yìdiǎn来lái。”

We buy the tickets, and on the way out my friend says, "Let's get here a bit early tomorrow."

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

票piàoticket

张zhāng(measure word for tickets)

几jǐhow many; what

点diǎno'clock

一共yígòngin total

块kuàiyuan (colloquial)

几点的 — "the one at what time"

的 turns a time into "the one at that time", so you can drop the noun: 九点的 = the nine o'clock one.

我们要九点的票。 — We want tickets for the nine o'clock.

张 — measure word for flat things

Tickets, paper and tables take 张, never 个: 两张票, not 两个票.

两张票，一共六十块。 — Two tickets, sixty kuai in total.

别 + verb — don't do it

别 makes a soft negative command, gentler than 不要. It appears all over spoken Chinese.

别说了。 — Stop talking / don't say any more.

1. Where are the two friends going?

2. Why can't they take the nine o'clock train?

3. How much do the two tickets cost in total?