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."

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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?

After this reading

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