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Bicycles & Cycling I

B: Dajia hao, hello everyone, improve your Chinese every day, right here in the Chinese
Studio. Welcome in, I’m Brendan.
Y: ni hao B. wo shi Y, let’s find out what Brendan would like to learn this week.
B: You know Y, the weather is great for being outside, and there’s nothing I like more than
being on a bike, a bicycle. I know how to cycle around the city, I’d love to be able to talk my
way around my bike.
Y: Good idea, let’s check our key words of the day.

Key words of the day

Bicycle 自行车Seat 车座Brakes 刹车Tires 车胎Where can I get the bike repaired? 哪儿有修车
的？ I’ve got a flat tire 我的车胎没气了。My brake doesn’t work. 刹车失灵了。All in today’s
Chinese Studio.

B: So let’s begin at the beginning, what do we call a bike Y?

Y: we call it zi4 xing2 che1.
B: zi4 xing2 che1. And what about, Where can I get the bike repaired?
Y: You can ask: 哪儿有修车的？
B: na3er you3 xiu1 che1 de?
Y: na3er means where,
B: na3er,
Y:you3 , literally means have,
B: you3,
Y: xiu1 means repair,
B: xiu1,
Y: che1 means bike,
B: che1,
Y: na3er you3 xiu1 che1 de?
B: na3er you3 xiu1 che1 de? Where can I get the bike repaired?

Conversation 1
A: 哪儿有修车的？
B: 前面就有一个修车铺。

B: I’d better learn a few important parts of the zixingche. The seat please Y.
Y: it’s che1 zuo4,
B: che1 zuo4, as che1 is bicycle,
Y: right. And zuo4 means seat,

  Coryright 2007 cchello.com 
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B: zuo4,
Y: che1 zuo4,
B: che1 zuo4, seat. And the brakes,Y?
Y: You can say: sha1 che1.
B: sha1 che1. And how about the tires?
Y: It’s che1 tai1. As tai1 means tire in Chinese,
B: che1 tai1. Got it…

Conversation 2
A: 看看我新买的自行车。
B: 真漂亮！不过车座好像有点高。

B: Oops! I think I’ve got a flat tire, how do I say that Y?

Y: wo3 de che1 tai1 mei2 qi4 le.
B: Let me try that: wo3 de che1 tai1 mei2 qi4 le.
Y: wo3 de means mine,
B: wo3 de,
Y: che1 tai1 means tires,
B: che1 tai1,
Y: mei2 qi4, of course it’s not that mei2 qi4 which means natural gas, here it means a flat tire,
B: mei2 qi4 ,
Y: 我的车胎没气了
B: wo3 de che1 tai1 mei2 qi4 le. I’ve got a flat tire.
Y: besides, there is another Chinese adjective which is very suitable to describe a flat tire…
B: Tell me Yajie.
Y: Okay, it’s bie3,
B: bie3.
Y: That’s right…wo3 de che1 tai1 bie3 le.
B: wo3 de che1 tai1 bie3 le. I’ve got a flat tire.

Conversation 3
A: 我的车胎没气了。
B: 别急，我来帮你打气。

B: I’m afraid that my brake doesn’t work. It’s very dangerous and I need someone to fix it for
me… How do I tell shifu that Y?
Y: here we go. sha1 che1 shi1 ling2 le.
B: sha1 che1 shi1 ling2 le.
Y: sha1 che1 is brakes,
B: sha1 che1,
Y: shi1 ling2 means the brake doesn’t work,
B: shi1 ling2,

  Coryright 2007 cchello.com 
                                                                                   www.cchello.com
Y: sha1 che1 shi1 ling2 le.
B: sha1 che1 shi1 ling2 le. My brake doesn’t work.

Conversation 4
A: 哎呀，好疼啊，你轧着我的脚了！
B: 对不起, 刹车失灵了。

Key words reminder

Bicycle 自行车Seat 车座Brakes 刹车Tires 车胎Where can I get the bike repaired? 哪儿有修车
的？ I’ve got a flat tire 我的车胎没气了。My brake doesn’t work. 刹车失灵了。All in today’s
Chinese Studio.

B: Time to leave by bike. Gotta go Y.

Y: Let’s not forget our question of the day. How do you say, “I’ve got a flat tire?” in Chinese?

  Coryright 2007 cchello.com