As British explorer Benedict Allen made his way across the Gobi Desert he said something like: “You can communicate all essential needs in less than 100 words”. His essential 100 probably had a lot to do with the welfare of his camels but in a nod to his spirit of adventure here is one possible Beijing 100. Please feel free to add your own suggestions or come up with different city or country lists. As Mr Allen says, it’s not so easy.
NUMBERS 1-10, 100
mei you – don’t have
wo – me
ni – you
ta – him/her
ni hao – hi
zai jian – see you
xie xie – thanks
fu lu – side road
qu – go
you – right
zou – left
yi zhi zou – go straight ahead
nar – where
bei/nan/xi/dong – north/south/ west/east
hao/bu hao – good/no good
zhei ge/ nei ge – this one/ that one
bing kuai – ice
jian yi kele – diet coke
xi lan hua – broccoli
ji/ zhu/ niu – chicken/ pork/ beef
rou – meat
fapiao – receipt
IP ka – telephone IP card
shouji – mobile phone
kafei – coffee
pengyou – friend
I am indebted to The Pocket Interpreter for the following conversational gambits:
Ni dui meiguo de wai jiao zhengce zenme kan?
(What do you think of American foreign policy?)
Mei shi ge nianqing ren zhong, you ji ge sh dang yuan?
(Out of every ten young people, how many are Party members?)
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Unsubstantiated claims tend to lose their substance under crossexamination so, in the interest of general interest, no effort has been made to verify the following loose-lipped statements overheard in an all-you-can-eat restaurant:
1. It now costs 16,000 yuan in bribes to get a truck past all the checkpoints and into Beijing.
2. Fear is rippling through the city that supplies are running out for office cola vending machines. Should we stockpile diet beverages now or suffer in solidarity with the rest of the population when the time comes?
With all the knocks on the door and talk of security, it is worth turning back the clock to a kinder, gentler time. On April 3, 2001, the International Olympic Committee finalised its assessment of the 2008 candidate cities and concluded that “there appeared to be no terrorist threat in Beijing”. In summary, “there are no significant security risks anticipated”. More words were spent on the weather and the coin programme.
