Y: It’s time to perfect Chinese you’re way in only five minutes a day. Welcome to Chinese Studio on CRI. Wo shi Yajie.
C: And wo shi Cam.  Yaj, this week we are talking about all things post office.
Y:  Right… let’s continue!

Key words of the day

Stamp, 邮票，This package is overweight. 包裹超重了。I’d like to send this by air mail. 我要寄封航空信。How long will it take to arrive? 多长时间能到？How much are stamps? 邮票要多少钱？All in today’s Chinese studio.

C:  Yajie, when I’ve sent a package, sometimes they tell me it’s overweight.  Meaning it weighs simply too much.  How would they say that?
Y: They would say bao1 guo3 chao1 zhong4 le.
C:  bao1 guo3 chao1 zhong4 le.
Y: bao1 guo3 means package.
C: bao1 guo3,
Y: chao1 zhong4 means overweight,
C: chao1 zhong4.
Y: chao1 means exceed,
C: chao1.
Y: zhong4 means weight,
C: zhong4,
Y: chao1 zhong4
C: chao1 zhong4, overweight,
Y: bao1 guo3 chao1 zhong4 le.
C: bao1 guo3 chao1 zhong4 le. The package is overweight.

Conversation1:
A: 请帮我称一下包裹。
B: 好的。您的包裹的确超重了。

C: Sometimes I want to send it by airmail.
Y: you can say “wo3 yao4 ji4 feng1 hang2 kong1 xin4.”
C: wo3 yao4 ji4 feng1 hang2 kong1 xin4.
Y: wo3 yao4  I want to,
C: wo3 yao4.
Y: ji4 means mail,
C: ji4.
Y: feng1 is the measure word for letter. Here it means one,
C: feng1.
Y: hang2 kong1 means by air,
C: hang2 kong1.
Y: xin4 means letter,
C: xin4.
Y: hong2 kong1 xin4, airmail,
C: hong2 kong1 xin4.
Y: wo3 yao4 ji4 feng1 hang2 kong1 xin4.
C: wo3 yao4 ji4 feng1 hang2 kong1 xin4. I want to send it by airmail.

Conversation2:
A：我要寄封航空信。
B：好的，请稍等。

C: What’s the Chinese for “How long will it take to arrive?”
Y:  You can ask them that by saying duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1 neng2 dao4?
C: duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1 neng2 dao4?
Y: duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1 means how long,
C: duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1.
Y: neng2 means could,
C: neng2,
Y: dao4 means arrive,
C: dao4.
Y: duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1 neng2 dao4?
C: duo1 chang2 shi2 jian1 neng2 dao4? How long will it take to arrive?

Conversation3:
A：这个包裹多长时间能到？
B：大概三四天。

C: Now let’s say I wanna mail a letter, which of course need stamps, so how do I ask how many stamps in Chinese?
Y:  it’s yao4 duo1 shao3 qian4 you2 piao4？
C：yao4 duo1 shao3 qian4 you2 piao4.
Y：yao4 is short for xu1 yao4, which means need,
C：yao4.
Y：duo1 shao3 qian2, how much
C：duo1 shao3 qian2.
Y：you2 piao4, stamp,
C：you2 piao4.
Y：yao4 duo1 shao3 qian4 you2 piao4
C：yao4 duo1 shao3 qian4 you2 piao4. How many stamps?

Conversation4:
A：要多少钱邮票？
B：4块。

Key words Reminder

Stamp, 邮票 This package is overweight. 包裹超重了 I’d like to send this by air mail. 我要寄封航空信。How long will it take to arrive? 多长时间能到？How much are stamps? 要多少钱邮票？ All in today’s Chinese studio.

C: That’s it for our postage week… this stuff will come in handy for foreigners sending stuff back to their friends and family at home!
Y:  Time for our question of the day.
C:  How do you say “how long will it take to arrive” in Chinese?  Send your answer to Chinese@crifm.com and you might win a prize.
Y:  Ok, see you tomorrow.
C: Mingtian jian!