Key Words of the Day
好吗, 行吗, 可以吗. all mean ‘Is it ok?’,我请你吃饭,好吗？Let me treat you to dinner, ok? 吃饭, have dinner. 坐, take a seat. 一起, together. 看电影, go to the cinema. 泡吧, go to a pub. All in today’s Chinese Studio.   

Cam:  So Yajie, if I want to take a girl to dinner, what should I say?
Yajie: In Chinese, it’s 我请你吃饭 -吃饭, to have a dinner.
Cam: So 请你吃饭 (qing ni chi fan)means ‘to treat you to dinner’. 请, we’ve learned one of its meanings as ‘please’. Here it means ‘to invite’.
Yajie: 我请你吃饭 is a declarative sentence ,but when we put a phrase like 好吗 after我请你吃饭,  it turns to a question. 我请你吃饭, 好吗? Let me treat you to dinner, OK?
Cam: 好吗 (hao ma) means ‘is it OK’ or ‘how is it?’ It can be replaced by quite a few phrases.
Yajie: 行吗? 行, x-ing, second rising tone. 行. 我请你吃饭, 行吗?
Cam: And 可以吗 (ke yi ma) also works. 可以吗? 

Conversation 1:

Cam: Yajie, you told me earlier this show would help me start dating in China… I need to know how to ask a girl out!
Yajie: Well the sentence patterns we’ve learned just now are very polite. Now it’s time for something practical. If you meet a girl in the canteen, you can sit beside her.  That will help you get to know her. But don’t forget to ask permission first: 我坐这儿，行吗？   
Cam: (wo zuo zher xing ma) It means ‘Could I take this seat?’
Yajie: 坐, z-u-o, the forth falling tone, 坐, means ‘to sit’.
Cam: 我坐这儿，行吗？(wo zuo zher xing ma)
Yajie: Wonderful. Then you should pay attention to the reply. If she agrees, her answer may be行. In addition, 好的, 可以are all appropriate to express the same positive meaning.
Cam: So a positive reply can be: 行, (xing) , 好的,(hao de) 可以. (ke yi). These answers all mean ‘Fine’. So what if she says no?
Yajie: Well, she might say 抱歉 or 对不起。We learned those last time. 抱歉, it’s occupied. 对不起, it’s my friend’s seat.
Cam: Well… I don’t plan on being rejected!  But what if I want to take a girl to the cinema?
Yajie: 一起去看电影，好吗? 一起, together. 起, q-i, third tone, 起. 电影, film. 电, d-i-an, forth tone, 电. 影, y-ing, third tone, 影. 电影, film. 看电影, watch a film.
Cam: So Let’s go to cinema together, OK? 一起去看电影，好吗? (yi qi qu kan dian ying hao ma) Is it a good idea?
Yajie: I don’t think so. It may be the most boring way to have a first date because there won’t be any chance to talk.
Cam: We can definitely talk over a pi jiu.  How do I ask a girl to the pub?
Yajie: 晚上去泡吧，怎么样? 泡吧, go to pub. 泡吧. Let’s go to a pub tonight, is it OK?
Cam:  (wan shang qu pao ba zen me yang)

Conversation 2: 

Key words Reminder:
好吗, 行吗, 可以吗. all mean ‘Is it ok?’,我请你吃饭,好吗？Let me treat you to dinner, ok? 吃饭, have dinner. 坐, take a seat. 一起, together. 看电影, go to the cinema. 泡吧, go to a pub. All in today’s Chinese Studio.   

Cam: OK. We’ve come to the end of today’s lesson. And the question of the day is to come up with a sentence and add 好吗 at the end.
Yajie: Send us your answer to Chinese@crifm.com. I’m Yajie, bye for now.
Cam: And I’m Cam, ming tian jian.

(Written by Wang Anjing)