10

Dshk Guw
Lesson Ten: Shopping
In this lesson, we learn about shopping and gift giving. We familiarize ourselves with the type of stores and
merchandizes and with the matter of price mark down and bargin. We will discuss different types of shopping,
buying things for daily use or for special occasions, for our own use or as presents.

Zhnbi: Getting Ready

1.

What are the things you most often buy and where do you go to buy them?

2.

What are the most common gifts you give and/or receive?

3.

What do you think are the most interesting and most challenging things about shopping?

Xd mbio: Learning objectives

After participation in the activities of this lesson, the learner should be able to
Accurately identify the common types of commodity goods and the types of stores to find them
Discuss events concerning buying, selling, and gift giving
Inquire about local shopping malls and stores, and respond to such inquiries
Properly, fluently, and accurately understand, speak, and write through recall the following characters and
grammatical structures:

Hnz: Characters

Wnf: Grammar

"

The functions of

"

The functions of

# (The + items are simplified characters and variants)

Jxng: Sentence Patterns

[30a]

(to give B)

[30b]

does

[30c]

B
(for [the benefit of] B)

[31a]

[]
(to give B)

this gift.

[31b]

this gift

something

(for B)
to do

M. Chu, 1

([for B] to do this).
B

(to do this [to x]).

this.

B.

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. Kchng zhngdin: Main Text

I. Shngpn: Merchandise
<a> Tng-Shu: Listening & Speaking
1. Midngxi: Buying things; shopping
If you are on your way to go shopping, someone who does not know your plan may ask you:
Q1:

N q nr
(Where are you going?)

Q2:

N q zu shnme?
(What are you going there for?)

Your answer to either of these questions may be:

A:

W q mi dngxi.
(Ill go buy something.)
(Im going shopping.)

Note:

We learned that we should answer questions specifically according to what was asked. However,
we are gradually learning that grasping the essense of a question could help us provide a more
specific answer. In this case, the general purpose of going shopping is more specific than the
places one goes, thus the answer. And, this is quite similar to the situation in English.

If you are on your way to go shopping, and someone has guessed that is probably what you are doing, s/he
still can ask you a question to confirm his/her guess as a way of greeting by showing their interest in
knowing about your activities.
Q:

Q mi dngx ma
Going shopping, right?

A1:

Shde, q mi dngxi.
Yes, going shopping.

M. Chu, 2


A2:

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Shde, q mi dinr dngxi.

Yes, going to buy a little something.
[*As we know, diminishing the significance of the things you do is one way to show politeness.]

A3:

Sh a! Q mi jbn sh h ydinr shugu.

Exactly! Going to buy a few books and some fruit.
[*To provide the inquirer with some details of your activity is a way to show your sincerety.]

din

Dot; point; a little

ydinr

A little; a bit

To go shopping is to go look for something one plans to buy. Most of the things we use, such as school
supplies, food and clothes, we probably acquire them by buying. Grammatically, a Chinese verb-of-action
is generally specified by an object. We have learned that the Chinese equivalent for the English expression
to write may be , or something rather than just .
Similarly, the Chinese equivalent for to drink may be , or something rather
than just . Therefore, to buy or to shopping may be referring to:

mi sh

buy books

mi shuj

buy a cellphone

Yes, if you have something specific in mind, you may name that.
When the shopping list is too teditious or inconvenient to name, people would say:
buy things; shopping
mi dngxi

Therefore, this is like what we say, go shopping in English.

There is also a general term to use for grocery shopping:

mi ci

buy vegetables; shop for groceries

It is interesting to note that is not a Chinese expression. Grocery shopping may include
buying riceuncooked rice
buy (uncooked) rice
mi m

To buy ready-to-eat food, there are three general ways to do (and say):

q fngun chfn
go to a restaurant to eat

M. Chu, 3

10

jio wimi
call for delivery; order take-out; order to-go; get carry-out

mi shsh
buy prepared food; buy cooked food
The words for food include these:

shw

food; edibles

shpn

food; foodstuff

ch de dngxi

food; things to eat

It is also interesting to note that while mi kfi (to buy coffee) is a common enough,
most native speakers of Chinese are not used to the expression mi ch (to buy tea). People
may either mi chy (buy tea leaves) to brew their own tea,
q chgun hch (go to a tea house to drink tea) or q kfigun
hch (go to a coffee shop to drink tea). And, the expression
q kfigun mi ybi ch (to purchase a cup of tea at a coffee shop) is generally acceptable. When it
comes to food and drink, the Chinese conventions hold a strong position in judging linguistic
appropriateness.

2. shngpn: merchandise
We may shop for school supplies and stationaries such as
, etc. The generic term for them is:

wnj

stationary

There are many other things we also buy from time to time, such as:
toy
wnj

fzhung

clothing; clothes

yf

clothes

ryngpn

articles for daily use; common

household goods; daily supplies

M. Chu, 4

10

tnggu

sweets; candy

hur

flower

N q mi shnme dngxi?
What are you going to buy?
(1)

W q mi lingjin yf.
Im going to buy a couple of clothes.
[Note: is a measure word for clothes in general and for upper-body clothes particularly.]

(2)

W q mi tnggu h hur.
Im going to buy some sweets and flower.

(3)

W q mi yxi ryngpn.
I went/will go to buy some household daily supplies.

yxi

some; a few; a little

M. Chu, 5

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<b> D-Xi: Reading and Writing

Note:

jigwn: Oracal-bone Script, 17th to 11th Centuries BCE

jnwn: Bronze-carving Script, 11th to 3rd Century BCE
dzhun: Majuscule Seal script, 8th-3rd Century BCE
xiozhun: Refined Seal Script, 3rd Century BCE to 1st Century CE

1.
1)

bi: cowry; shell; (family name)

()
()
()
()
http://www.scandfish.com/gfx/clpost_seashells_large.jpg
The ancient forms are clearly pictures of cowries. Cowries were used in ancient China as currency at least
during the Shang Dynasty (16th-11th Century BCE), which coincides with the period when was
used. This may have been used all the way until the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BCE), especially if including
imitation cowry-shaped coins with man-made materials. Therefore, the character also contributes the
meaning of value, precious, or treasure either in a word-combination such as (treasure, darling)
or as a component of a character such as (*Remember this one?), (wealth) and many other ones we
are learning in this lesson. The above is an image of cowry that has some resemblance to the
picture.
Have you heard the name of the MIT educated Chinese-American architect, I. M. Pei (1917-)? He
designed, among other architectural landmarks, the Kennedy Library, National Gallery East Building, Le
Grand Louvre Pyramid, and the Bank of China buildings. His name in Chinese is and it is
pronounced, starting with the family name, as Bi Ymng.

2)

bigu

bagel [*This is a sound transcription of

the English word]

bo: treasure
What was your first impression of the characterthe traditional and simplified forms?
Do you recall the meaning of the characters top component
The character consists of four components. We are familiar with the characters top component , as
seen in , , , etc., right? We have just learned the character , which is the bottom component of ,
and this additional component below:

fu: jar; container

()
()
()
()
These forms picture a jar with a lid. The image on the right, found on www.findart.com.cn, is a
bronze , claimed to be from Pre-Qin period (before 3rd Century BCE).

M. Chu, 6

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Now, lets get back to the character .

()
()
()
()
In the form, we see (cowry/money) and (jade) under a roof. In the form, we see not
only and but also two additional items, one of which is , and the other is a more illustrative
drawing of a jar or some other type of container. Here we have it, a collection of treasures under the roof
(or, in the house). By the time of the after the Qin (221-207 BCE) unification of written script, the
structure of the strokes in the character became very similar to its current appearance where the
components of the character are still clearly identifiable.

bobao

baby

bobi

treasured object; baby; darling

boy

precious jade

bbo fn

eight treasures steamed rice pudding

bo m

the Chinese word for BMW car [literally:

treasure horse]
the Four Treasures of a Scholars Studio;
wnfng sbo

stationary
The Four Treasures of a Scholars Studio, which is also commonly used now to refer to the supplies for
calligraphy writing, are (b m zh yn: writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone)

3)

mi: buy
()

()

()

()

The character is generally understood as a (huy) character, or associative

compounds. The ancient graphs combine two components, (shellcurrency) and
(net; basket). It is understandable that the meaning of the charcter is likely related to a
commercial activity involving currency. However, the logic behind the creation of the
new meaning buy by combining the two components is not quite clear. We may
consider the possiblity that the two components are those one need to carry when going
to buy something: the money to be used to pay for the purchase and the container to be
used to carry what has been purchased. That takes us to meet a very efficient
conventional Chinese carrier, the wngdi, which is still used by many in
China. Another thing to keep in mind is when you go to a supermarket or a store in
China, you may be asked to pay for the container. So carrying an easily crushable
wngdi in your handbag or pocket may not be a bad idea. It saves you a few
pennies and, more importantly, it contributes to save our environment.

4)

mi: sell
()

()

()

The ancient graphs do not include those from the earliest stage, the . In the script, the graphs
include the component plus what seems to be a big-eyed person with a hat. It does not seem to be
directly related to the graphs for prior to the script. The script of include a component

M. Chu, 7

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(out), which is written as in the current traditional, standard form. Again, we can understand that
the meaning of the character is related to money and trade but not clear about the logic of how the meaning
was derived through the joining together of the components.
Buying and selling using money tokens might mark an advanced commercial behavior developed from
earlier trading practices of (ywyw: barter system; exchange of goods; exchange with what
you have extra for what you need or want to have). is to acquire goods with money token, represented
here by ancient currency of cowry or shells. is to receive money and let go of goods.

mi dngxi

shopping; buy things

mi-mi

buying and selling; business transaction

zu mimi

do business

mifng

buyer

mifng

seller

W xing mi wnfng sbo, qngwn nr yu?

I would like to buy some wenfang sibao, could you tell me if you have them?

Dubuq, wmen bmi wnfng sbo.

My apologies, we do not sell wenfang sibao.

2.
5)

y: clothes
The picture on the left depicts a pre-modern casual top. This drawing cooresponds to the
ancient graphs of the character for clothes.

()
()
()
()
The character is also used as a component in many clothes-related characters. It takes different forms
in these characters. For example, it may appear as
(1) on the left side (e.g. ), in its independent character form; as
(2) at the bottom of the character (e.g. ); or as split top and bottom
(3) &
(e.g.: zhng, gu).
In some rare cases, it may appear in somewhat distorted form or appear at the top of a character.

M. Chu, 8

6)

10

dy

Overcoat

moy

Sweater

yji

Clothes hanger; clothes rack

f: clothes; serve; obey

()
()
()
()
The graph indicates a hand over a kneeing person. This illustrates the basic meaning of the
character, subdue. In later graphs, a boat or an eye (third above) component was added, may be
indicating some kind of forced laborin a boat under surveillance. (fy) still means enlist in the
army or undergo forced labor in modern Mandarin. was used to refer to the uniform worn by those
who were enlisted to serve in the army or levy labor, before being used for the meaning of uniform or
clothes in general. The boat (or eye) component appears as in current standard form.

yf

clothing, clothes

Tde yf hndu. T yu dy, yu moy, y yu hndu qtde yf.

Her clothes are many. She has overcoats, sweaters, and she has many other clothes.

T tintin chun btngde yf li shngk.

Everyday, she wears different clothes to class.

T i mi hngude yf.
He loves to buy expensive clothes.
[Where did we see the character before? More details on it later in this lesson.]
Note:

We have learned the character jin and that it is used in words such as , , and .
Now, let us learn another important use of it.

jin

Item; (measure word for articles and for

clothes, especially upper-body clothes)

M. Chu, 9

10

Zh lingjin dngxi fng zi zhr, ky ma?

Is it okay to put these couple of things here?

T zutin mi de nijin dy tidle.

The coat that he bought yesterday was too big.

7)

zhung: outfit; pack; install; pretend

()

is a meaning-phonetic combination, with as its meaning component and

(pronounced zhung in modern Mandarin) as the phonetic component.

fzhung

dress; clothing

nnzhung

mens clothes

nzhung

womens clothes

Nnzhung h nzhung btng. Drn fzhung h rtng fzhung y btng.

Mens clothes and womens clothes are differnt. Adult clothes and children clothes are also different.

8)

hu: flower; colorful; (family name)

The ancient graphs illustrate a flowering plant. These images are most likely the ancestors of both and
(flower; splendar; maganificent) in current standard form. Based on the shape of the ancient graphs, it
is reasonable to assume that was the direct decendent and a later development. The process could be
one of character simplification not dissimilar to the modern era (xnzo
xngshngz) method: forming a new semantic-phonetic character, having one component representing
the semantic category (which was , the earlier form of grass/plant, here) and another component
representing the sound value (which was in this case) of the new character. The newer form seemed
to have been granted for the more common uses while the older form continue to be used for more
formal ones.

hum

flowers and trees

hushng

peanut

huqin

spend money

M. Chu, 10

10

T xng Hu, jio Hu Mln.

(Her family name is Hua and her name is Hua Mulan.

3.
9)

wn: play; have fun; do something for amusement

()
Apparently the character is a later development as no ancient graph before Shu Wn Ji Z
(Explaining and Analyzing Characters, of 100 or 121 CE) was found. The character consists of two
components: (which is written as as a left-side component) and . As we have learned, the ancient
graphs of picture a person, with a special focus on the headtop.
The component (pronounced yun in modern Mandarin) is most likely used to approximate the
characters pronunciation, but may contribute to its meaning as well. The meaning play may have been
expressed through the image of a person toying/appreciating a piece of jade.

iwn

love to play

chh-wnl

idle away one's time in pleasure-seeking

hown

fun; interesting

dinwn

video game

Shngge Xngqli yu hndu tngxu li wji wn.

Last Saturday, many classmates came to my home to play.

Zhr miyu hndu hown de dfng.

There are not many fun places here.

Wmen q xushng zhngxn de yuxsh d dinwn ba.

Lets go to the gameroom at the Student Center to play some video games.

M. Chu, 11

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10) j: tool; device; instrument

()

()

()

All ancient graphs picture two hands holding something, which is understood by some as a food container
or a utensil and by others as shell or money. In either case, this could help explain the fact that the character
still carries the meaning of prepare or provide.

wnj

stationary

gngj

tool; instrument

chj

tea set; tea service

wnj

toy

N sh yto hnhode chj. W hn xing mi, ksh di hu hndu qin.

That was a very nice set of tea service. I would very much like to buy it, but it cost lots of money.)

N n'r de wnj tidule. Bi zi mi le.

Your daughter has too many toys. Dont buy any more.

11)

pn: product; goods; grade (of product)

()

()

()

()

Ancient graphs picture three piled-up objects. Three, as it includes both an odd number, one, and an even
number, two, is traditionally considered as the meaningful indication of multiplicity. Later the meaning was
extended to that of comparing among a group of things or people and grading them. The current uses of
the character also illustrate its sense of collectivity.

zupn

works (of literature or art)

shpn

foodstuff; food

yngpn

articles for use

ryngpn

household supplies

nipn

dairy products

M. Chu, 12

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T sh bnd yumngde zuji, zupn hndu.

She is a famous author in this area, with numerous works.

Zutin t mile hndu ryngpn. Jntin t yu q nl mile shpn.

Yesterday he bought a good amount of household supplies. Today, he went again and bought some food.

W bch nipn, qtde shpn du miyu wnt.

I do not eat dairy products but have no problems with any other food.

12)

xng: go; ok
hng: row; column; firm
()
()
()
()
The ancient scripts illustrate similar images, which are generally interpreted as footsteps or crossroad.

xngrn

pedestrian

xngxng

planet

bxng

wont do; wont work; not allowed

shnghng

commercial firm; trading company; store

ynhng

bank

W xin q ynhng, zi q mi dngxi.

Ill first go to the bank, and ten to go buy something.

Xuxio witou yu jji shnghng h ynhng.

Outside of the school, there are a few stores and banks.

M. Chu, 13

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<c> Linx: Exercises

1. Bhu jigu: Character Strokes and Structures
(1) Traditional Characters: Trace and write to become familiar with the structure of characters

bi: cowry; shell
: bagel

bo: treasure
: treasure

mi: buy
mi: sell
: buy books : buying & selling bu

y: clothes
: overcoat

f: serve, clothes
: clothing, clothes

zhung: dress, dress up

: outfit

hu: flower
: flowers & trees

wn: play
: love to play

j: tool; instrument

pn: product; goods;

: toy

:grade
foodstuff

M. Chu, 14

hng: firm
: bank

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1. Bhu jigu: Character Strokes and Structures

(2) Simplified Characters: Trace and write to become familiar with the structure of characters

bi: cowry; shell
: bagel

bo: treasure
: treasure

mi: buy
mi: sell
: buy books : buying & selling bu

y: clothes
: overcoat

f: serve, clothes
: clothing, clothes

zhung: dress, dress up

: outfit

hu: flower
: flowers & trees

wn: play
: love to play

j: tool; instrument

pn: product; goods;

: toy

:grade
foodstuff

M. Chu, 15

hng: firm
: bank

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Notes on Character Simplification:

1.

Adopting the method of (cosh kihu):

Using the short-hand cursive style ( cosh) of a traditional full-form character or character
component but linearizes the connected or tangled strokes into independent standard style (
kish) stroke lines.

is simplified to
is simplified to
2.

Adopting the method of (jb shnch):

Deleting certain component of the traditional character.

is simplified to
3.

Adopting the method of (fho dit):

Replacing complex components of a traditional character with a simpler existing characters or
components, or with particularly created symbols.

is simplified to
is simplified to
, the simplified character for , combines a particular form
with (which is the simplified
character for , meaning head). , the simplified character for , adds one additional
component over . The simplified forms do not have any semantic relationship with the
traditional ones and no meaningful association is found between the components of the simplified
forms. The simplification process seems to be using reduced strokes to represent the general
4.

(yng ytz) method was adopted in the simplification process of the

following characters.

has a variant form

in the simplified character system

This method is basically to use a variant way of writing a character in fewer strokes. Sometimes,
the variant does not have reduced number of strokes but it is just in a slightly different style. The
stroke reduction, when it happens, may have been resulted from connecting adjacent strokes or
eliminating some. This change is slight and casual and sometimes not considered as part of the
simplification scheme.
At times, the changes may have happened in the traditional character system instead of the
simplified character system. The component in the character has been written for hundreds of
years like this and remains to be so in the simplified character system. The difference between the
forms in the two systems was actually caused by a recent standardization in the traditional
character systemby changing the third stroke of the component from left slanting ( pi)
to horizontal ( hng).
Additionally, the two horizontal lines of the top grass component in the traditional character are
connected into one horizontal line.

M. Chu, 16

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2. C y duyng: Matching words with meaning

(1) Write the Chinese equivalent of the following in characters

<i> buying and selling: __________________

<ii> shopping _______________

<iii> shopping for grocery: __________________

<iv> order take out (food): _______________

<v> treasure: ________________

<vi> baby: _____________

<vii> the Four Treasures ________________

<viii> BMW: _______________

<ix> overcoat: ________________

<x> sweater: _________________

<xi> dress; clothing: ________________

<xii> womens clothes: _________________

<xiii> mens clothes: ________________

<xiv> flowers and trees: _________________

<xv> peanuts: ________________

<xvi> to spend money: _________________

<xvii> tool: ________________

<xviii> toy: _________________

<xix> love to play: ________________

<xx> video game: _________________

<xxi> tea set: ________________

<xxii> household supplies: _________________

<xxiii>dairy product: ________________

<xxiv> foodstuff: _________________

<xxv> pedestrian: ________________

<xxvi> planet: _________________

<xxvii>bank: ________________

<xxviii> commercial firm; store: _______________

M. Chu, 17

3. Hud wnt: Answer Questions

Write your answers and translate them into English.
(1)

_____________________________________________________________________
(2)

_____________________________________________________________________
(3)

_____________________________________________________________________
(4)

_____________________________________________________________________
(5)

_____________________________________________________________________
(6)

_____________________________________________________________________
(7)

_____________________________________________________________________
(8)

_____________________________________________________________________

M. Chu, 18

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