Published by Collins
An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Westerhill Road
Bishopbriggs
Glasgow G64 2QT
First Edition 2019
© HarperCollins Publishers 2019
Collins® is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited
Ebook Edition © March 2019
ISBN: 9780008319946
Version: 2019-03-26
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark.
HarperCollins does not warrant that any website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, than any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs. For full terms and conditions please refer to the site terms provided on the website.
If you would like to comment on any aspect of this book, please contact us at the given address or online.
E-mail [email protected]
CONTENTS
Whether you’re on holiday or staying for a slightly longer period of time, your Collins Visual Dictionary is designed to help you find exactly what you need, when you need it. With over a thousand clear and helpful images, you can quickly locate the vocabulary you are looking for.
The Visual Dictionary includes:
10 chapters arranged thematically, so that you can easily find what you need to suit the situation
images – illustrating essential items
YOU MIGHT SAY… – common phrases that you might want to use
YOU MIGHT HEAR… – common phrases that you might come across
VOCABULARY – common words that you might need
YOU SHOULD KNOW… – tips about local customs or etiquette
USING YOUR COLLINS VISUAL DICTIONARY
The points set out below will help to make sure that your Collins Visual Dictionary gives you as much help as possible when using Mandarin Chinese:
1) How to address people politely
At work, you can call your peers by their names – a rule of thumb is to always address people by their job title or occupation with their family name first, for example, 张老师 (zhāng lǎo shī), “Zhang teacher”. You may also hear 小王 (xiǎo Wang), literally “young Wang” or 老李 (lǎo Lǐ), “old Li” in the workplace depending on age and seniority, although this is rather informal.
When invited to meet a friend’s family, unless they are younger or roughly the same age, you shouldn’t call them by their names. You can call their grandparents 爷爷／奶奶 (yé ye/nǎi nai) “grandfather/grandmother”, and their parents or anyone in that generation 叔叔／阿姨 (shū shu/ā yí) “uncle/auntie”, as if they were your own relatives. Addressing the older generations by their names is considered very rude in Chinese culture.
“你” or “您”？ Although both are translated as “you” in English, 您 is used to show respect when addressing, for example, your parents, grandparents, or boss. On the other hand, 你 is used to address friends and peers.
2) Measure words
Measure words are unique to Chinese, and are mandatory when using a noun with a numeral, for example, “one car” is