In this relatable dialogue, a convenience store clerk chats a bit with his customer, since both of them are awake in the middle of the night.
夜里两点，便利店里很安静。小李坐在桌子后面，有点想睡觉。
门开了。”叮咚”。
王先生走进来。他穿着旧外套，头发有点乱。
王先生： 你好。
小李： 你好，王先生。今天也是泡面吗？
王先生： 对，还是牛肉的。
小李： 我们这个星期有新的，是辣的。你要试试看吗？
王先生： 不要，我不吃辣。
小李： 好的。
王先生从冰箱拿了一瓶水，然后走到桌子前。
小李： 一共十五块。
王先生： 给你。
小李： 谢谢。你每天都来，工作很忙吗？
王先生： 是的，我晚上工作，早上睡觉。
小李： 你做什么工作？
王先生： 我是出租车司机。
小李： 啊，很辛苦。
王先生： 你也辛苦。这么晚还在工作。
小李： 没办法，要赚钱。
两个人都笑了。
王先生： 那我走了，明天见。
小李: 明天见。
门关上了。便利店又安静了。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 便利店 | biànlìdiàn | convenience store |
| 安静 | ānjìng | quiet |
| 泡面 | pàomiàn | instant noodles |
| 辣 | là | spicy |
| 冰箱 | bīngxiāng | refrigerator |
| 一共 | yígòng | in total |
| 出租车司机 | chūzūchē sījī | taxi driver |
| 辛苦 | xīnkǔ | hard/tiring (work) |
| 赚钱 | zhuànqián | to make money |
| 夜里 | yè li | during the night; at night; nighttime |
| 两 | liǎng | two; both; some; a few; tael, unit of weight equal to 50 grams (modern) or 1⁄16 of a catty 斤[jin1] (old) |
| 点 | diǎn | to touch briefly; to tap; to mark with a dot; to check off (on a list); to order (food etc); to select; to mention; to bring up (a topic or person); to hint at; to imply; to admini… |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 小 | xiǎo | small; tiny; few; young |
| 李 | lí | plum; surname Li |
| 坐 | Zuò | surname Zuo |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 桌子 | zhuō zi | table; desk; CL:張|张[zhang1],套[tao4] |
| 后 | Hòu | surname Hou; back; behind; rear; afterwards; after; later; post- |
| 面 | miàn | face; side; surface; aspect; top; classifier for objects with flat surfaces such as drums, mirrors, flags etc; variant of 麵|面[mian4]; flour; noodles; (of food) soft (not crunchy); (slang) (of a person) ineffectual; spineless |
| 有点 | yǒu diǎn | a little |
| 想睡 | xiǎng shuì | drowsy; sleepy |
| 觉 | jiào | a nap; a sleep; CL:場|场[chang2] |
| 门 | Mén | surname Men |
| 开 | kāi | to open (transitive or intransitive); (of ships, vehicles, troops etc) to start; to turn on; to put in operation; to operate; to run; to boil; to write out (a prescription, check, … |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 叮 | ding | to sting or bite (of mosquito, bee etc); to urge insistently; to stick to a point |
| 咚 | ||
| 王 | Wáng | surname Wang |
| 先生 | xiān sheng | teacher; gentleman; sir; mister (Mr.); husband; (dialect) doctor; CL:位[wei4] |
| 走进 | zǒu jìn | to enter; to step into |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 他 | tā | (third-person singular) (since the early 20th century, usu. male) he; him; his; (bound form) other; another; some other (as in 他日[ta1 ri4] and 他人[ta1 ren2]) |
| 穿着 | chuān zhuó | attire; clothes; dress |
| 旧 | jìu | old; opposite: new 新; former; worn (with age) |
| 外套 | wài tào | outer garment; jacket; coat; CL:件[jian4] |
| 头 | tóu | head; hair style; the top; end; beginning or end; a stub; remnant; chief; boss; side; aspect; first; leading; classifier for pigs or livestock; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 发 | fā | to send out; to show (one's feeling); to issue; to develop; to make a bundle of money; classifier for gunshots (rounds); hair; Taiwan pr. [fa3] |
| 乱 | luàn | in confusion or disorder; in a confused state of mind; disorder; upheaval; riot; illicit sexual relations; to throw into disorder; to mix up; indiscriminate; random; arbitrary |
| 你 | nǐ | you (informal, as opposed to courteous 您[nin2]); you (Note: In Taiwan, 妳 is used to address females, but in mainland China, it is not commonly used. Instead, 你 is used to address both males and females.) |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today; the present time; now |
| 也 | Yě | surname Ye |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 对 | duì | right; correct; towards; at; for; concerning; regarding; to treat (sb a certain way); to face; (bound form) opposite; facing; matching; to match together; to adjust; to fit; to sui… |
| 还是 | hái shi | still (as before); had better; unexpectedly; or |
| 牛肉 | níu ròu | beef |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 这个 | zhè ge | (pronoun) this; (adjective) this |
| 星期 | xīng qī | week; CL:個|个[ge4]; day of the week; Sunday |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 要 | yāo | (bound form) to demand; to coerce |
| 试试看 | shì shì kàn | to give it a try |
| 不要 | bù yào | don't!; must not |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 吃 | chī | to eat; to consume; to eat at (a cafeteria etc); to eradicate; to destroy; to absorb; to suffer (shock, injury, defeat etc); variant of 吃[chi1] |
| 从 | cóng | variant of 從|从[cong2]; surname Cong |
| 拿 | ná | old variant of 拿[na2]; variant of 拿[na2]; to hold; to seize; to catch; to apprehend; to take; (used in the same way as 把[ba3]: to mark the following noun as a direct object) |
| 一 | yī | one; single; a (article); as soon as; entire; whole; all; throughout; "one" radical in Chinese characters (Kangxi radical 1); also pr. [yao1] for greater clarity when spelling out … |
| 瓶 | píng | bottle; vase; pitcher; CL:個|个[ge4]; classifier for wine and liquids; variant of 瓶[ping2] |
| 水 | Shuǐ | surname Shui; Shui ethnic group |
| 然 | rán | correct; right; so; thus; like this; -ly |
| 走 | zǒu | to walk; to go; to run; to move (of vehicle); to visit; to leave; to go away; to die (euph.); from; through; away (in compound verbs, such as 撤走[che4 zou3]); to change (shape, form… |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive; to leave for; to go to; to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point); (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point); considerate; thoug… |
| 前 | qián | front; forward; ahead; first; top (followed by a number); future; ago; before; BC (e.g. 前293年); former; formerly |
| 十五 | shí wǔ | fifteen; 15 |
| 块 | kuài | lump; chunk; piece; classifier for pieces of cloth, cake, soap etc; (coll.) classifier for money and currency units |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 谢谢 | xiè xie | to thank; thanks; thank you |
| 每天 | měi tiān | every day |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 忙 | máng | busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush |
| 是的 | shì de | yes, that's right; variant of 似的[shi4 de5] |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening; night; CL:個|个[ge4]; in the evening |
| 早上 | zǎo shang | early morning; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 睡觉 | shuì jiào | to go to bed; to sleep |
| 做 | zuò | to make; to produce; to write; to compose; to do; to engage in; to hold (a party etc); (of a person) to be (an intermediary, a good student etc); to become (husband and wife, frien… |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 啊 | ā | interjection of surprise; Ah!; Oh! |
| 这么 | zhè me | so much; this much; how much?; this way; like this |
| 晚 | wǎn | evening; night; late |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 没 | méi | (negative prefix for verbs) have not; not |
| 办 | bàn | to take care of (a matter); to deal with (a task, procedure etc); to organize (an event); to establish; to set up; to manage; to run (an enterprise); (law) to handle; to investigat… |
| 法 | fǎ | variant of 法[fa3]; France; French; abbr. for 法國|法国[Fa3 guo2]; Taiwan pr. [Fa4]; old variant of 法[fa3]; law |
| 个人 | gè rén | an individual; oneself; (attributive) personal; one's own |
| 笑 | xiào | old variant of 笑[xiao4]; to laugh; to smile; to laugh at |
| 那 | Nā | surname Na |
| 明天见 | míng tiān jiàn | see you tomorrow; (coll., jocular) food that passes through the digestive system more or less intact (esp. enoki mushrooms) |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 又 | yòu | (once) again; also; both... and...; and yet; (used for emphasis) anyway |
At two in the morning, the convenience store was very quiet. Xiao Li sat behind the counter, feeling a bit sleepy.
The door opened. “Ding dong.”
Mr. Wang walked in. He was wearing an old coat, and his hair was a bit messy.
Mr. Wang: Hello.
Xiao Li: Hello, Mr. Wang. Instant noodles again today?
Mr. Wang: Yes, beef flavor as usual.
Xiao Li: We have a new one this week, it’s spicy. Do you want to try it?
Mr. Wang: No thanks, I don’t eat spicy food.
Xiao Li: Okay.
Mr. Wang grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then walked to the counter.
Xiao Li: That’s fifteen yuan total.
Mr. Wang: Here you go.
Xiao Li: Thank you. You come every day – is work really busy?
Mr. Wang: Yes, I work at night and sleep in the morning.
Xiao Li: What do you do for work?
Mr. Wang: I’m a taxi driver.
Xiao Li: Ah, that’s tough.
Mr. Wang: You work hard too. Still working this late.
Xiao Li: No choice, gotta make money.
They both laughed.
Mr. Wang: Well, I’m off. See you tomorrow.
Xiao Li: See you tomorrow.
The door closed. The convenience store was quiet again.