昨天晚上,我给一个好朋友打电话,本来只想说一件事。
Last night I called a good friend, originally just to say one thing.
我问她:“星期六的晚饭,你能来吗?”
I asked her, "Can you come to dinner on Saturday?"
她说:“能来!对了,你妈妈的身体好点儿了吗?”
She said, "I can! Oh right, is your mom feeling any better?"
我们聊了一会儿我妈妈,她突然又说:“对了,上次借你的那本书我看完了,星期六带给你。”
We chatted about my mom for a while, then she suddenly said, "Oh right, I finished that book I borrowed from you — I'll bring it Saturday."
我说好,她又想起来:“对了,星期六天气好像不太好,别忘了带伞。”
I said sure, and then she remembered something else: "Oh right, the weather doesn't look great on Saturday — don't forget an umbrella."
过了几分钟,她又说:“对了,我们公司旁边新开了一家饭馆,下次我们一起去试试吧。”
A few minutes later she said, "Oh right, a new restaurant opened next to my office — let's try it together sometime."
我笑着说:“你今天的‘对了’真多啊!”
I laughed and said, "You've got a lot of 'oh rights' today!"
她也笑了:“最后一个——对了,星期六的晚饭到底几点开始?”
She laughed too: "Last one — oh right, what time does Saturday's dinner actually start?"
我这才发现,我们聊了半个小时,最重要的事却谁都没说。
Only then did I realize we'd chatted for half an hour and neither of us had mentioned the most important thing.
看来朋友之间的电话,永远不会只有一件事。
It seems a phone call between friends is never about just one thing.
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 昨天 | zuó tiān | yesterday |
| 晚上 | wǎn shang | evening |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me |
| 给 | gěi | to give; for, to (sb) |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 好朋友 | hǎo péng you | good friend; (slang) a visit from Aunt Flo (menstrual period) |
| 打电话 | dǎ diàn huà | to make a phone call |
| 本来 | běn lái | originally; at first |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; just |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think; to want |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to say |
| 一件 | yī jiàn | one item; a piece of (something) |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing |
| 问 | wèn | to ask |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 星期六 | xīng qī liù | Saturday |
| 的 | de | possessive particle |
| 晚饭 | wǎn fàn | dinner |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 能 | néng | can; to be able to |
| 来 | lái | to come; to arrive |
| 吗 | ma | (question particle) |
| 对了 | duì le | Correct!; Oh, that's right, ... (when one suddenly remembers sth one wanted to mention); Oh, by the way, ... |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mom |
| 身体 | shēn tǐ | body; health |
| 好 | hǎo | good |
| 点儿 | diǎn ér | o'clock; point; dot (erhua variant of 点/點) |
| 了吗 | le ma | particle used in questions about past actions |
| 我们 | wǒ men | we; us |
| 聊 | liáo | to chat; to talk |
| 了 | le | (particle indicating completed action or change of state) |
| 一会儿 | yī huìr | a while |
| 突然 | tū rán | sudden; abrupt; unexpected |
| 又 | yòu | again; also |
| 上次 | shàng cì | last time |
| 借 | jiè | to borrow; to lend |
| 你的 | nǐ de | your |
| 那 | nà | that; those |
| 本 | běn | classifier for books; this; original |
| 书 | shū | book |
| 看 | kàn | to look; to watch; to see |
| 完了 | wán le | finished; done for; ruined |
| 带给 | dài gěi | to give to; to provide to; to bring to; to take to |
| 说好 | shuō hǎo | to come to an agreement; to complete negotiations |
| 想起来 | xiǎng qi lai | to remember; to recall |
| 天气 | tiān qì | weather |
| 好像 | hǎo xiàng | to seem; to appear as if |
| 不太好 | bù tài hǎo | not so good; not too well |
| 别 | bié | don't; other; do not |
| 忘了 | wàng le | Forgot; to have forgotten |
| 带 | dài | to bring; to carry; to wear |
| 伞 | sǎn | umbrella; parasol |
| 过了 | guò le | to have passed (time); after (a period has gone by) |
| 几分钟 | jǐ fēn zhōng | a few minutes; several minutes |
| 公司 | gōng sī | company; firm; corporation |
| 旁边 | páng biān | beside; next to |
| 新 | xīn | new |
| 开了 | kāi le | opened; turned on (depending on context) |
| 一家 | yī jiā | the whole family; the same family; the family ... (when preceded by a family name); group |
| 饭馆 | fàn guǎn | restaurant |
| 下次 | xià cì | next time |
| 一起 | yī qǐ | together |
| 去 | qù | to go |
| 试试 | shì shi | to have a try; to give it a try |
| 吧 | ba | modal particle indicating suggestion |
| 笑着 | xiào zhe | Smiling; laughing (as an action) |
| 今天 | jīn tiān | today |
| 真 | zhēn | really; truly |
| 多 | duō | many; much |
| 啊 | ā | Ah!; interjection expressing surprise or agreement |
| 也 | yě | also |
| 笑了 | xiào le | smiled; laughed |
| 最后 | zuì hòu | final; last; finally |
| 到底 | dào dǐ | after all; in the end; ultimately |
| 几点 | jǐ diǎn | what time?; when? |
| 开始 | kāi shǐ | to begin; to start |
| 这才 | zhè cái | only then; that’s (exactly) what...; this is what (it should be) |
| 发现 | fā xiàn | to discover; to find out |
| 半个 | bàn ge | half of sth |
| 小时 | xiǎo shí | hour |
| 最 | zuì | most; -est |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant |
| 却 | què | but; yet; however |
| 谁 | shéi | who |
| 都 | dōu | all; both |
| 没 | méi | not; have not |
| 看来 | kàn lai | apparently; it seems that |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend |
| 之间 | zhī jiān | between; among |
| 电话 | diàn huà | phone |
| 永远 | yǒng yuǎn | forever; eternal |
| 不会 | bù huì | improbable; unlikely; will not (act, happen etc); not able; not having learned to do sth |
| 只有 | zhǐ yǒu | only; there is only |