Learn several ways to ask for directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hi everyone, and welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 10 - Finding Your Way to a Vietnamese Gas Station. Eric here. |
| Hoang Anh: Xin chào. I'm Hoang Anh. |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn several ways to ask for directions in Vietnamese. The conversation takes place in a neighborhood. |
| Hoang Anh: It's between a taxi driver and Bình. |
| Eric: The speakers are strangers, so they’ll use formal Vietnamese. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Người lái xe taxi: Anh ơi, anh có biết cây xăng nào ở gần đây không? |
| Bình: Tôi không sống ở khu này nên không biết. Anh hỏi chị bán hàng nước đằng kia xem sao. |
| Người lái xe taxi: Cảm ơn anh. |
| Người lái xe taxi: Chị ơi, cho tôi hỏi có cây xăng nào ở gần đây không? |
| Trang: À, có một (1) cái đấy anh ạ. Nhưng cũng không gần lắm. |
| Người lái xe taxi: Chỗ đó cách đây bao xa? |
| Trang: Khoảng hai cây. |
| Người lái xe taxi: Chị có thể chỉ đường giúp tôi được không? |
| Trang: Đi thẳng đường này đến bến xe buýt thì rẽ phải. Sau đó đi lên cầu rồi rẽ trái ở chân cầu. Tiếp tục đi qua một số đường ray, anh sẽ nhìn thấy cây xăng ở gần chỗ bùng binh. |
| Người lái xe taxi: Tôi biết rồi. Cảm ơn chị nhiều ạ. |
| Eric: Listen to the conversation with the English translation. |
| Taxi driver: Brother, do you know any gas stations near here? |
| Bình: I don’t live in this area so I don't know. Why don't you try asking the lady selling drinks at the stall over there? |
| Taxi driver: Thank you. |
| Taxi driver: Excuse me, sister, is there a gas station near here? |
| Trang: Ah, there is one. But it's not very close. |
| Taxi driver: How far is it from here to there? |
| Trang: About two kilometers. |
| Taxi driver: Could you tell me the directions please? |
| Trang: Go straight along this road then turn right at the bus stop. After that, go over the bridge and turn left at the end of the bridge. Continue, crossing over some railway lines, and you'll see a gas station near a roundabout. |
| Taxi driver: I see. Thank you very much, sister. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Eric: Hoang Anh, can you tell us about these small drink stalls in Vietnam? |
| Hoang Anh: Small drink stalls are called quán nước or hàng nước in Vietnamese. These quán nước are often owned by middle-aged or older women, and are quite simple, with a table and some small chairs around. They sell mainly tea, chewing gum, and tobacco. |
| Eric: Can you also find them in residential areas? |
| Hoang Anh: Yes. The customers are usually from the neighborhood and they’re mostly men. |
| Eric: When do they visit these drink stalls? |
| Hoang Anh: They can go there in the morning before work, during work breaks, or at the end of the day after work, to drink some tea and chat with their neighbors. Many old people consider this a part of their daily life. As people become richer, they prefer going to cafeterias, so these small quán nước are only popular in middle and low income residential areas. |
| Eric: Sounds like they would be an interesting place to check out! Now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Eric: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Hoang Anh: cây xăng [natural native speed] |
| Eric: gas station |
| Hoang Anh: cây xăng [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: cây xăng [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: khu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: area |
| Hoang Anh: khu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: khu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: hàng nước [natural native speed] |
| Eric: drinks stall |
| Hoang Anh: hàng nước [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: hàng nước [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: place |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: cây [natural native speed] |
| Eric: kilometer |
| Hoang Anh: cây [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: cây [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: bến xe buýt [natural native speed] |
| Eric: bus stop |
| Hoang Anh: bến xe buýt [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: bến xe buýt [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: cầu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: bridge |
| Hoang Anh: cầu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: cầu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: chân cầu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the end of the bridge |
| Hoang Anh: chân cầu [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: chân cầu [natural native speed] |
| Eric: Next we have.. |
| Hoang Anh: đường ray [natural native speed] |
| Eric: railway lines |
| Hoang Anh: đường ray [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: đường ray [natural native speed] |
| Eric: And last.. |
| Hoang Anh: bùng binh [natural native speed] |
| Eric: roundabout |
| Hoang Anh: bùng binh [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Hoang Anh: bùng binh [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Hoang Anh: a noun, khu |
| Eric: which means “area.” |
| Hoang Anh: khu is the short form of khu vực, which means “zone,” or “area.” |
| Eric: This word can stand alone or it can be followed by another noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase. |
| Hoang Anh: Right. When khu stands alone, it simply means “area.” When it’s followed by a noun, noun phrase, verb, or verb phrase, it shows the name or the purpose of the mentioned area. |
| Eric: Can you give us some examples? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. For example...khu công nghiệp |
| Eric: “industrial zone” |
| Hoang Anh: khu tập thể |
| Eric: “collective housing area” |
| Hoang Anh: khu mua sắm |
| Eric: “shopping area.” Hoang Anh, can you give us an example using this word? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. For example, you can say.. Tôi mới chuyển đến khu này. |
| Eric: ..which means “I’ve just moved to this area.” Okay, what's the next word? |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ |
| Eric: “place” |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ is originally the short form of chỗ ngồi, which means “seat.” In this lesson, it means “place.” |
| Eric: It’s a noun and often stands alone or is followed by a demonstrative adjective, such as “this” or “that,” or by a pronoun. |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ refers to a place that is not very large from the speaker's perspective. |
| Eric: In other words, the speaker thinks that the area around that place is not so wide. |
| Hoang Anh: Right. Chỗ is not usually used to describe a large area. Here are some common phrases with chỗ. First, chỗ làm |
| Eric: “working place” |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ ở |
| Eric: “living place” |
| Hoang Anh: chỗ tôi |
| Eric: “my place.” Hoang Anh, what if we want to describe a large area? |
| Hoang Anh: In that case, please use the word nơi. For example, if you say chỗ này, which means “this place, here,” it means the place around your current position, but if you say nơi này, which also means “this place,” it can mean the whole area or the whole city where you are. |
| Eric: Ok! Can you give us an example using our keyword? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. Khi nào rảnh đến chỗ tôi chơi nhé. |
| Eric: .. which means “Come to my place when you are free.” Okay, what's the last word? |
| Hoang Anh: cây |
| Eric: which means “kilometer” |
| Hoang Anh: Cây is the short form of cây số. Cây means “kilometer” and số means “number.” So, cây số is a noun, and to mention the number of kilometers, just add a number right before cây số. |
| Eric: You can use both words when you want to talk about the distance in kilometers. |
| Hoang Anh: The literal translation of “kilometer” is ki lô mét, but this word is less common than cây số. cây is used more in daily conversation than cây số. |
| Eric: What’s an example using this word? |
| Hoang Anh: Hải Phòng cách Hà Nội hơn 100 cây. |
| Eric: .. which means “Hai Phong is more than 100 kilometers from Hanoi.” Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
| Eric: In this lesson, you’ll learn several ways to ask for direction in Vietnamese. What’s the first way? |
| Hoang Anh: You can use the following grammar structure - a second person pronoun + có thể, which means “can” + chỉ đường, which means “show the way” + đến, meaning “to”. Then add the place and cho or giúp tôi, which mean “for me.” End the sentence with được không, which means “is it ok?” |
| Eric: Ok, let's repeat that. |
| Hoang Anh: A second person pronoun + có thể + chỉ đường + đến + place + cho or giúp tôi + được không |
| Eric: This phrase means “Could you please show me the way to …?” |
| Hoang Anh: You can place cho or giúp tôi, which means “for me” right after chỉ đường, meaning “show the way,” or right after the place you want to go. |
| Eric: Hoang Anh, can you give us some sample sentences? |
| Hoang Anh: Sure. Anh có thể chỉ đường đến ga Hà Nội giúp tôi được không? |
| Eric: “Could you please show me the way to Hanoi station?” |
| Hoang Anh: Bạn có thể chỉ đường cho tôi đến siêu thị gần nhất được không? |
| Eric: “Could you please show me the way to the nearest supermarket?” |
| Hoang Anh: Bác có thể chỉ đường giúp cháu đến bưu điện được không ạ? |
| Eric: “Could you please show me the way to the post office?” |
| Hoang Anh: In the last sentence we added the particle ạ at the end of the question to show more respect, because the speaker is asking a much older person. |
| Eric: Ok! What's the next way to ask for directions? |
| Hoang Anh: Another way to ask for directions is to use the following pattern- Xin vui lòng, which means “Would you please” + chỉ đường, which means “show the way” + cho or giúp tôi, meaning “show the way” + đến which means “to” + place. |
| Eric: Once again, please. |
| Hoang Anh: Xin vui lòng + chỉ đường + cho/ giúp tôi + đến + place. |
| Eric: It means “Would you please….” or “Would you be kind enough to show me the way to …?” This is a more polite way to ask for directions in Vietnamese. |
| Hoang Anh: For example, you can ask...Xin vui lòng chỉ đường giúp tôi đến ga Hà Nội? |
| Eric: “Would you please show me the way to Hanoi station?” |
| Hoang Anh: Xin vui lòng chỉ đường đến siêu thị gần nhất giúp tôi? |
| Eric: “Would you please show me the way to the nearest supermarket?” |
| Hoang Anh: Xin vui lòng chỉ đường cho cháu đến bưu điện? |
| Eric: “Would you please show me the way to the post office?” |
| Hoang Anh: Listeners, please pay attention because Xin vui lòng and the second grammar structure are very formal. |
| Eric: But Vietnamese people don’t use much formal language in daily life. |
| Hoang Anh: Right. We almost always use the first grammar pattern. |
Outro |
| Eric: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Hoang Anh: Tạm biệt. |
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