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Level A · Beginner

Joining a gym

Chen Hao comes in to sign up for three months. Xiaoyu joins with him, which brings the price down.

What you learn to do

  • asking the price of a membership
  • asking the opening hours
  • asking whether there is an instructor
  • getting a rate for two

  1. Chen Hao

    你好，办卡多少钱？

    Nǐ hǎo, bàn kǎ duōshao qián ?

    Hello, how much is a membership?

  2. The receptionist

    一年一千八，三个月六百。

    Yī nián yīqiān bā, sān gè yuè liùbǎi.

    Eighteen hundred for a year, six hundred for three months.

  3. Chen Hao

    我先办三个月。每天都可以来吗？

    Wǒ xiān bàn sān gè yuè. Měi tiān dōu kěyǐ lái ma ?

    I will take three months to start with. Can I come every day?

  4. The receptionist

    都可以。早上六点开门，晚上十点关门。

    Dōu kěyǐ. Zǎoshang liù diǎn kāi mén, wǎnshang shí diǎn guān mén.

    Every day. We open at six in the morning and close at ten at night.

  5. Chen Hao

    有没有教练？

    Yǒu méi yǒu jiàoliàn ?

    Is there an instructor?

  6. The receptionist

    有。第一次来，教练免费教你。

    Yǒu. Dì yī cì lái, jiàoliàn miǎnfèi jiāo nǐ.

    There is. On your first visit the instructor shows you round free of charge.

  7. Xiaoyu

    我也想办。两个人一起，便宜吗？

    Wǒ yě xiǎng bàn. Liǎng gè rén yīqǐ, piányi ma ?

    I would like to join too. Is it cheaper for two?

  8. The receptionist

    两个人一起办，每人五百五。

    Liǎng gè rén yīqǐ bàn, měi rén wǔbǎi wǔ.

    Two joining together, five hundred and fifty each.

  9. Chen Hao

    好，就办这个。运动的衣服要自己带吗？

    Hǎo, jiù bàn zhè gè. Yùndòng de yīfu yào zìjǐ dài ma ?

    Right, we will take that. Do we bring our own kit?

  10. The receptionist

    要。鞋也要带，包放在里面。

    Yào. Xié yě yào dài, bāo fàng zài lǐmiàn.

    You do. Trainers as well, and bags go inside.

Vocabulary to remember

  • 办 bàn to sign up for, to see to (a formality)
  • 卡 kǎ card, to get stuck
  • 教练 jiàoliàn coach, instructor
  • 免费 miǎnfèi free of charge
  • 教 jiāo to teach, to show
  • 第 dì (prefix forming ordinal numbers)
  • 开门 kāi mén to open (of a business)
  • 关门 guān mén to close (of a business)
  • 鞋 xié shoe, shoes
  • 运动 yùndòng sport, exercise

Language points

办, the verb of getting things done

办卡 to take out a membership, 办签证 to get a visa, 办手续 to complete a formality. 办 means to carry a piece of business through with somebody, and covers everything English splits across ten verbs. On its own, 怎么办 means "what do we do", as at the cash machine in lesson 15.

第 makes the ordinals

第一 first, 第二 second, 第三次 the third time. The prefix 第 attaches to the figure, and the measure word stays: 第一个人, 第二本. Without 第, the number counts instead of ranking, and 一次 means "once" where 第一次 means "the first time".

每… 都… go together

每天都可以来: you can come every day. When a sentence begins with 每 it almost always calls for 都 before the verb, picking up the idea of totality. Leaving it out is not a serious mistake, but it sounds like an unfinished sentence. In the same way you say 每个人都知道.

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