A notice has gone up at the door of the building. Xiaoyu is stuck on a word and Chen Hao on a character; Auntie Wang explains.
Auntie Wang
小雨，门口的那张纸，你看了吗？
Xiǎoyǔ, ménkǒu de nà Zhāng zhǐ, nǐ kàn le ma ?
Xiaoyu, have you read the notice at the door?
Xiaoyu
看了，可是有一个词我不明白。
Kàn le, kěshì yǒu yī gè cí wǒ bù míngbai.
I have, but there is a word I do not understand.
Auntie Wang
哪个词？
Nǎ gè cí ?
Which word?
Xiaoyu
停水。是什么意思？
Tíng shuǐ. Shì shénme yìsi ?
停水. What does that mean?
Auntie Wang
就是明天没有水。
Jiù shì míngtiān méi yǒu shuǐ.
It means there will be no water tomorrow.
Xiaoyu
明白了。那八点到十二点，是上午吗？
Míngbai le. Nà bā diǎn dào shí'èr diǎn, shì shàngwǔ ma ?
I see. And eight to twelve, is that in the morning?
Auntie Wang
是上午。晚上有水。
Shì shàngwǔ. Wǎnshang yǒu shuǐ.
In the morning, yes. There will be water in the evening.
Chen Hao
这个字我也不会读。
Zhè gè zì wǒ yě bù huì dú.
I cannot read this character either.
Auntie Wang
这个字念停，停车的停。
Zhè gè zì niàn tíng, tíng chē de tíng.
That character is read tíng, the tíng of "to park".
Chen Hao
谢谢阿姨。下次不懂，我再问您。
Xièxie āyí. Xiàcì bù dǒng, wǒ zài wèn nín.
Thank you, Auntie. Next time I am stuck I will ask you again.
不明白 says the sense does not come together in your head: I can see the words, I cannot see what they mean. 不懂 is wider and takes aim at the subject itself: 我不懂中文, I do not know Chinese. For a sentence heard you use 听不懂; for one read, 看不懂. Those last two belong to the next level.
这是什么意思 asks the meaning of a word, a sentence, a gesture. The full form is 这个词是什么意思. It offends nobody and can be put to anyone. The answer almost always begins with 就是, "it simply means", followed by an explanation in plainer words.
To say which character you mean, a Chinese speaker quotes a common word it appears in: 停车的停, the 停 of "to park". That is how you give your name over the phone, 林小雨, 双木林, and how you tell two homophones apart without breaking anything down. It takes the place of spelling, which does not exist in a script with no letters.
