6 Lesson 10 Dialogue 2: 上网买东西

Dialogue:

(李贵的妈妈想换一个手机，就请李贵帮她。)
妈妈：我的手机最近有点慢，虽然还能用，可是我想换一个。你能帮我一下吗？
李贵：好啊！你想到商店去买还是上网买？
妈妈：有什么不一样的吗？
李贵：商店的价钱跟网店的一样，但是我觉得上网买更方便。
妈妈：那网上的东西跟商店的一样多吗？
李贵：当然。
(李贵上网，点开了一个网站。)
妈妈：这是手机店吗？
李贵：对，是一家有名的二手手机网店。你想花多少钱？
妈妈：两百块钱。
李贵：这个怎么样？
妈妈：颜色不错，可是样子不好看。换一个。
李贵：这个绿色的怎么样？
妈妈：很酷啊。就是它吧。那我怎么付钱？
李贵：你可以用信用卡刷卡，也可以用微信扫码。
妈妈：微信扫码吧。
李贵：好，我已经帮你付了。妈，如果你想卖这个旧手机，也可以在这个网店卖。
妈妈：真的吗？怎么卖？
李贵：你先给你的手机拍一张照片，再上传到这个网站，就行了。
妈妈：太好了。我想自己试一下。

Vocabulary:

Grammar Notes:

1. 虽然…，可是/但是… in the sentence “虽然还能用，但是我想换一个“
   虽然…，可是/但是… is pretty much like “although” in English; however, unlike in English, a “but” word is needed in Chinese. For example:
   虽然他没有钱，但是他想买那件很贵的衣服。(Although he does not have money, he wants to buy that expensive coat.)
   虽然我准备得很好，可是昨天考得不好。(Although I prepared well, I didn’t do well in the exam.)
2. The adverb 更 in the sentence 我觉得上网买更便宜。
   The adverb 更 is often used before adjectives to indicate “even more”, as in the sentence above where 更 is used before 便宜 to mean “even cheaper”. The structure is “Subject + 更 + adjective“. For example:
   这条裤子很长，那条更长。(This pair of pants is long; that one is even longer.)
   我的衣服便宜，他的更便宜。(My coat is cheap; his is even cheaper.)
   Sometimes 更 can be followed by certain emotional verbs including 喜欢、爱、想、要, etc. For instance:
   我喜欢在图书馆看书，但是我更喜欢在家看书。(I like to read in the library; however, I like to read at home even more.)
3. The structure “A跟/和B(不)一样” in the sentence “商店的价钱跟网店的一样”
   This structure is used to express that two things (A and B) are the same (一样) or not the same (不一样). In the sentence above, two things (商店的价钱 and 网店的价钱) are the same. More examples:
   我和你一样。(I am the same as you.)
   这双鞋的大小跟那双的一样。(The size of this pair of shoes is the same as the size of that pair.)
   We can also add adjectives after 一样 to indicate the specific feature that the two things are the same or not the same. For example:
   我和你一样高。(I am as tall as you.)
   这双鞋跟那双鞋一样大。(This pair of shoes is as big as that one.)
4. 先…，再… in the sentence 您先给您的手机拍一张照片，再上传到这个网店
   In this structure, 先 and 再 are used to sequence two events, much like “first…, then…” in English. The structure is “Subject + 先 + do thing 1，再 + do thing 2“. For example:
   你得先洗手，再吃饭。(You must wash your hands first, then eat.)
   我要先做作业，再睡觉。(I want to do my homework first, then go to sleep.)

Culture Notes:

WeChat 微信:

WeChat 微信, literally “micro-message”, is a Chinese multi-purpose instant messaging, social media and mobile payment app developed by Tencent. First released in 2011, it became the world’s largest standalone mobile app in 2018, with over 1 billion monthly active users. WeChat provides text messaging, hold-to-talk voice messaging, broadcast (one-to-many) messaging, video conferencing, video games, sharing of photographs and videos and location sharing. (cited from Wikipedia) Here is a street interview video about WeChat usage in China.

Payment in China:

Starting from 2008, China switched its payment from cash to mobile phones due to the influence of Alipay, a payment system owned by the e-commerce giant Alibaba. Since then, unlike other countries in the world, credit cards have been seldomly used by Chinese people.

In 2013, with the development of WeChat’s WeChat Payment, an additional feature within the app, mobile payments became even more popular. As a result, nowadays most Chinese people use WeChat Pay or Alipay as their main means of payment. This change is closely related to the increase in the use of smartphones in China as well as its rapid growth of e-commerce.

Mobile payment can be used everywhere in China. How do people pay? Just scan the QR codes. It works in two ways: (1) the simple way is the customer shows the QR code displayed on his/her smartphone, and the seller scans it and selects the amount that the customer needs to pay; (2) the customer scans the seller’s QR code, which is visibly printed at the checkout. Then the customer chooses the amount to pay. WeChat and Alipay are also used for online shopping and transactions between friends.