Skip to content

Day 14 of 57 · Week 2 · Human survival

Checkpoint: eat and buy

Complete a restaurant exchange and a purchase. Include one unexpected reply and recover.

Start with the guided teaching

Read what is for sale, ask the price, and understand the quantity they offer.

First identify the item; then read its price and quantity. 水 is water. 瓶 tells you the unit is a bottle. ¥ and 元 are price clues; spoken prices often use 块 for yuan.

Buy something and understand the price — complete guided explanation

Do the work in five passes

  1. Listen and pronounce — 25 min · shadow 6 phrases; compare a recording.
  2. Read and recognize — 25 min · complete the guided teaching, then read today’s words.
  3. Build and speak — 25 min · build a guided request; then make 10 variations.
  4. Solve a situation — 25 min · practice both sides, then hide the hints.
  5. Retrieve and review — 20–80 min · due review, quizzes, and a spoken recap.

Completion records effort; quiz results measure recognition. Neither proves conversational fluency. Use the interactive trainer for review scheduling and saved progress.

Today’s sentence machinery

Two: 二 or 两

Use 二 while counting and in numbers such as 二十. Use 两 before many counters: 两个人, 两杯水. Say 两点 for two o’clock.

二十，两个人。

Èrshí, liǎng ge rén.

Twenty; two people.

Counting two and quantity two have different usual forms.

Your language for today

在哪里扫码？

Zài nǎlǐ sǎo mǎ?

Where do I scan the code?

at + where + scan + code

支付失败了。

Zhīfù shībài le.

The payment failed.

payment + fail + happened

请再试一次。

Qǐng zài shì yī cì.

Please try again.

please + again + try + one + time

我需要收据。

Wǒ xūyào shōujù.

I need a receipt.

I + need + receipt

可以退货吗？

Kěyǐ tuì huò ma?

Can I return this?

may + return + goods + question

这个坏了。

Zhège huài le.

This is broken.

this + broken + changed state

找错钱了。

Zhǎo cuò qián le.

The change is wrong.

give change + wrong + money + happened

请给我一个袋子。

Qǐng gěi wǒ yī ge dàizi.

Please give me a bag.

please + give + me + one + measure + bag

我要这个。

Wǒ yào zhège.

I'll take this.

I + want + this

我想要一杯水。

Wǒ xiǎng yào yī bēi shuǐ.

I'd like a glass of water.

I + would-like + one + cup + water

请给我菜单。

Qǐng gěi wǒ càidān.

Please give me the menu.

please + give + me + menu

Practice the situation

Find your train

Your train leaves soon; find gate and platform.

你要去哪里？

Nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ?

Where do you want to go?

A useful response

去北京的票。

Specify Beijing as the destination.

票在手机上。

Piào zài shǒujī shàng.

The ticket is on your phone.

A useful response

检票口在哪里？

Ask where the ticket gate is.

七号站台。

Qī hào zhàntái.

Platform seven.

A useful response

七号站台在哪里？

Ask where platform seven is.

Outside the trainer: spend 10–20 minutes repeating these exchanges with a Mandarin speaker when available. Ask them to change one reply so you must listen. Fixed audio and scenarios cannot reproduce every real conversation.