Languages / Mandarin / Level 1 · Unit 2

买单 — Paying the Bill

Lesson 9 of 170 · Level 1 of 6All lessons
In this lesson

You are learning paying the bill: you will read the scene it happens in, learn 10 words and phrases, take apart the pattern behind them (买单 + closing phrases), hear them in a conversation, rehearse them, and finish by saying one thing out loud to be graded.

The scene

Any Shanghai restaurant. The meal is over. Asking for the bill in Mandarin is one word — and the payment is almost always done by scanning a QR code. This is the cleanest transaction in the world.

买单 — One Word

The meal is finished. The lazy Susan is covered with empty plates. The stranger reaches for his phone. His host puts a hand up — he has already paid. The QR code was scanned while the stranger was picking up the last piece of turnip cake.

「已经付了!」 (Already paid!) The stranger protests: 「下次让我来!」 (Next time let me!) His host grins. 「好!说定了!」 (Agreed! It's settled!)

At the door, the waitstaff line up. The host says something and they all laugh — a Chinese proverb about good friends and good food. The stranger nods, not understanding the proverb but understanding the feeling completely.

Outside: 「谢谢今天的款待!太好吃了!」 The host grabs his arm. 「下周再来!」 Next week again. 「好!下次见!」