[rusculture]

i love chinese food.. i think i ate chinese for lunch every day since i started college until few years ago.. tho, i never tried to say chinese to the people that works there mainly because i have this fear of saying something wrong and having bunch of their cooks coming after me with kitchen knives..

pete

[mymnduccete]

i have this fear of saying something wrong and having bunch of their cooks coming after me with kitchen knives..

I am not so sure if the cook themselves even speak English, (speaking from experience here)

[stuntduood]

'Garam' = hot (temperature or spicy) in Hindi. You might be going to the wrong restaurant

It might happen. It is just like you go to a Sushi bar and you see Hispanic chefs standing there to prepare your sushi. If you don't know enough, you may think sushi came from Mexico.

[AndyScouchek]

I was around a ton of Koreans at the school I went to for 4 years... There was always a gaggle of girls hanging around on our floor.

Kaoru

Minnesota:

The land where they grow 'em so big,


...they are measured by the Ton.

[FloareTraurne]

i love chinese food.. i think i ate chinese for lunch every day since i started college until few years ago.. tho, i never tried to say chinese to the people that works there mainly because i have this fear of saying something wrong and having bunch of their cooks coming after me with kitchen knives..

pete

That reminds me of an old Joke:

What do you call someone who speaks two languages?

Bilingual.

What do you call someone who speaks multiple languages?

Multilingual

What do you call someone who speaks one language?

American.

(Wilfred Brimley voice)

You know, folks, I'm here today to tell you that no language is too sacred that it can't be hackney'd to death by an American.
Sure, you may get the eye rolls from time to time, and you can be 100% assured that they will be laughing at you in the back room, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
And you may just make a friend 'er two along the way.
Now go on and eat your Oatmeal.



LOL

[FetMiddle]

Thanks, guys! What do I call people - like, what do I call Mrs. Shin that'd be like "Shin-san?"

Seems to me that you haven't given enough information to really know what the proper term of address would be. I think a full answer to this question is surprisingly complex.

[DoctorQuquriramba]

Thanks, guys! What do I call people - like, what do I call Mrs. Shin that'd be like "Shin-san?"

Formal/polite suffix is "ssi" (shi), but it's used differently and a lot more sparingly than the Japanese 'san'.
Informal ways of addressing the waitress (if she's older) is 'adjumma' roughly meaning 'old auntie', but I personally wouldn't use it.
Just use Mrs Shin, if that's the name she's told you.

[Solo3uc4]

If she's the owner and you want to address her formally, call her shin-sajangnim... Loosely traslates into Company head Shin. Having said that, I tend to agree with Jakob on just using Mrs. Shin.

If you are serious about getting a taste of Korean language go this site:
http://www.arirang.co.kr
They broadcast in English and other languages and you can get streaming video of Korean programs with English subtitles. I think there are some basic Korean language tips available there.

hth

[Trotoleterm]

Hmmm. I've picked up quite a bit of Japanese over the years - I took it in school for a while, too - to the point where I have said something in Japanese and had the person respond as if I knew the language (in the dojo, mind).

This sounds like a real difficult language! I just wanted to be able to say "Hi, Mrs. Shin!" and "thank you, goodbye." Sounds like it's a lot more complicated than I thought. I'll see if I can remember "hi" and "thanks."

One of my dojomates, a Korean, taught me only one word, "chingu" for "friend." We taught our toddler children to say it to each other.

[OEMCHEAPSOFTDOWNLOAD]

In all my travels I have found there are really only two things you need to know how to say in any language.

1. two beers please. (and repeat ad infinitum)

2. where's the toilet? (due to above repeats)

[Romarionsion]

This sounds like a real difficult language! I just wanted to be able to say "Hi, Mrs. Shin!" and "thank you, goodbye." Sounds like it's a lot more complicated than I thought. I'll see if I can remember "hi" and "thanks."

It's not difficult, but you can't (honestly!) learn it from an internet forum. While the grammar is very similar to Japanese, the pronunciation is quite different and writing it in roman alphabet doesn't really do it justice.
Ask your dojo friend for those phrases.

Jakob

[ChyFDjfed]

In all my travels I have found there are really only two things you need to know how to say in any language.

1. two beers please. (and repeat ad infinitum)

2. where's the toilet? (due to above repeats)

It probably helps to understand go straight, left and right....

cesare

[Cuccuccaltefe]

It's not difficult

If you wouldn't call a language that has, literally, hundreds of conjugations that apply to all verbs "difficult," I shudder to think of what you do call difficult

[Signabeademia]

Question:
What's the deal with that Korean word/expression that sounds like you're trying to hock a loogie?

Not trying to be inflammatory here, but in my neck of the woods, I hear that all the time.

Is it a curse word?

[Rndouglas]

Ask your dojo friend for those phrases.

Sadly, he moved away!

Tim, I agree, man. I got through a small slice of France that way! And you can get through most kendo get togethers.

Ni biiru kudasai! *holds up two fingers*

Toire wa? Arigato!

^Right?

[optormtix]

http://www.learn-korean.net/

Good luck with that.

[Louthcoombutt]

Charlie, why don't you just ask her to teach you a couple basic phrases? You learn straight from the source, and it might start a really good friendship down the road

[zuhraliyana]

Indeed. I had a buddy at my favorite Chinese place that used to do that. Apparently - and I'm gonna destroy this - "nee ha why my" is "General Tso's chicken, please!"

[michael247]

Charlie:

I'd stay away from the word 'adjima' especially if she's not that old. The first time my wife heard someone address her like that she was ready to throw down. For days afterwards, she kept commenting about how she wasn't old. Personally, I'm always exceedingly courteous to all who prepare and handle my food because, after all, saliva is clear and hard to detect . . .

[MeverikcNils]

^hahaha! Good point. Yeah, I think "Mrs. Shin" is my best bet!