Yesterday, Xiao Hong wanted to go shopping with one of her friends Xiao Lan, and they made an appointment to meet each other at the diàn tī (电梯) elevator in a shopping mall. Later she waited for Xiao Lan at the diàn tī (电梯) elevator, but only to find Xiao Lan did not show up on time.
What happened? Xiao Hong called her friend and here is their conversation:
Xiǎo hóng: Nǐ zài nǎ’er xiǎo lán? Wǒ zài diàn tī zhè’er méi yǒu kàn dào nǐ.
小 红：你 在 哪 儿 小 兰？ 我 在 电 梯 这 儿 没 有 看 到 你。
Xiao Hong: “Where are you Xiao Lan? I didn’t see you at the elevator.”
Xiǎo lán: Wǒ jiù zài èr lóu diàn tī zhè’er, wǒ dōu dào le shí fēn zhōng le.
小 兰：我 就 在 二 楼 电 梯 这 儿，我 都 到 了 十 分 钟 了。
Xiao Lan: “I am right here at the elevator on the second floor. I arrived here 10 minutes ago.”
Xiǎo hóng: Qí guài, wǒ yě zài èr lóu!
小 红：奇 怪，我 也 在 二 楼！
Xiao Hong: “It’s weird, I’m also on the second floor!”
Xiǎo lán: Wǒ zài nài kè diàn páng biān de fú tī, nǐ ne?
小 兰：我 在 耐 克 店 旁 边 的 扶 梯，你 呢？
Xiao Lan: “I’m at the escalator near the Nike store, and you?”
Xiǎo hóng: Āi, wǒ zhī dào wèi shé me wǒ men hù xiāng zhǎo bù dào le, wǒ zài dōng bian jiǎo luò de zhí tī, bù zài fú tī nà’er.
小 红：哎，我 知 道 为 什 么 我 们 互 相 找 不 到 了，我 在 东 边 角 落 的 直 梯，不 在 扶梯 那 儿。
Xiao Hong: “Ah now I know why we couldn’t find each other! I am at the elevator or lift on the east corner, not the escalator!”
In China, diàn tī (电梯) elevator is a general term, normally there are three types of diàn tī (电梯) elevator: zhí tī (直梯) elevator，fú tī (扶梯) escalator and zì dòng bù dào (自动步道) travelator or moving pavement.
Usually, when we talk about diàn tī (电梯) elevator, there are two phrases we often use: chéng diàn tī (乘电梯) and chéng zuò fú tī (乘坐扶梯). “chéng (乘)” is used as a verb, it means to ride or to drive“. chéng zuò (乘坐)” is also a verb, which means to take or to sit.
Chéng diàn tī (乘电梯): Take an elevator or a lift/by elevator or lift
Examples:
Qǐng nín chéng diàn tī dào sān lóu.
请 您 乘 电 梯 到 三 楼。
Please take the lift to the 3rd floor.
Tā měi tiān chéng diàn tī shàng xià.
她 每 天 乘 电 梯 上 下。
Every day she takes the lift up and down.
Chéng zuò fú tī (乘坐扶梯): Take an escalator/by escalator
Examples:
Ràng wǒ men chéng zuò fú tī shàng lóu ba.
让 我 们 乘 坐 扶 梯 上 楼 吧。
let’s take the escalator upstairs.
Wǒ bù xiǎng chéng zuò zì dòng fú tī，wǒ men zǒu lóu tī ba.
我 不 想 乘 坐 自 动 扶 梯，我 们 走 楼 梯 吧。
I don’t want to take the elevator, let’s take the stairs.
Here are some phrases or sentences you might need to use when it comes to diàn tī (电梯) elevator:
1. Jìn diàn tī (进电梯)：Get into the lift
Wǒ jìn diàn tī le ，yī huì ér dǎ gěi nǐ.
我 进 电 梯 了，一 会 儿 打 给 你。
I’m getting into the lift, I’ll call you later.
2. Chū diàn tī (出电梯): Get off/out
Nín yào chū diàn tī ma?
您 要 出 电 梯 吗？
Are you getting off?
3. Wǒ yào qù sān lóu, xiè xiè.
我 要 去 3 楼，谢 谢。
Could you hit number 3 for me please?
4. Wǒ shǒu shàng dōng xī tài duō le , wǒ yào qù liù lóu, kě yǐ bāng wǒ àn yī xià ma ？xiè xiè
我 手 上 东 西 太 多 了，我 要 去 6 楼，可以 帮 我 按 一 下 吗？谢 谢。
My hands are full, could you hit number 6 for me please? Thanks.
Have you mastered the knowledge about diàn tī (电梯) elevator? What other things that you want to learn about people’s daily life in Chinese? You’re welcome to share with us in the section below!
You May Want to Learn More :
“Easy Chinese Words and Phrases for Speaking about Movies (Pt. 2)”
“Easy Chinese Words and Phrases for Speaking about Movies (Pt. 1)”
”The Secret of Speaking Like the Locals – Chinese Slangs”
