Learn how to ask for directions
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Brandon: Hey there! I’m Brandon and welcome back to VietnamesePod101.com. This is lower beginner Season 1, Lesson 5 - Finding Your Way to a Famous Vietnamese Tourist Attraction. |
| Huyen: Xin chào! I’m Huyen. |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you will learn how to ask for directions. The conversation takes place on the street and is between Suri and a policeman. |
| Huyen: They are strangers, so they will be using formal Vietnamese. |
| Brandon: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
Lesson conversation |
|---|
| Suri: Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến Hồ Gươm. |
| Policeman: Chị đi thẳng dọc phố này, đến ngã tư thứ hai thì rẽ phải, đi thẳng tiếp thì đến. Hồ Gươm nằm đối diện với một bưu điện lớn. |
| Suri: À, có phải là bưu điện Bờ Hồ không ạ? |
| Policeman: Đúng rồi. |
| Suri: Cảm ơn anh. |
| Policeman: Không có gì. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Suri: Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến Hồ Gươm. |
| Policeman: Chị đi thẳng dọc phố này, đến ngã tư thứ hai thì rẽ phải, đi thẳng tiếp thì đến. Hồ Gươm nằm đối diện với một bưu điện lớn. |
| Suri: À, có phải là bưu điện Bờ Hồ không ạ? |
| Policeman: Đúng rồi. |
| Suri: Cảm ơn anh. |
| Policeman: Không có gì. |
| Brandon: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Suri: Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến Hồ Gươm. |
| Brandon: Could you please show me the way to Ho Guom? |
| Policeman: Chị đi thẳng dọc phố này, đến ngã tư thứ hai thì rẽ phải, đi thẳng tiếp thì đến. Hồ Gươm nằm đối diện với một bưu điện lớn. |
| Brandon: You go straight along this street, turn right at the second crossroads. Then continue going straight and you’ll get there. Ho Guom is located opposite a big post office. |
| Suri: À, có phải là bưu điện Bờ Hồ không ạ? |
| Brandon: Ah, is it Bo Ho post office? |
| Policeman: Đúng rồi. |
| Brandon: That’s right. |
| Suri: Cảm ơn anh. |
| Brandon: Thank you. |
| Policeman: Không có gì. |
| Brandon: You’re welcome. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Brandon: Huyen, where is Ho Guom? Is it a famous place in Vietnam? |
| Huyen: Yes. It’s a famous lake and a popular tourist destination in Hanoi, the capital city. It’s also known as Hoan Kiem Lake, meaning “The lake of the returned sword”. |
| Brandon: The legend behind this name is about a King in the 15th century. It was told that the King had been given a legendary sword by the Gold Turtle God to fight against the Chinese invaders. After he won, the sword was taken back by a turtle when he was boating on the lake. The lake was named “Hoan Kiem lake” in honor of that moment. So Huyen, can you see any turtles in the lake nowadays? |
| Huyen: I have never seen one, but I’ve heard from some locals that there are actually some turtles in the lake, and that they have appeared several times. |
| Brandon: So there must be museums or shops nearby selling and displaying souvenirs relating to those turtles, right? |
| Huyen: Right. There’s a tower in the middle of the lake named Turtle Tower, which is linked to this legend. You can also visit Ngoc Son temple beside the lake to see related items, as well as read the story written on the wall inside the temple. |
| Brandon: It definitely attracts a lot of tourists. Are there any places worth visiting around the lake? |
| Huyen: Yeah, the lake and its surroundings are one of the must-see destinations in Hanoi. You can visit a water puppetry theater, the old quarter, and many shopping streets nearby the lake. |
| Brandon: Listeners, have any of you visited this amazing lake in Hanoi? It would be great if you could write a review in the lesson comments. Okay, now let’s move on to the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Brandon: The first word we shall see is: |
| Huyen: chỉ đường [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to show the direction/way |
| Huyen: chỉ đường [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: chỉ đường [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: đến [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to reach/arrive |
| Huyen: đến [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: đến [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: chị [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: elder sister, you |
| Huyen: chị [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: chị [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: đi thẳng [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to go straight |
| Huyen: đi thẳng [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: đi thẳng [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: ngã tư [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: crossroads |
| Huyen: ngã tư [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: ngã tư [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: rẽ [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: turn |
| Huyen: rẽ [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: rẽ [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: phải [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: right |
| Huyen: phải [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: phải [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: nằm [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: to lie down/to be located |
| Huyen: nằm [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: nằm [natural native speed] |
| Next: |
| Huyen: đối diện [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: opposite |
| Huyen: đối diện [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: đối diện [natural native speed] |
| And Last: |
| Huyen: lớn [natural native speed] |
| Brandon: big/large |
| Huyen: lớn [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Huyen: lớn [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Brandon: Let’s take a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is… |
| Huyen: đến |
| Brandon: We have learned that this means “to arrive“ or “to reach”. In this lesson, it functions as a preposition meaning “to”. The noun indicating location is added right after this word. |
| Huyen: Another word which has the same meaning and usage is “tới”. |
| Brandon: Here are some examples. |
| Huyen: Tôi đưa con gái đến trường vào mỗi buổi sáng |
| Brandon: I take my daughter to school every morning. |
| Huyen: Từ nhà tôi tới công ty khoảng 3 km. |
| Brandon: It is about 3 kilometers from my house to my company. |
| Huyen: The second word is: “chị” |
| Brandon: This means “elder sister”. In this lesson, it is used as a pronoun meaning “you”. |
| Huyen: We’ve learned that you use it when you are talking with a slightly older woman. |
| Brandon: It is also used to address a young woman in a formal situation. For example... |
| Huyen: Mời chị xuống quầy thanh toán ở tầng duới để nhận thẻ khuyến mại. |
| Brandon: Miss, please go to the cashier downstairs to get a promotion card. |
| Huyen: Chị làm ở công ty nào ạ? |
| Brandon: Miss, which company are you working for? |
| Huyen: Xin chị vui lòng điền tên và địa chỉ vào đây. |
| Brandon: Miss, please fill in your name and address here. |
| Huyen: Finally, we have an adjective showing direction: phải |
| Brandon: Meaning “right” |
| Huyen: The full word is “bên phải”, which literally means “right side”). When it is with the verb “rẽ” meaning “to turn”, “bên” can be omitted, and the verb phrase becomes “rẽ phải”, “to turn right” |
| Brandon: “To turn right” can also be translated as: |
| Huyen: “rẽ tay phải” |
| Brandon: Which literally means “to turn on the right hand side” The same thing applies to the word showing “the left”. |
| Huyen: In Vietnamese, “left” is “trái” or “bên trái”. |
| Brandon: “To turn left” can be translated as: |
| Huyen: “rẽ trái”, “rẽ bên trái” or “rẽ tay trái” |
| Brandon: In Southern Vietnamese, the word “to turn” is pronounced as… |
| Huyen: Quẹo. |
| Brandon: So, to turn right is… |
| Huyen: Quẹo phải. |
| Brandon: To turn left is… |
| Huyen: Quẹo trái. |
| Brandon: You can use whichever word is easier for you to pronounce. Okay, now onto the grammar. |
Lesson focus |
| Brandon: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for directions. |
| Huyen: In the dialogue, we had Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến Hồ Gươm. |
| Brandon: "Please show me the way to Ho Guom" |
| Huyen: Start with “làm ơn” |
| Brandon: Which means “please”, then the phrase: |
| Huyen: chỉ đường |
| Brandon: Meaning “to show the direction or the way”, followed by: |
| Huyen: cho tôi |
| Brandon: Literally “to me“ or “for me”, and finally the phrase of location |
| Huyen: đến Hồ Gươm. This means “To Ho Guom.” |
| Brandon: The whole sentence is literally translated as “Please show direction for me to go to Ho Guom”. |
| Huyen: The general structure is: “Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến”, followed by the location. |
| Brandon: Let’s hear some examples. |
| Huyen: Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến ga Hà Nội |
| Brandon: Please show me the way to Hanoi station. |
| Huyen: Làm ơn chỉ đường cho tôi đến bến xe buýt gần nhất. |
| Brandon: Please show me the way to the nearest bus stop. |
| Huyen: Now that you know how to ask directions, you’ll need to understand what other people say. |
| Brandon: Let’s learn some vocabulary about directions in Vietnamese. |
| Huyen: đi thẳng |
| Brandon: to go straight |
| Huyen: dọc đường, dọc phố |
| Brandon: along the road or street |
| Huyen: rẽ trái or quẹo trái |
| Brandon: to turn left |
| Huyen: rẽ phải or quẹo phải: |
| Brandon: to turn right |
| Huyen: bên phải |
| Brandon: on the right |
| Huyen: bên trái: |
| Brandon: on the left |
| Huyen: đối diện |
| Brandon: opposite |
| Huyen: bên cạnh |
| Brandon: next to |
| Huyen: ngã tư |
| Brandon: crossroads |
| Brandon: Now, Huyen will describe the way to Hanoi station. Listen carefully and see how much you can understand. |
| Huyen: Đi dọc đường này đến ngã tư thứ nhất thì rẽ trái. Ga Hà Nội ở bên cạnh một nhà hàng lớn. |
| Brandon: Did you catch some of the phrases we have just learned? The whole sentence means, “Go along this road and turn left at the first crossroads. Hanoi station is next to a big restaurant.” I’m sure you will understand most of it after you remember the vocabulary we have learned. |
| Huyen: Here it is again - Đi dọc đường này đến ngã tư thứ nhất thì rẽ trái. Ga Hà Nội ở bên cạnh một nhà hàng lớn. |
| Brandon: Now, here are some pronunciation tips we would like to introduce. |
| Huyen: In Northern Vietnamese, the pronunciation of the letter “r” is not clearly distinguished from the letter “d” and the Vietnamese letter “gi”. They are also pronounced almost as “z” sound in English but softer. So you will find that the verb “to turn” is pronounced as “zẽ” |
| Huyen: The same thing happens with “ch” and “tr”. The pronunciation is close to the “ch” sound in “chicken”. So you will find that the verb phrase “rẽ trái” is pronounced as “zẽ chái”. |
| Brandon: It’s only in Northern Vietnam that these sounds may be confusing in daily conversation. |
Outro |
| Huyen: Well, that’s the end of this lesson. |
| Brandon: So now when you go to Vietnam, you’ll be able to ask and understand directions without problems! |
| Huyen: Don’t forget to leave a comment and feel free to ask questions. |
| Brandon: We’re happy to help! Thanks for listening, and we’ll see you next time. |
| Huyen: Tạm biệt. |
| Brandon: Bye! |
| Huyen: Listeners, do you know the powerful secret behind rapid progress? |
| Brandon: Using the entire system. |
| Huyen: Lesson notes are an important part of this system. |
| Brandon: They include a transcript and translation of the conversation... |
| Huyen: ...key lesson vocabulary... |
| Brandon: and detailed grammar explanations. |
| Huyen: Lesson notes accompany every audio or video lesson. |
| Brandon: Use them on the site or mobile device or print them out. |
| Huyen: Using the lesson notes with audio and video media, will rapidly increase your learning speed. |
| Brandon: Go to VietnamesePod101.com, and download the lesson notes for this lesson right now. |
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