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LEARN + CHINESE / 88 of 300 HSK 3

One at a Time, Without a Rush例 · 老板请服务员小王从柜台拿订单

At a busy café, the owner asks the server, Xiao Wang, to bring orders from the counter to the tables. In these sentences, phrases such as 从柜台 (from the counter) and 桌子上 (on the table) fit into a larger sentence, while 请服务员小王送来 (ask the server Xiao Wang to bring it) lets the same person receive an action and carry out the next one. Repeated measure phrases show how the work is divided, and 不慌不忙 describes the calm pace.

老板请服务员小王从柜台拿订单。
lǎobǎn qǐng fúwùyuán Xiǎo Wáng cóng guìtái ná dìngdān.
The owner asks the server Xiao Wang to get the orders from the counter.
服务员小王把订单一张一张放在桌子上。
fúwùyuán Xiǎo Wáng bǎ dìngdān yì zhāng yì zhāng fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.
The server Xiao Wang places the orders on the table one by one.
客人一个一个地进来，老板不慌不忙地做咖啡。
kèrén yí ge yí ge de jìnlai, lǎobǎn bùhuāng-bùmáng de zuò kāfēi.
The customers come in one by one, and the owner makes coffee without rushing.
桌子不大不小，刚好放得下四杯咖啡。
zhuōzi bú dà bù xiǎo, gānghǎo fàng de xià sì bēi kāfēi.
The table is just the right size; it fits four cups of coffee.
Hint · 힌트
Notice what each phrase does in the sentence: 从柜台 tells where the order comes from; 桌子上 tells where it goes; in 请服务员小王拿订单, 小王 is both the person being asked and the person who takes the orders. Repeating a number and measure word means “one at a time,” while 不A不B is a compact fixed pairing.

Vocabulary

ChineseEnglish
lǎobǎn
owner; boss
fúwùyuán
server; service worker
Xiǎo Wáng
Xiao Wang (a person’s name)
qǐng
to ask; invite
cóng
from
guìtái
counter
dìngdān
order
ná
to take; get
zhuōzi
table
zhuōzi shàng
on the table
yì zhāng yì zhāng
one sheet/order at a time
yí ge yí ge
one by one
jìnlai
to come in
kèrén
customer; guest
bùhuāng-bùmáng
calmly; unhurried
bú dà bù xiǎo
neither too big nor too small
kāfēi
coffee
bēi
cup; glass (measure word)
gānghǎo
just right; just enough
zháojí
to be in a hurry; anxious

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