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服务员!


suMMit

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I hand an off hand compliment last night. I was at a 湖南饭馆 last night. I was sitting around a corner kind of out of the way. at one point, I called out 服务员, the waitress instantly stopped and looked around for who was calling her. She turned to the guy sitting at the table behind her and asked him what he needed, he said he hadn't called her. She did the same with another customer. I then called her again and she made eye contact with me. This was a small victory, because when I first started, I could never seem to get a response from saying 服务员, last night the waitress thought it could have come from a native speaker?

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That's one of those common words in which the middle character is often elided, as is part of the first: fu'yuan. But calling someone over that way's never struck me as polite. Much nicer to give each character its normal value.

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suMMit... Chinese people compliment you even when you say 你好 or are able to use chopsticks. If you let something minor such as this go to your head then I have somber prospects for your future Chinese studies.
 

5 minutes ago, 889 said:

That's one of those common words in which the middle character is often elided, as is part of the first: fu'yuan.


While that might be. @suMMit Don't use that as advice to "correct" your Chinese pronunciation. 

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"When you go to America, you will hear people use betcha and dj'ever and other sloppy talk. Do not imitate them! Your speech will define you. Always speak proper English."

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@Weyland i think you missed my point. She didnt say any compliment. the point is she instantly responded to hearing fuwuyuan without knowing who spoke it. when i started, i could be shouting it next to them and they wouldnt recognize it. i meant this post rather tongue in cheek.

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12 hours ago, suMMit said:

i think you missed my point. She didnt say any compliment. the point is she instantly responded to hearing fuwuyuan without knowing who spoke it.

Yeah, those kind of inadvertent assumptions are really encouraging. I was settling up at the till in a Chinese restaurant once, asked for our bill, paid it, and was getting the change when the girl looked up for the first time, only to give a little yelp when she realised she'd been talking to a foreigner. Little things, but nice. 

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