Restaurant reservations Part 4: Exploring options for private or semi-private dining for groups.
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Key Phrases
我想预定
wǒ xiǎng yù dìng
I would like to make a reservation.
几个人
jǐ gè rén
How many people?
请问您的名字是
qǐng wèn nín de míng zì shì
May I have your name?
Skills You'll Learn
Making a reservation
预定座位
yù dìng zuò wèi
Discussing seating preferences
讨论座位偏好
tǎo lùn zuò wèi piān hǎo
Providing personal information
提供个人信息
tí gōng gè rén xìn xī
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are trying to make a reservation at a restaurant in China for a group of eight people. You engage in a conversation with the restaurant's reservation assistant in Chinese, discussing available seating options like a private room or a semi-private room, and finalizing the reservation with your name.
你好，我想预定一个餐厅的位置。
nǐ hǎo wǒ xiǎng yù dìng yī gè cān tīng de wèi zhì
Hello, I would like to make a reservation at a restaurant.
您好，请问您想预定几个人的桌子？
nín hǎo qǐng wèn nín xiǎng yù dìng jǐ gè rén de zhuō zi
Hello, how many people is the reservation for?
我们大概有八个人。
wǒ men dà gài yǒu bā gè rén
There are about eight of us.
好的，请问您需要包间还是半包间？
hǎo de qǐng wèn nín xū yào bāo jiān hái shì bàn bāo jiān
Okay, would you like a private room or a semi-private room?
什么是半包间？
shén me shì bàn bāo jiān
What is a semi-private room?
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
你
nǐ
You
好
hǎo
Good
你好
nǐ hǎo
Hello
🇨🇳 [你好] is standard and polite, but in restaurants staff may also open with [您好] to sound more respectful. As a customer, [你好] is completely fine.
See breakdown →我
wǒ
I/me
想
xiǎng
Want
💬 In requests, [想] often softens what you want: [我想预定] feels less direct than just saying [预定]. You can reuse it with other actions, like [我想问一下] for a polite "I'd like to ask...".
See breakdown →预定
yù dìng
Reserve
💬 [预定] is a common verb for booking or reserving something in advance. You can swap the object after it: [预定包间], [预定桌子].
See breakdown →我想预定
wǒ xiǎng yù dìng
I would like to make a reservation.
💬 [我想 + verb] is a very useful polite pattern for service situations: [我想预定], [我想改时间], [我想取消]. It sounds natural and less abrupt than saying the verb by itself.
See breakdown →一个
yī gè
A
💬 [一个] is the basic "one + counting word" pattern. [一] before [个] is said (yí), not (yī), and you can swap in other nouns: [一个包间], [一个名字].
See breakdown →餐厅
cān tīng
Restaurant
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