hundredwords

What will they ask me when I buy a SIM card at Shanghai Pudong airport?

Expect to hear 要多少流量？ (yào duōshao liúliàng, "How much data do you want?"). Useful things to say: 你好！ (nǐ hǎo, "Hello!") and 我想买一张电话卡。 (wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì zhāng diànhuà kǎ, "I'd like to buy a SIM card").

The whole conversation: Landing at Shanghai Pudong

You come through arrivals and need to get online before anything else.

  1. You say
    你好！ nǐ hǎo Hello!
  2. You say
    我想买一张电话卡。 wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì zhāng diànhuà kǎ I'd like to buy a SIM card.
  3. You hear
    护照给我看一下。 hùzhào gěi wǒ kàn yíxià Let me see your passport.

    SIM cards are registered to your passport. Have it in your hand.

  4. You hear
    要多少流量？ yào duōshao liúliàng How much data do you want?
  5. You say
    一个星期的。 yí ge xīngqī de Enough for a week.
  6. You hear
    一百块。 yìbǎi kuài A hundred yuan.

    Prices are written 元 (yuán) but everyone says kuài.

  7. You say
    可以刷卡吗？ kěyǐ shuā kǎ ma Can I pay by card?
  8. You hear
    扫码就行。 sǎo mǎ jiù xíng Just scan the code.

    Most places expect Alipay or WeChat Pay. Visitors can link a foreign bank card to either app before they fly.

Shanghai ear: many people say s, c and z where Beijing says sh, ch and zh, so 是 (shì) can sound like "sì" and 十 (shí) like "sí". Shanghai speech also drops the Beijing "r" ending: people say 这里 and 哪里, not 这儿 and 哪儿.

Is this what people really say here?

Questions about this scene

What will they ask me when I buy a SIM card at Shanghai Pudong airport?

Expect to hear 要多少流量？ (yào duōshao liúliàng, "How much data do you want?"). Useful things to say: 你好！ (nǐ hǎo, "Hello!") and 我想买一张电话卡。 (wǒ xiǎng mǎi yì zhāng diànhuà kǎ, "I'd like to buy a SIM card").

What does "要多少流量？" mean in Mandarin (China)?

It means "How much data do you want?". It is pronounced yào duōshao liúliàng. A natural reply is 一个星期的。 (yí ge xīngqī de), "Enough for a week".