The Four Questions in Mandarin

Ma nishtanah halaila hazeh mikol haleilot...

Note:

(A) Mandarin Chinese written in Pin Yin indicates the four tones by four symbols above the vowels in question, namely, (1) an acute accent to indicate a rising tone, (2) a straight line above the vowel to indicate a high tone, (3) a "v" to indicate dropping-rising tone and (4) a grave accent to indicate a dropping tone.

(B) Since we do not have access to the font with these indications, we are going (with our apologies) to use the two accents, plus the circumflex to indicate the "v" of the falling-rising tone and the umlaut (or tréma) to indicate the high tone.

The Four Questions / Les Quatre Questions / Si ge wenti

Wèishénme zhège wân shang gen bié de wân shang bù yï yang?

1. Bié de wân shang, wômen chi famiàn miànbao; jìntiän wân shang chï si miàn miànbao.

2. Bié de wân shang, wômen chi gè zhong gè yàng de shu cài; jìntiân wân shang wômen zhí chï ku cài.

3. Bié de wân shang, wômen bù yòng shu cài zhàn yán shui; jìntiän wân shang zhàn liang cì.

4. Bié de wân shang, wômen zuò zhe huò zhe xié tang zhe chï; jìntiän wân shang, wômen xié tang zhe chï.


A word or two you might recognize:
"Feng shui", pronounced "fung shway", means "wind water".
You'll see the word shui somewhere in the four questions.
"Shang" by itself means "above"; Shanghai = "Above the sea".


Thanks to Christophe of Shanghai, whom I met at La Dictée des Amériques, for his great help and friendship.

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