Restaurant reservations Part 2 (Advanced): Inquiring about parking or valet services.

💬 Starting with 那 (nà) means "in that case", so it follows on from what the other person just said: 那明天呢？ "what about tomorrow, then?"

💬 人手 (rénshǒu) means "staff, hands available", not literally people's hands. 不够 (búgòu) "not enough" attaches to anything lacking: 时间不够 "not enough time". Here 不 reads (bú) before the falling tone of 够.

🇨🇳 不好意思 is the go-to light apology that service staff use. Adding 实在 (shízài) "truly" makes it sound sincere, typically when they can't give you what you asked for.

💬 能 (néng) before a verb means "can, possible to", and the place comes first: 有地方能坐吗？ "is there somewhere to sit?"

💬 Ending a statement with 吧 (ba) turns it into "…, right?", so you're checking a guess rather than asking blankly: 你是老板吧？ "you're the owner, right?"

💬 满 (mǎn) + an amount means "reaching at least", as in "once you hit 200". You'll see it everywhere in deals like 满一百减二十 "20 off when you spend 100".

💬 Use 两 (liǎng), not 二, before a counting word: 两个, 两杯. 个 is needed between the number and 小时.

💬 免 (miǎn) "waive, exempt" goes directly before the fee it cancels: 免服务费 "no service charge".

💬 挺…的 (tǐng…de) means "pretty, quite" and is very conversational: 挺好的, 挺贵的. 划算 (huásuàn) needs no 是; the adjective stands alone.

💬 Put 的时候 after an action to mean "when doing it": 吃饭的时候 "when eating".

🇨🇳 Parking discounts usually aren't automatic. You typically show your plate number or ticket at the cashier when paying, so asking ahead is exactly what locals do.

🇨🇳 Most Chinese car parks read plates by camera, so restaurants validate parking by entering your plate number rather than stamping a ticket.

💬 帮您 (bāng nín) + action means "do it for you". 您 is the polite "you" that staff use with customers: 帮您叫车 "call a car for you".

🇨🇳 Literally "I've troubled you", this is a warm, polite way to thank someone who has done you a favour, like staff who arranged your booking. It often sounds more natural than a plain 谢谢 "thank you" when someone has gone out of their way for you.

🇨🇳 Literally "go a bit slower on the road", this is a warm, everyday send-off, said by hosts and staff to anyone leaving, not only drivers.