Scan the menu
Many restaurants have no paper menu. The code on the table is the menu.
扫码点餐
Sǎo mǎ diǎncān · Scan the code to order.
当代 · dāngdài
中国当代社会文化
What you meet after the textbook: a QR code on the table, a phone that pays, a delivery rider, a word for burnout, and a train that is faster than the map suggests.
Pay with a phone
Cash still exists. The cashier will usually point you to WeChat or Alipay.
可以微信支付吗？
Kěyǐ Wēixìn zhīfù ma? · Can I pay with WeChat?
Food comes to you
Delivery riders are part of the street. The bag on the bike is someone’s lunch.
外卖到了
Wàimài dào le · The delivery is here.
The word for the grind
内卷 is how people name a race where everyone works harder and nobody gets further.
太内卷了
Tài nèijuǎn le · This is too involuted.
The train between cities
高铁 is the default between big cities. People say the train name the way other places say the flight number.
高铁几点？
Gāotiě jǐ diǎn? · What time is the high-speed train?