Note: The spoken Chinese Mandarin language has 4 spoken tones. We have attempted to re-create those below where after each syllable we tell you (1), (2), (3), or (4) as they correspond to each of the 4 tones. We encourage you to complement your Xianzai.com Emergency Chinese newsletter with a good offline study program.

Basic Computer Chinese: ji(4) suan(4) ji(1) ji(1) chu(3) zhong(1) wen(2)

NEW WORDS
(1) Computer: ji(4) suan(4) ji(1)
(2) Hardware: ying(4) jian(4)
(3) Software: ruan(3) jian(4)
(4) Internet: hu(4) lian(2) wang(3)
(5) Microsoft: wei(1) ruan(3)

LESSON

• Do you sell computers?
  ni(3) men(2) mai(4) ji(4) suan(4) ji(1) ma?
  
• Which software does this computer come installed with?
  zhe(4) tai(2) ji(4) suan(4) ji(1) li(3) zhuang(1) you(3) shen(2) mo ruan(3) jian(4)?
  
• Can I access the Internet with this computer?
  wo(3) ke(2) yi(3) yong(4) zhe(4) tai(2) ji(4) suan(4) ji(1) lai(2) shang(4) wang(3) ma?
  
• Does this laptop have Microsoft Windows XP?
  zhe(4) tai(2) bi(3) ji(4) ben(3) dian(4) nao(3) you(3) wei(1) ruan(3) de Windows XP ma?

* Tip: Buying a computer in China used to mean paying exorbitant prices because of the high import duties. Today, computers made in China, including both desktops and laptops, are competitively priced and are world-quality.
The three main brands in China are Legend, Founder and Great Wall. These can be found along side the better-known international brands in most computer stores in China's large cities (and often at more competitive prices).

Most computers sold in China will have the Chinese version of Microsoft Windows and office applications installed. Smile, ask nicely, pay a little extra and the shop will simply install the English versions of your favorite applications for you.