Hui guo
It could be one word hui3guo4 which means to be repentant.
Otherwise it could be two words hui2 (return) and guo3 (to pass through or by, to ford, across…)
I think it means “Ya’ll come back now.”
For months I thought they where trying to say “goodmorning” to me, getting really confused when I noticed them using the phrase any time of the day.
Still, I believe the “bai bai” when leaving means “bye bye”.
[quote=“bob”]Hui guo
It could be one word hui3guo4 which means to be repentant.
Otherwise it could be two words hui2 (return) and guo3 (to pass through or by, to ford, across…)
I think it means “Ya’ll come back now.”[/quote]
hui4gu4 = patronage
xie4xie4 hui4gu4 = Thank you for your patronage
am i missing a character set? does everyone else see the number four in the middle of those words?
They’re supposed to be there: they represent the 4th tone.
Serious? Yes!
I think it is unfriendly the way it is shouted in your ear constantly by the whole team if you shop in SOGO. Sometimes I have to leave, cause it’s annoying like the trash van if too close.
A wonderful example how in Asia it’s the outer form and not the content that counts.
I wonder if shouting out “huanyin guangling” is an influence formt eh Japanese custom of shouting out their equivalent?
Do they do this in China?
Brian
They don’t shout “huanyin guangling” is China. At least not in the Chinese shops and department stores. I have not been in SOGO in China so don’t know about that.
I subscribe to Bu Lai En’s theory that it is a Japanese derived custom.
Indeed. In fact, if you go to some Japanese-style establishments in Taiwan, they say irasshaimase instead of huanying guanglin.
Like Sushi Express, for example.
Although there it’s more like “mase” than the full “irasshaimase”, and when it is the full “irasshaimase” it’s mangled beyond recognition.
It really does if you hear it for the first time without any understanding at all of Mandarin. I thought that the first time I heard it.
The welcome phrase is so overused now that I hardly ever hear it anymore. Two days ago at Watsons, the lady did say “ze ge guetai jiesho” (excuse my pinyin) which means “this counter is open”.
On a side note, I agree with Tetsuo about the mauling of Japanese phrase irasshaimase. I’ve notice Taiwanese people tend to have very hard stressed ending sounds like bat becomes baTUH, map becomes maPUH and irasshaimase becomes irasaimaSEH.
SOGO is very Japanese, right down to those elevator ladies with the white gloves.
Yeah, but in many cases it ends up sounding like iLLasshaimasse. Most people here who study Japanese have a hard time with the Japanese ‘r’ sound. I believe, too, that the huanying guanglin greeting is a result of Japanese influence, especially since it is most prevalent in businesses that have made their way to Taiwan via Japan, such as convenience stores and department stores, not to mention Japanese restaurants.
Just as a note, even Japanese mix ‘l’ and ‘r’, because the Japanese ‘r’ sits almost dead-set halfway between the two.
I’m well aware of that, having lived in Japan and studied Japanese extensively for many years. They get confused about it when speaking English–not when speaking Japanese. It’s pretty much like the Korean l or r problem. I’d argue however that it doesn’t sit halfway between any of the sounds in English but that it exists as an independent sound that may be similar to the l or r in English. I’d also add that labelling that particular sound as an l or an r isn’t particularly helpful for learning how to make the sound.
Ah yes…would you like your ratte before or after your lice.
Eat a duck we must. (itadakimasu). 