Upper-Intermediate - The Price of Marriage(D2055)

A: 听说你带女朋友去欧洲玩了一趟？

tīngshuō nǐ dài nǚpéngyou qù Ōuzhōu wán le yī tàng？

I've heard that you took your girlfriend on a trip to Europe.

B: 是啊。

shì a。

Yeah, I did.

A: 真浪漫！去你们国家了吗？

zhēn làngmàn！ qù nǐmen guójiā le ma？

How romantic! Did you go to your country?

B: 去了。

qù le。

Yes.

A: 是不是，求婚了？

shìbushì， qiúhūn le？

Did you propose to her?

B: 嗯。小薇答应嫁给我了。可是我们不能结婚。

ng4。 XiǎoWēi dāying jiàgěi wǒ le。 kěshì wǒmen bùnéng jiéhūn。

Yeah. Xiao Wei said yes, but we can't get married.

A: 为什么？

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 wèishénme？

Why?

B: 她妈妈不同意。说不买房子就不能结婚。

tā māma bù tóngyì。 shuō bù mǎi fángzi jiù bùnéng jiéhūn。

Her mom doesn't agree to it. She says if we don't buy a house, then
we can't get married.

A: 哦，这是中国的传统。一般都要男方提供房子，女方买车，或者装修。
一起建立小家庭。

ò， zhè shì Zhōngguó de chuántǒng。 yībān dōu yào nánfāng tígōng

fángzi， nǚfāng mǎichē， huò zhě zhuāngxiū。 yīqǐ jiànlì xiǎo
jiātíng。

Oh, this is a Chinese tradition. Usually the man's family provides a

house and the woman's family provides a car or pays for the
renovation of the house. Together they make a home.

B: 可我真想不通，结婚跟房子有什么关系。花半个平米的钱就能去趟欧洲
，买一套小房子的钱，够玩遍全世界了。

kě wǒ zhēn xiǎngbutōng， jiéhūn gēn fángzi yǒu shénme guānxi。

huā bàn ge píngmǐ de qián jiù néng qù tàng Ōuzhōu， mǎi yītào xiǎo
fángzi de qián， gòu wánrbiàn quánshìjiè le。

But I really don't understand. What does getting married have to do

with buying a house? Spending the money it costs for half a square
meter is enough to travel to Europe. The money it takes to buy a
small house is enough to travel the whole world.

A: 其实这个很好理解。对于岳父岳母来说，买房结婚是你对他们女儿表现
出来的诚意，是真心实意要跟她过日子的。这样他们心里就踏实了。

qíshí zhè ge hěn hǎo lǐjiě。 duìyú yuèfù yuèmǔ láishuō， mǎifáng
jiéhūn shì nǐ duì tāmen nǚér biǎoxiàn chūlái de chéngyì， shì
zhēnxīnshíyì yào gēn tā guò rìzi de。 zhèyàng tāmen xīnli jiù tāshi
le。

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 In fact, this is very easy to understand. According to your in-laws,
buying a house for their daughter shows your sincerity and that you
genuinely want to spend your life with her. This way their minds are
at ease.

B: 结婚是因为相爱，租房结婚不行吗？

jiéhūn shì yīnwèi xiāng ài， zūfáng jiéhūn bùxíng ma？

Marriage is about mutual love. Renting a house and getting married

isn't enough?

A: 在中国人看来，有房子才有家，有房子才有安全感。

zài Zhōngguórén kànlai， yǒu fángzi cái yǒu jiā， yǒu fángzi cái yǒu
ānquán gǎn。

The way that Chinese people see it, you don't have a home until you
own a house; you don't have a sense of security until you own a
house.

B: 房子跟安全感有什么关系？

fángzi gēn ānquán gǎn yǒu shénme guānxi？

What does a house have to do with a sense of security?

A: 他们觉得宝贝女儿要嫁给一个外国人，心里已经很不踏实了。这个老外
房子也不肯买，到底有没有在中国定居的打算？是不是跟我们女儿玩玩
的？如果过几年你拍拍屁股走人了，怎么办？

tāmen juéde bǎobèi nǚér yào jià gěi yī gè wàiguórén， xīnli yǐjīng hěn
bù tāshi le。 zhè ge lǎowài fángzi yě bù kěn mǎi， dàodǐ yǒu méi yǒu
zài Zhōngguó dìngjū de dǎsuàn？ shìbushì gēn wǒmen nǚér wánr
wanr de？ rúguǒ guò jǐnián nǐ pāipāipìguzǒurén le， zěnme bàn？

They think that their darling girl is going to give herself to a foreigner;
they are already feeling unsettled. If this laowai isn't willing to buy a
house, does he really plan to settle down in China? Is he just playing
around with our daughter? If you just take off after a couple of years,
what then?

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 B: 哦。他们不相信我。

ò。 tāmen bù xiāngxìn wǒ。

Oh. They don't trust me.

A: 你是真的爱小薇吗？真的想跟她结婚吗？

nǐ shì zhēnde ài XiǎoWēi ma？ zhēnde xiǎng gēn tā jiéhūn ma？

Do you really love Xiao Wei? Do you really want to marry her?

B: 当然。

dāngrán。

Of course.

A: 那就考虑买房子吧。入乡随俗嘛！

nà jiù kǎolǜ mǎi fángzi ba。 rùxiāngsuísú ma！

Then considering buying a house. When in Rome, do as the Romans

do.

B: 好吧。为了娶到中国姑娘，下一个悲催的房奴就是我了。

hǎoba。 wèile qǔdào Zhōngguó gūniang， xià yī ge bēicuī de fángnú

jiùshì wǒ le。

Okay. For marrying a Chinese girl, I'll become the next tragic
mortgage slave.

Key Vocabulary

求婚 qiúhūn to propose marriage

传统 chuántǒng traditional
男方 nánfāng man's side, man's
family

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 提供 tígōng to provide
女方 nǚfāng woman's side, woman's
family
装修 zhuāngxiū renovation
建立 jiànlì to establish
想不通 xiǎngbutōng to not understand the
reasoning
平米 píngmǐ square meter
玩遍 wánrbiàn to travel throughout
岳父 yuèfù father-in-law
岳母 yuèmǔ mother-in-law
诚意 chéngyì sincerity
过日子 guò rìzi to pass one's days
踏实 tāshi stable and secure,
peace of mind
在……看来 zài......kànlai in (someone's) opinion
安全感 ānquán gǎn feeling of security
定居 dìngjū settle down in
拍拍屁股走人 pāipāi pìgǔ zǒurén someone who plays you
for a fool or takes you
for a ride
考虑 kǎolǜ to consider
入乡随俗 rùxiāngsuísú follow local customs;
when in Rome, do as
the Romans do
悲催 bēicuī tragic, full of tears
房奴 fángnú mortgage slave (lit.
house slave)
真心实意 zhēnxīnshíyì truly and sincerely

Supplementary Vocabulary
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 请求 qǐngqiú to ask for, request
条件 tiáojiàn attributes,
characteristics
甲方 jiǎfāng first party (in a
contract)
乙方 yǐfāng second party (in a
contract)
合同 hétong contract
抽象 chōuxiàng abstract
必要条件 bìyàotiáojiàn required characteristics
互相 hùxiāng mutually
悲惨 bēicǎn tragic
灰尘 huīchén dust
奴隶 núlì slave

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