Learn · Lesson 18
Asking where things are
Get from 在 to 在哪儿, 怎么走, and a few landmarks you can actually follow.
Goals
- Ask 在哪儿 and understand a short location answer
- Use 怎么走 without inventing English inversion
- Give left / right / go straight in one breath
- Clarify with 请问 before you stop a stranger
Location is 在, not 是
厕所在哪儿？ The thing sits first, then 在哪儿. English “where is” tempts you to start with 哪儿是 — resist it for this beginner frame.
Answers are often 在 + place: 在左边, 在前面, 在二楼.
If you only remember one question this week, make it 请问，厕所在哪儿？
Where is the restroom?
The subway station is up ahead.
My home is here.
How do I get there?
怎么走 asks for a route. 去 + place + 怎么走？ is a complete street question.
Answers pile verbs: 往前走, 左转, 再走. You do not need a grammar essay — you need three chunks.
如果 you get 一直走, that is “keep going straight,” not “always walk in your life.”
How do I get to the supermarket?
Go forward, then turn right.
Is it far from here?
Polite interruption
请问 buys you a second of attention. Skip it only with people you already talk to.
对不起, 我听不懂. Then point at a map. Communication is not a fluency exam.
Pair this lesson with the lost-on-subway dialogue and the travel deck.
Excuse me, where is the bank?
Sorry, I don’t understand.
Can you go a bit slower?
Takeaways
- Place + 在哪儿, not English where-is order.
- 怎么走 asks for the route; 往/转 give the steps.
- 请问 first, then the question.
Quick check
1. Which asks where the restroom is?
2. 怎么走 is for…
3. A polite opener is…