# Are you still serving dim sum?



## yuechu

大家好！

I was recently at a Cantonese restaurant, and I was wondering how to ask "Are you still serving dim sum?" in Mandarin? (I would ask in Cantonese, but my Cantonese is very basic!) It was early afternoon, and I think they sometimes stop serving dim sum in early afternoon, right?
Thanks!


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## SimonTsai

請問你們現在還有沒有 (提供) 廣式點心？


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## yuechu

Oh, that's great! Thanks so much for your help, SimonTsai!


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## yuechu

Is it possible to differentiate in Chinese: "Do you still serve dim sum?" (=in general) and "Are you still serving dim sum?" (=today)
Could the Chinese sentence above have either meaning?


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## Ghabi

Cantonese:
"Do you still serve dim sum?" (=in general) 
仲有冇賣點心呀? zung6 jau5mou5 maai6 dim2sam1 aa3

"Are you still serving dim sum?" (=today)
仲有冇點心賣呀? zung6 jau5mou5 dim2sam1 maai6 aa3


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## yuechu

Thanks, Ghabi! I'll have to ask a Cantonese person to read it out for me!


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## 2PieRad

yuechu said:


> "Do you still serve dim sum?" (=in general) and "Are you still serving dim sum?" (=today)


You might have to tweak the sentence a little. 

请问你们这有没有XYZ? ...in general. (As opposed to elsewhere)
请问现在还能不能订XYZ? ...at this time, is it still possible to order...


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## Ghabi

Erebos12345 said:


> 请问现在还能不能订XYZ?


Why do you use 订?


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## SimonTsai

yuechu said:


> Could the Chinese sentence above have either meaning?


I am not so sure.

I would say that in most cases, it is marginally more likely to mean 'Do you still serve dim sum' (which is in general).

If you want to make it clear that you are focusing upon today, you may substitute '今天' for '現在' and leave '提供' out.


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## 2PieRad

Ghabi said:


> Why do you use 订?


As opposed to ...还提供XYZ吗? Don't know. Came to me more readily than 提供 or 有没有. Does it not work?


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## Ghabi

^You use 订 for ordering food in a restaurant?


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## 2PieRad

I don’t order food in Chinese...like...almost ever. Does 訂 not work here? 
...Though the question wasn’t “can I get an [xyz]?”
我*訂*一盤xyz...


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## hx1997

Erebos12345 said:


> Does 訂 not work here?


Hmmm, no, 订 is more like "reserve" or "book" to me, e.g. 订房 reserve a room, 订机票 book a flight.


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## 2PieRad

订房间、订旅馆、订机票、但真的不能订餐、订菜啊。。。


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## Ghabi

In food context, (预)订 is like "order in advance", like you preorder something special, things that you can't just walk in and order (点) and have them, things that need a few days for their preparation.


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## 2PieRad

Fair enough. 点 works better, definitely.


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## yuechu

Ghabi said:


> In food context, (预)订 is like "order in advance", like you preorder something special, things that you can't just walk in and order (点) and have them, things that need a few days for their preparation.


Ah, I had forgotten about this difference! (A Chinese person once asked me how to differentiate these since they are both "order" in English, despite them being different in Chinese) Thanks for the reminder of this difference, Ghabi!


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