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How do purchase movie tickets in China?

Did you know that China ranked #1 by the number of cinema screens in the world? It exceeded those of the US last year, and this number keeps growing🏆

But even with so many screens, it’s not always easy to get tickets to the movie you want to watch.

So let’s talk about purchasing tickets today📱

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购 gòu – to buy, purchase

票 piào – tickets

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购票 gòu piào – to buy tickets

网上购票 wǎngshàng gòu piào – to buy tickets online

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Now, I’m lazy, so I usually buy tickets without leaving WeChat or Alipay. Once you enter the “Movie tickets” tab, the interface is pretty straightforward: you choose the movie you want to watch, the cinema that’s close to you, and then click 购票.

The system takes you to the screen where you can choose seats, upgrade for #爆米花🍿️ and other snacks, and complete the purchase via WeChat or Alipay.

You don’t need to worry about choosing the language – foreign movies are always shown in 原版 yuánbǎn (with the original audio track)🗣

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But there are some platforms that offer discounts, too!

So if you wanted to ask your Chinese friends/colleagues to recommend you some apps, how would you ask “Where do you buy (movie) tickets?”

@allbeadid: 我在哪儿可以网上购票？

@kevintanoyo: 你在哪里网上购票?

@rebenini: 你在哪儿购票啊？

@yourmandarin: @rebenini @kevintanoyo @allbeadid 🏅🏅🏅Well done!👏A tip: since网上and在哪儿both indicate place, put them both before the verb. And it’s also better if网上comes before在: “你网上在哪儿….?”

@kevintanoyo: @yourmandarin 好的。谢谢。

@amandaswampler: Ni zai na wang shang gou piao ma?

@yourmandarin: @amandaswampler 👍🏅Well done! Just swap “wangshang” and “zai na” places, and get rid of “ma” (you already have a question word “na”)😉

@amandaswampler: @yourmandarin ahhhh – ni wangshang zai na gou piao? Xiexie ni!

@yourmandarin: @amandaswampler Bu yong xie😊

@chrzani: 美团💕

@yourmandarin: @chrzani 😊

@ga0jun: 买票跟购票有什么不同？

@idontwantnopigeons: @ga0jun 我有一样个问题

@yourmandarin: @idontwantnopigeons @ga0jun Apps里面用的是“购票”，口语中用的是“买票”😉

@zzzzyuhan: @ga0jun 一样的意思。一般说买

@langslover: 你那里够了？Nǐ nǎli gòu piào le?

@yourmandarin: @langslover 👍🏅(Works for “Where did you buy tickets?”)

@happytwixie: 你在哪儿买电影票？你在哪儿购电影票？can i use either买or购?

@yourmandarin: @happytwixie Yes!买is more colloquial,购more formal, and its often used in apps/online platforms, so worth learning😉(the difference is literally like between “buy” vs. “purchase”)

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