在美國理髮不便宜,所以不少初到美國的華人都買套理髮工具,請家人代勞。如果要到老外理髮廳/美容院,也要知道一些「應付之道」。以下便是些實用會話。
(1)在理髮廳
(at a barber shop):
理髮師也許問:
Who is next ?
(下一位是誰?)
你說:
I believe I am.
(我想是我。)
對方說:
Hi , how do you want to have your hair done ?
嗨,(你好?)你要怎麼剪?
你說:
I need a basic haircut. It looks like a crew-cut but do not cut it as close.
(我只要普通一般的理髮,看起來像平頭,但不要剪太短。)
(basic haircut 也就是 regular cut)
或者說:
No particular style, just a regular cut, but don't cut it too short on the sides. Trim it a little and take some off the top, but don't cut too much off the top as I am losing hair up there.
(不要什麼特別髮型,只要一般西裝頭,不過兩邊不要太短,只要修一點,上面剪薄些,但不要剪太多,因為我在掉髮。)
或
A crew-cut will be fine. It's more comfortable during the summer.
(剪平頭就好了。夏天比較舒服些。)
或
I need a haircut, a shave, a shampoo and a tonic treat-ment. Nothing fancy.
(我要理個髮,刮個鬍子,洗個頭,還有加些滋補頭髮的玩意兒,但不必太高檔。)(tonic treat-ment 多半是老年人使用)
或
Please thin it a little bit ; I have too much hair on the top.
(請打薄一些;我的頭髮太多了。)
或
I don't need any gels, sprays or mousses. I just need a regular cut. I don't believe in all the fancy stuff with a high price.
(我不要髮膠、噴髮水或泡沫狀髮油;我只要一般的理髮。我不相信那些高檔而昂貴的玩意兒。)
如是老顧客,也可打趣的說:
Your price may have changed , but my haircut style stays the same.
(你的價格也許變了,但我的髮型不變。)
對方說:
Fine. Do you want me to trim more on the sides?
(好的。你要兩邊再修一點嗎?)
你說:
Just a little bit more , please!
(請再修一點點。)
對方問:
How do you like it ? Is that short enough ?
(你看怎樣?夠短嗎?)
你說:
Oh , yes , that's fine.
(好,這樣很好。)
對方又問:
Will there be anything else ?
你說:
Please apply some sweet-smelling liquid to my hair and massage it with your fingertips.
(請加些味道較好的髮油,並用手指按摩一下。)
或
I need a shampoo and a shave , too. Please use a little dandruff remover.
(我也要洗頭和刮臉。請用一些去頭皮屑的藥膏。)
對方說:
All right. What do you think?
(都好了,你覺得怎樣?)
你說:
That looks great! How much do I owe you?
(很好看。多少錢?)
(註:在美理髮,價格視理髮廳等級而定,目前大概是8元至15元不等。如要洗頭、刮鬍、吹風、擦油等,則要一一另外加錢。)
對方說:
Let's see , hair-cut is 10 dol-lars; shampoo is 4 dollars and shave is 3 dollars. The total is seventeen dollars.
(讓我算算看:剪髮10元,洗頭4元,刮臉3元,總共17元。)
(註:一些老中在家理髮,但手藝欠佳,往往影響工作上的儀表,這些錢,是否該省,也得考慮。)
你說:
Here is twenty bucks. Keep the change!
(這是 20 元,留下零頭吧!)
(註:一般理髮,也給小費,大約是全部費用15%。)
(change 當零錢解,是名詞,通常不用複數。)
順便也可以問:
By the way, when your red and white barbor pole is turning , does it always mean that you are open ?
(當你們的紅、白理髮轉動標在旋轉時,是否都表示你在營業呢?)
(註:美國一般理髮廳門前通常都有一個圓柱形的紅白轉動器,做為標記。)
你最後說:
Thanks. Have a nice day.
(謝謝。祝你有愉快的一天。)
對方說:
You, too. Bye!
(你也是。再會!)
(註:老外沒有「士大夫」思想,對任何職業,都能彼此敬重,理髮師當不例外。)