When I teach a Chinese learner in the first stage, she felt that “gōng
jiāo chē”(means “bus”) is difficult for her to pronounce. She said to me that she thought Singaporeans don’t use this word very often. I know in Singapore people sometimes use “bā shì”, which is more easy to pronounce and remember, because this word is directly translated from English based on the pronunciation. But even a same language has different codes in different countries. So if you are in China or talk with Chinese people in other countries, you’d better understand their codes of language and use “gōng
jiāo chē”. Do not fear about facing problems and try your best to learn more.
Just like when I first came to Singapore, I always heard the servers in the food courts said to me:”nĭ yào shuĭ ma?”(Do you want some water?) I always said ”no” because I really do not want “water” but some “drinks”. I doubt that why they don’t provide different kind of drinks? Later I know that in Singapore “water” just represents “any kind of drinks”. It’s really easy to say like that but please remember don’t speak to waiters like that in China, or they will serve you only “water”, but not drinks. So please remember “yĭn liào” or “hē de”(both means “drinks”). Because it’s very helpful and very common to use.