再来一个西瓜

[gvergara]

Hi, the last sentence of this conversation is 再来一个西瓜. This, however, does not make sense to me, since, according to the dictionaries I've consulted so far, 再 means again, but I don't see the point in using this word as the buyer's previous purchase was (还 要) 三 斤 草莓. Also, 再来, as a unit of independent meaning, does not seem to exist either, so, how could this be interpreted? Thanks in advance,

G.

 

[jaysings]

再来 in this case refers to "and...also", but it seems confusing to Non-Chinese readers because its literal meaning is exactly what you got from the dictionary. 再来一个西瓜 in English means that "and I'd also like to have a watermelon"

 

[Skatinginbc]

A: 我要三斤葡萄 I want 3 kilos of grapes.
B: 您还要什么？ What else do you need?
A: 还要三斤草莓. 西瓜怎么卖？ (I) also want 3 kilos of strawberries. How much is a watermelon?
B: 八毛一斤. 一个差不多有四斤. 80 cents per kilo. About 4 kilos each.
A: 再来一个西瓜. (I'd) also (like to) have a watermelon.
再 = 1) moreover, furthermore (e.g., 我要一碗牛肉麵, 再来一盤豬耳朵), 2) again (e.g., 来一碗牛肉麵...老板, 再来一碗牛肉麵).
The word 来 usually implies "the act of transporting something to the speaker" (e.g., a butcher hands over meat to a customer; a server brings a dish to the table). In this sense, it can be understood as "bring me, hand me, give me" (e.g., 再来一碗牛肉麵 "bring me another bowl of beef noodle soup"). Alternatively, 来 can be treated as a pro-verb (e.g., 再来一盘棋 = 再玩一盘棋; 再来一口 = 再吃一口; 再来一个西瓜 = 还要一个西瓜).
By the way, the dialogue above may be a phone conversation where the customer places a grocery delivery order or a face-to-face conversation where the customer cannot pick up the goods by himself due to certain conditions (e.g., handicapped).

 

[SuperXW]

Here, you can understand 再来 as "one more requirement".
It's like, “I want something again: one watermelon.”.

 

[asaisaio]

再 also means "also", which the dictionary doesn't point out.
For example, a boy takes some bread as breakfast when he goes to school. His mother says, "再带一瓶牛奶吧！"

 

[gvergara]

Thanks everyone for their answers. So, I guess in this case you could usually replace 再 with 还, am I wrong? 再 thanks

G.

 

[asaisaio]

Thanks everyone for their answers. So, I guess in this case you could usually replace 再 with 还, am I wrong? 再 thanks

G.

Yes, in this context, 再 means 还, but 还 usually is used in interrogative sentences or exclamatory sentences. For example, suppose you have bought 100 watermelons, and tell the shopkeeper that you want to buy one more watermelon, and the shopkeeper will say:“What? (You have bought 100 watermelons!) 还要一个西瓜？"

 

[SuperXW]

Thanks everyone for their answers. So, I guess in this case you could usually replace 再 with 还, am I wrong? 再 thanks

G.

In your case, we usually say 再来一个西瓜, but we don't say 还来一个西瓜.

 

[jaysings]

Thanks everyone for their answers. So, I guess in this case you could usually replace 再 with 还, am I wrong? 再 thanks

G.

Under some particular situations you can use "还" to replace “再”. Say, if you were a merchandiser being asked to take an unreasonable order like "one more watermelon after all the watermelons in your storage were purchased by this purchaser, you can question this very purchaser that “还要一个西瓜？". It implies that you feel surprised to have been asked something that is crazy and unbelievable as you think. General to speak, “还" is mostly seen in question sentences.

 

[SuperXW]

Although there are times the following three words can be interchangeable, they are most frequently associated with the English words in such ways: 也-also; 再-again; 还-still.