Basic Mandarin Chinese | Lesson 4 | Etiquette conversation

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Nǐ hǎo Lesson 4 on Basic Mandarin!


Revision

English Mandarin

Lisa Hello! Nǐ hǎo!

Mark Hello! Nǐ hǎo!

Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?

Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?

Lisa I am also very good Yě hěn hǎo


1 Greetings

2 Etiquette conversation


What's in store today?

Today we will learn some more common greetings and some etiquette phrases like

'thank you' and 'sorry'!


1 Greetings



Greetings

Today we will learn some other responses to -'How

are you?' or 'Nǐ hǎo ma?' - to help you learn some interesting conversations!

Let’s start with a common one : 'Not bad!'


Vocabulary

English Mandarin

Not Bú

Bad Cuò


Pronunciation tip

Before moving on, lets take a closer look at the pronunciations for the new

words we've just learnt!


Pronunciation tip

Not = Bú

It is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Bú

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Bú


Pronunciation tip

Bad = Cuò

It is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Cuò

It is said with a 'falling' tone - Cuò


Responding to 'how are you?'

Great! Now let's use them as a phrase!

Not bad!

Not = Bú (adv.) Bad = Cuò (adj.)


Grammar tip

Not = Bú

Bú is an adverb and is used to negate verbs In Mandarin, adverbs always come before the

verb

Eg: To be (is/am/are) = Shì

Not to be (is not/ am not/ are not) = Bú shì


So one of the responses to 'how are you?' is...

Not bad

Bú cuò


So remember!

English Mandarin Type

Not Bú Adv.

Bad Cuò Adj.


Let’s try this in a conversation!

English Mandarin

Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?

Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?

Lisa Not bad Bú cuò


Moving on…

We can also reply to 'how are you?' by saying 'Fine'

Let's take a look at the vocabulary

required for the same!


Vocabulary

English Mandarin

Still Hái

Ok Kěyǐ


Pronunciation tip

Still = Hái

It is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Hái

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Hái


Pronunciation tip

Ok = Kěyǐ

'Kěyǐ', stresses on two tones, 'e' and 'i'

On both, it uses the ‘falling rising’ tone

Let’s break it down and see how each one is pronounced!


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Kě

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Kě


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Yǐ

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Yǐ


Tonal tips

Great! Now lets try it together

Let's try and say Kěyǐ

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone - Kěyǐ


As we saw...

Still = Hái Ok = Kěyǐ


Responding to : how are you?

Literally : Still ok

Fine

Hái kěyǐ


Grammar tip

Apart from meaning 'Ok', Kěyǐ also reflects the 'ability' to ask permission

Kěyǐ is made up of two characters

The first (kě) means 'can' or 'may' and the second (yǐ) means 'according to'


Let's see if you remember…


Pick the right option

How do we say 'not bad'?

1

Bú cuò

2

Hái kěyǐ

3

Nín hǎo


So remember!

English Mandarin Type

Not Bú Adv.

Bad Cuò Adj.

Still Hái Adv.

Ok Kěyǐ Adj.


1 Greetings



Moving on...

Let's learn a few new expressions used daily!

Let's begin with 'thanks'!


Etiquette conversation

Literally : thanks, to thank

Thanks

Xièxie


Pronunciation tip

In pinyin 'X' is pronounced with a 'sh' or 'zh' sound, unlike the

English 'x' as in 'xylophone'


Pronunciation tip

Thanks = Xièxie

It is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)

Note, that 'Xièxie' can be broken into two similar parts, except that the second time we

say 'xie', the sound softly fades away


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Xièxie

It is said with a 'falling' tone -Xièxie



Thanks = XièxieYou = Nǐ

Thank you

Xièxie nǐ



In English, we would typically say 'You are welcome' while responding to 'Thank you'

In Mandarin, 'You are welcome' is used as 'Don't be polite'

(to indicate ‘You don't need to thank me’)



You are welcome = Don't be polite

Polite = Kèqi Don't be polite = Bú kèqi

Remember that 'Bú' means not

'Be' is not translated here, as 'polite' is an adjective

Let's see how to pronounce the following words!


Pronunciation tip

We already know how to pronounce Bú,

it is said with a 'mid rising' tone

Let's see how to pronounce 'Kèqi'


Pronunciation tip

Note that in pinyin 'q' is pronounced with a 'ch' sound, unlike the

English 'q' as in 'quiet'


Pronunciation tip

Polite = Kèqi

Kè is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)

Let's try and say Kèqi

Great! Now lets say the whole phrase together!


So now you know!

Don't be polite (reply to 'Thank you')

Bú kèqi


Moving on...

Now let's look at how we would say 'sorry' There are many ways to say 'sorry' in

Mandarin, but one of the most common and versatile phrases is duì bu qǐ


Tonal tip

Duì is pronounced using a 'falling' tone

Let's try and say it again, Duì


Tonal tip

Bù is pronounced using a 'falling' tone

Let's try and say it again, 'Bù'


Tonal tip

Remember that in Mandarin 'Q' is pronounced with a 'ch' sound

Qǐ is pronounced using the 'falling rising' tone

Let's try and say it again, Qǐ



Sorry

Duì bù qǐ


Pronunciation tip

Try saying Duì bù qǐ

Remember 'Q' takes up the sound of 'ch'


Another way to say 'sorry'

Literally, 'not a good meaning'

Sorry

Bù hǎo yì si


Grammar tip

Bù hǎo yì si is frequently used in the Chinese culture as a way of saying 'sorry' or

to mean 'I'm embarrassed'

Since we already know how to pronounce 'Bùhǎo',

let's learn how to say 'yì si'


Pronunciation tip

Yì si

'Yì' is pronounced using a 'falling' tone (4th)

'Si' is a neutral tone and is pronounced with a soft fading tone


Tonal tips

'Meaning' translates to 'Yì si'

Let's try and say Yì si

Yì is said with a falling tone - Yì si


Grammar tip

Bù hǎo yì si can also be used as 'Thank you' insome cases – usually when you want to say

'Your kindness is too much'/ 'This wasn't needed'

Situations include accepting gifts or tips


Cultural tip

The Chinese tradition of gift-giving demands thatthe gift is first refused, and finally accepted with

'xièxie' or 'Bù hǎo yì si'

This is done for any type of gift, including picking up the tab in a restaurant


More greetings

Literally, 'that's alright / doesn't matter'

It's alright

Méi ɡuān xi


Pronunciation tip

Méi

'Méi' is pronounced using a 'mid rising' tone (2nd)


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Méi

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Méi


Pronunciation tip

Guān

'Guān' is pronounced using a 'high level' tone (1st)


Tonal tips

Let's try and say Guān

It is said with a 'high level' tone - Guān


Tonal tip

Xi

'Xi' is pronounced in the neutral tone, like a soft fading away sound


Let's see if you remember…



How do we say 'thanks'?

1

Xièxie

2

Bú kèqi

3

Hái kěyǐ



How do we say 'you're welcome'?

1

Bú kèqi

2

Xièxie

3

Hái kěyǐ



How do we say 'sorry'?

1

Bù hǎo yì si

2

Bú kèqi

3

Xièxie


Let’s revise!

English Mandarin

Thanks Xièxie

You are welcome Bú kèqi

Sorry

Bù hǎo yì si /

Duì bù qǐ

It's alright Méi ɡuān xi


Culture Leaf


Culture leaf : Chinese names

Names in China are used slightly differently than names you would hear in the west

Let's look at some examples…


Culture leaf : Chinese names - Boys

Wāng Péng is a boy's name

In China, family (or clan) names always precedepersonal or given names

'Wāng' is family name and 'Péng' is given name


Culture leaf : Chinese names - Girls

Lǐ Yǒu is a girl's name

Lǐ is the family name Yǒu is the given name


Culture leaf : Chinese names

In Chinese culture the use of given names (firstnames in

west) often suggests a much higher degree ofintimacy than

is the case in the west

If one’s given name is monosyllabic, it's used iseven more limited, usually confined to one’s lover

or spouse

For example, Wāng Péng’s girlfriend can addresshim as

Péng, but most people would call him Wāng Péng

rather than Péng


What's next?

In the next lesson, we will learn some common expressions such as 'good

morning', 'good evening' etc...!


Credits

Content Team CultureAlley, Sunny Dang


See you at the Alley!


Basic Mandarin Chinese | Lesson 4 | Etiquette conversation

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