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'!


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
Not
Bad

Mandarin
Bú
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
'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
Not
Bad

Mandarin
Bú
Cuò

Type
Adv.
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
Ok

Hái
Kěyǐ


Pronunciation tip

Still = Hái


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?

Fine

Hái kěyǐ

Literally : Still ok


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

2

3

Bú cuò

Hái kěyǐ

Nín hǎo


So remember!

English

Mandarin

Type

Not

Bú

Adv.

Bad

Cuò

Adj.

Still

Hái

Adv.

Ok

Kěyǐ

Adj.


Moving on...

Let's learn a few new
expressions used daily!
Let's begin with 'thanks'!


Etiquette conversation

Thanks

Xièxie

Literally : thanks, to thank


Pronunciation tip

In pinyin 'X' is pronounced
with a 'sh' or 'zh' sound, unlike the
English 'x' as in 'xylophone'


Pronunciation tip
Thanks = Xièxie
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



Thank you

Xièxie nǐ

Thanks = Xièxie
You = 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
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'

Sorry

Bù hǎo yì si

Literally, 'not a good meaning'


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 'Bù
hǎo',
let's learn how to say 'yì si'


Pronunciation tip

Yì si
'Yì' is pronounced using a
'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' in
some 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 that
the 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

It's alright

Méi ɡuān xi

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

Pronunciation tip

Méi
'Méi' is pronounced using a


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



How do we say 'thanks'?

1

2

3

Xièxie

Bú kèqi

Hái kěyǐ



How do we say 'you're welcome'?

1

2

3

Bú kèqi

Xièxie

Hái kěyǐ



How do we say 'sorry'?

1

2

3

Bù hǎo yì si

Bú kèqi

Xièxie


Let’s revise!

English

Mandarin

Thanks

Xièxie

You are welcome

Bú kèqi
Bù hǎo yì si /

Sorry

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 precede
personal 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 (first
names in
west) often suggests a much higher degree of
intimacy than
is the case in the west
If one’s given name is monosyllabic, it's used is
even more limited, usually confined to one’s lover
or spouse
For example, Wāng Péng’s girlfriend can address
him 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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