Learn how to apologize
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Introduction |
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Chinese Season 1, Lesson 5 - Making Apologies. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to apologize and how to say that you didn't do it on purpose or that you are sorry in Chinese. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the informal way to say "Excuse me." in Chinese. |
| Cho: [Normal] 不好意思。(bù hǎoyìsi) |
| Eric: First is a word meaning "not" |
| Cho: [Normal] 不 [Slow] 不 (bù) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning "good" |
| Cho: [Normal] 好 [Slow] 好(hǎo) |
| Eric: Last is the noun for "meaning" |
| Cho: [Normal] 意思 [Slow] 意思(yìsi) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning "Excuse me." |
| Cho: [Slow] 不好意思。 [Normal] 不好意思。 |
| Eric: Ok, now let's take a look at the formal way to say "Excuse me." |
| Cho: [Normal] 对不起。(duìbùqǐ) |
| Eric: This expression has only one word meaning "sorry" |
| Cho: [Normal] 对不起 [Slow] 对不起 (duìbùqǐ) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal word meaning "Excuse me." |
| Cho: [Slow] 对不起。 [Normal] 对不起。 |
| Eric: Next up is the formal way to say "I didn't mean it." |
| Cho: [Normal] 我不是这个意思。(wǒ bú shì zhège yìsi.) |
| Eric: First is a pronoun meaning "I" |
| Cho: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(wǒ) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning "not" |
| Cho: [Normal] 不是 [Slow] 不是(bù shì) |
| Eric: Then comes the pronoun meaning "this" |
| Cho: [Normal] 这个 [Slow] 这个(zhège) |
| Eric: Last is the noun for "meaning" |
| Cho: [Normal] 意思 [Slow] 意思(yìsi) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I didn't mean it." |
| Cho: [Slow] 我不是这个意思。 [Normal] 我不是这个意思。 |
| Eric: Finally, here is a formal way to say "I'm very sorry." |
| Cho: [Normal] 我很抱歉。(Wǒ hěn bàoqiàn.) |
| Eric: First is a pronoun meaning "I" |
| Cho: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(wǒ) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning "very, very much" |
| Cho: [Normal] 很 [Slow] 很(hěn) |
| Eric: Last is the verb meaning "sorry" |
| Cho: [Normal] 抱歉 [Slow] 抱歉(bàoqiàn) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I'm very sorry." |
| Cho: [Slow] 我很抱歉。 [Normal] 我很抱歉。 |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Cho: If you accidentally bump into someone in China, say 对不起 (Duì bu qǐ) or 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), which means “I am sorry.” This shows people that you are genuinely sorry. |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
| Cho: 再见。 |
Comments
Hide