Learn the key pattern to use essential social expressions
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| Let's take a closer look at these three conversations. |
| First, do you remember how Ben Lee says, |
| "Sir, please, wait a minute." |
| 先生，请等一下。 (Xiānsheng, qǐng děng yíxià.) |
| First is 先生 (Xiānsheng), "sir" or "mister." 先生. 先生。 |
| Note: It can be used alone, such as in this case, or as a polite suffix following a name. |
| Next is 请等一下 (qǐng děng yíxià). "Please wait a minute." 请等一下。 |
| This has three parts. |
| First is, 请 (qǐng), "please." 请. 请。 |
| Next is 等 (děng), "to wait." 等. 等. |
| Finally, 一下 (yíxià) meaning something like, "a bit," as in "Please wait a bit." 一下. 一下. |
| 一下 is an everyday phrase used with a verb to describe a brief action and often to soften a command or request. |
| In this sentence, 一下 (yíxià) follows 等 (děng), "to wait." |
| Together, 等一下 (děng yíxià) means "to wait for a bit" or "to wait a minute." 等一下。 |
| All together, 先生，请等一下。(Xiānsheng, qǐng děng yíxià.) "Sir, please wait a minute." |
| 先生，请等一下。 |
| Do you remember how the passenger responds by saying, |
| "What's the matter?" |
| 怎么了？ (Zěnme le?) |
| 怎么了? (Zěnme le?). "What's the matter?" |
| 怎么了？ |
| Note, this is a set phrase that can translate as "What's the matter?" "What's wrong?" "What happened?" It's used when you don't know what has happened. In this case, the speaker wants to know why he was called. |
| The second part of the conversation takes place after Ben returns the passenger's wallet. |
| Do you remember how the passenger says, |
| "Thank you." |
| 谢谢你。(Xièxie nǐ.) |
| This expression has two parts: |
| First is 谢谢 (xièxie), "thanks," or "thank you." 谢谢。 |
| Next is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你. 你。 |
| In most cases, 谢谢 is enough to express gratitude. By following 谢谢 with 你, it expresses a more personal and heartfelt appreciation in a subtle way; however, the meaning doesn't change. |
| All together, 谢谢你 (Xièxie nǐ). "Thank you." |
| 谢谢你。 |
| Do you remember how Ben says, |
| "Don't mention it." |
| 不客气。 (Bú kèqi.) |
| This expression can be divided into two parts: |
| First is 不 (bù), meaning, "not." 不. 不。 |
| It is used to negate verbs and adjectives. |
| Pronunciation note: when 不 (bù) is followed by a fourth tone, its tone changes from the fourth tone to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 不客气 (bú kèqi) |
| Next is 客气 (kèqi), "courteous," more specifically "to treat someone with hospitality and formality." 客气. 客气。 |
| Together 不客气 literally means "no need to be courteous," "no need for the formalities," but often translates as, "Don't mention it," or "You're welcome." |
| 不客气。 |
| 不客气 is a common response to the phrase 谢谢 (xièxie). |
| After the train doors shut and Ben misses his train, do you remember how the the passenger apologies to Ben by saying, |
| "Sorry." |
| 不好意思。(Bùhǎoyìsi.) |
| In this case, the expression is used to apologize for causing Ben inconvenience. |
| Let's start with 好意思 (hǎoyìsi) literally "good meaning" or "good intention," but together it's a phrase meaning "to feel no shame." 好意思 (hǎoyìsi) |
| First is 好 (hǎo), meaning, "good." 好 (hǎo) |
| Next is 意思 (yìsi), "meaning." 意思 (yìsi) |
| Before the phrase is 不 (bù), meaning, "not." 不. 不。 |
| All together, 不 好意思 (bùhǎoyìsi), literally, "not feel no shame," in other words "ashamed" or "embarrassed." |
| 不 好意思。(Bùhǎoyìsi.) |
| The speaker feels "ashamed" or "embarrassed" for causing Ben inconvenience, so the phrase means "sorry," as in this case. |
| 不好意思 (Bùhǎoyìsi). 不好意思。 |
| Do you remember how Ben replies, |
| "It's okay." |
| 没事儿。(Méi shì'r.) |
| First is 没 (méi), "not" or "have not." 没. 没。 |
| Next is 事儿 "matter" or "issue." 事儿. 事儿。 |
| Together, 没事儿 literally means, "no issues," but it translates as, "It's okay." 没事儿. |
| 没事儿。 |
| 没事儿 is a common response to apologies, but it is sometimes used to respond to "thank you," as well. |
| In addition to 不好意思(bùhǎoyìsi), another commonly used expression to say "sorry" is 对不起 (duìbuqǐ). |
| It consists of 3 characters: |
| 对 (duì) "to face" |
| 不 (bù) "not" |
| 起 (qǐ) literally, "to rise," but "to be able to do something," in this case. |
| Together, 对不起 (duìbuqǐ), means something like "unable to face [you]," but it translates as "I'm sorry." 对不起 (duìbuqǐ). |
| This is a stronger apology than 不好意思。Use it when you've done something wrong that you feel strongly about. 对不起。 |
| You can use it as a stand alone phrase, or together with longer phrases. |
| In addition to 不客气 (bú kèqi) , another common way to respond to "Thank you" is 不用谢 (búyòng xiè)。"You're welcome." 不用谢。 |
| 不用 (búyòng) means, "no need." 不用 |
| And 谢 (xiè) "to thank." 谢 |
| Together, it's 不用谢. Literally, "No need to thank," but translates as "You're welcome." |
| 不用谢 and 不客气 are interchangeable. It's up to you which one to use. |
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