Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com. |
In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Chinese. |
For example, "Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly." is |
请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Lisa Xu meets her neighbor, Haoran Huang , for the first time in the lobby of their building. |
Haoran introduces himself but Lisa doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification. |
Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components, |
再说一遍 (Zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
"say it one more time" |
再说一遍 |
再说一遍 |
慢 (màn) |
"slowly" |
慢 |
慢 |
Listen to the conversation. |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.) |
Once more with the English translation. |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
"Hello. My name is Haoran Huang." |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
"Sorry. Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly." |
黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.) |
"Huang-Hao-Ran." |
Let's break down the conversation. |
Do you remember how Haoran introduces himself? |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
First is 你好 (nǐhǎo), meaning, "Hello." 你好 . 你好。 |
When meeting someone for the first time, you often start with 你好 (nǐhǎo). It can be used in both formal and informal situations. |
Next is 我叫黄浩然。(Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) "My name is Haoran Huang." 我叫黄浩然 . 我叫黄浩然。 |
First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我 . 我。 |
Next is 叫 (jiào), meaning "to be called," in this context. 叫 . 叫。 |
Together, 我叫 (wǒ jiào), literally means "I'm called..." but translates as "My name is…". 我叫 . 我叫。 |
Next is the neighbor's full name: 黄浩然 (Huáng Hàorán). |
First is his family name, 黄 (Huáng), followed by his given name, 浩然 (Hàorán). |
For Chinese names, the order is family name followed by given names. |
Altogether, it's 你好。我叫黄浩然。(Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) "Hello. My name is Haoran Huang." |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
Lisa can’t catch his name. |
Do you remember how she asks, |
"Sorry. Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly." |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
First 不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi), which literally means "to be embarrassed," but it translates as "sorry," in this context. 不好意思 . 不好意思。 |
Next is 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn), "Please say it one more time." 请再说一遍. |
This has several parts: |
First is 请 (qǐng), "please." 请 . 请。 |
After this is 再 (zài), "again." 再 . 再。 |
Next is 说 (shuō), "say," as in “please say [it] again.” 说 . 说。 |
Last is 一遍 (yíbiàn), meaning, "one time." 一遍 . 一遍。 |
All together, 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn) literally means "Please again say one time," but translates as "Please say [it] one more time." 请再说一遍。 |
The last part of Lisa's response is 请说慢一点 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn) "Please say it slowly." |
First is 请 (qǐng), "please." 请。 |
Next is 说 (shuō), "say." 说。 |
After that is 慢 (màn), "slow." 慢 . 慢。 |
And finally 一点 (yìdiǎn), meaning "a little." 一点 (yìdiǎn). 一点 (yìdiǎn). |
Pronunciation note: People in the north part of Chinese tend to pronounce it as 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) . 一点儿。 |
Combining 慢 (màn) with 一点 (yìdiǎn), 慢一点 (màn yìdiǎn) means "slow [down] a bit" or "slowly." 慢一点 . 慢一点。 |
All together, it's 请说慢一点 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) Literally, “Please say slow a little,” but translates as "Please say it slowly." 请说慢一点。 |
Lisa's whole response is: |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Finally, Haoran replies by stating his name again, |
黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.) |
"Huang-Hao-Ran." |
Let’s look at the expressions once more. |
Listen and repeat. |
请再说一遍。 (Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
“Please say it one more time.” |
请再说一遍。 (Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
“Please say it slowly.” |
请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
“Sorry, please say it one more time.” |
不好意思,请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
不好意思,请说慢一点。 (Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
“Sorry, please say it slowly.” |
不好意思,请说慢一点。 (Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
“Sorry, please say it one more time. Please say it slowly.” |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
能再说一遍吗?(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?) |
“Can you say it one more time?” |
能再说一遍吗?(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?) |
Did you notice how the native speaker used a different expression? |
能再说一遍吗?(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?) |
"Can you say it one more time?" |
能再说一遍吗?(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?) |
This request starts with 能 (neng), meaning "can," as in to be able. 能 . 能。 |
And it ends with 吗 (ma), the question-marking particle indicating a question. 吗? |
The 能...吗 (Neng…ma)?sentence pattern is used to make a polite request. |
Note: the answer to a 吗 question should confirm or negate the verb. In this case, “Yes, you can,” or |
“No, you can’t.” |
Between 能 (neng) and 吗 (ma) is what we've learned earlier 再说一遍 (zài shuō yíbiàn) "say it one more time" 再说一遍。 |
Together 能再说一遍吗?(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?) |
"Can you say it one more time," or “Could you say it one more time? 能再说一遍吗? |
Let's review. |
Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
Ready? |
Do you remember how to say "sorry?" |
不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi) |
不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi) |
And how to say “one time?” |
一遍 (yíbiàn) |
一遍 (yíbiàn) |
Do you remember how to say “to say?” |
说 (shuō) |
说 (shuō) |
And how to say “again?” |
再 (zài) |
再 (zài) |
Do you remember how to say "please?" |
请 (qǐng) |
请 (qǐng) |
Do you remember how Lisa Xu says, |
"Sorry. Please say it one more time." |
不好意思,请再说一遍。(Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。(Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
Do you remember how to say “slow?” |
慢 (màn) |
慢 (màn) |
And how to say “a little?” |
一点 (yìdiǎn) |
一点 (yìdiǎn) |
Do you remember how to say "slowly?" |
慢一点 (màn yìdiǎn) |
慢一点 (màn yìdiǎn) |
Do you remember how Lisa says, |
"Please say it slowly." |
请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Do you remember how to say "hello"? |
你好 (nǐhǎo) |
你好 (nǐhǎo) |
Do you remember how Haoran introduces himself? |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
Let's practice. |
Imagine you're Jason Xu . Haoran , introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. Start with, “sorry,” and ask him to “please say it again.” |
Ready? |
你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
Listen again and repeat. |
不好意思,请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.) |
Let’s try another. |
Imagine you're Haoran . Ask Anna Xu to say it slowly. |
Start with “sorry.” |
Ready? |
你好。我叫许安娜。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.) |
不好意思,请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Listen again and repeat. |
不好意思,请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
不好意思,请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Let’s try one more. |
Imagine you're Haoran . Ask Lisa Xu to “say it again,” and to “say it slowly.” Start with “sorry.” |
Ready? |
你好。我叫许丽莎。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Lìshā.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Listen again and repeat. |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
不好意思,请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) |
Well done! This is the end of this lesson. |
In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Chinese. |
Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
What's next? |
Show us what you can do. |
When you're ready, take your assessment. |
You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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