How to Ask for a Word in Chinese

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Chinese.

For example, "How do you say "textbook" in Chinese?" is

Textbook用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Lisa Xu is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Lu Liu .

It’s the Chinese portion of the exchange, and she points at the textbook and asks what it's called in Chinese.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

中文 (Zhōngwén)

"Chinese"

中文

Listen to the conversation

Textbook 用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

课本。(Kèběn.)

Once more with the English translation.

Textbook 用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

"How do you say 'textbook' in Chinese?"

课本。(Kèběn. )

“Textbook.”

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Lisa asks

"How do you say 'textbook' in Chinese?"

Textbook 用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

First is the English word 'textbook.'

Next is 用 (yòng), "to use." 用 . 用.

After that is 中文 (Zhōngwén) "Chinese,” as in the Chinese language or writing." 中文 . 中文.

Together, 用中文 (yòng Zhōngwén), "using Chinese" or in more natural English, "in Chinese." 用中文.

Next is 怎么 (zěnme), meaning, "how." 怎么 . 怎么.

Last is 说 (shuō) "to say." 说 . 说.

Together, 怎么说 (zěnme shuō) literally, "how to say," but translating as “how do you say…” 怎么说.

All together, “Textbook” 用中文怎么说? (Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?) literally, "'Textbook' using Chinese how to say," but it translates as "How do you say 'textbook' in Chinese?"

Textbook 用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Lu tells Lisa the Chinese word for "textbook"?

课本 (kèběn) "textbook." 课本 . 课本.

The pattern is

ENGLISH WORD 用中文怎么说? (yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

"How do you say {English Word} in Chinese?"

ENGLISH WORD 用中文怎么说? (yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

To use this question pattern, simply replace the ENGLISH WORD placeholder with the word you want to know.

Imagine you want to know the Chinese word for "pen."

Ask,

"How do you say 'pen' in Chinese?"

Ready?

Pen 用中文怎么说？(Pen yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

"How do you say 'pen' in Chinese?"

Pen 用中文怎么说?

When you don't know how to say something in Chinese and you want to keep the conversation in Chinese, you can point and say, "How do you say ‘this’ in Chinese?"

Simply replace the English word with 这个 (zhèige), meaning "this." 这个. . 这个.

这个用中文怎么说？(Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“How do you say ‘this’ in Chinese?”

这个用中文怎么说？ (Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

If the thing is far away from you, use 那个 (nèige), "that." 那个 . 那个。

那个用中文怎么说？(Nèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

"How do you say ‘that’ in Chinese?"

那个用中文怎么说？

Pronunciation note: there are 2 ways to pronounce "this" and "that" in Chinese.

For "this," 这个 (zhège) or 这个 (zhèige).

For "that," 那个 (nàge) or 那个 (nèige).

这个 (Zhèige) and 那个 (nèige) are used more often in colloquial speech.

Keeping the conversation in Chinese as long as possible is a great tactic to learn Chinese.

Again, the key pattern is

ENGLISH WORD 用中文怎么说? (yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

"How do you say {English Word} in Chinese?"

ENGLISH WORD 用中文怎么说? (yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Textbook 用中文怎么说? (Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“How do you say “textbook” in Chinese?”

课本 (kèběn).

“‘Textbook’.”

Textbook 用中文怎么说? (Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Pen 用中文怎么说？(Pen yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“How do you say “pen” in Chinese?”

笔 (bǐ).

“‘Pen’.”

Pen 用中文怎么说？(Pen yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

这个用中文怎么说？(Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“How do you say this in Chinese?”

筷子(kuàizi).

“‘Chopsticks’.”

这个用中文怎么说？(Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

那个用中文怎么说？(Nèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“How do you say that in Chinese?”

铅笔 (qiānbǐ).

“‘Pencil’.”

那个用中文怎么说？(Nèige yòng Zhōngwén shuō?)

这个的中文是什么？(Zhèige de Zhōngwén shì shénme?)

“What's this in Chinese?”

是“课本"。(Shì "kèběn.")

“It's ‘textbook’.”

这个的中文是什么？(Zhèige de Zhōngwén shì shénme?)

Did you notice the native speaker used a different pattern?

这个的中文是什么？(Zhèige de Zhōngwén shì shénme?)

"What's this in Chinese?"

First is 这个 (zhèige), "this." 这个.

Next is the possessive-marking particle, 的 (de). 的 . 的。

After that is 中文 (Zhōngwén), "Chinese language." 中文。

Together, 这个的中文 (zhèige de Zhōngwén) literally, means "the Chinese of this," but translates as, “the Chinese for this.” 这个的中文。

Next is 是 (shì), here, think of it like the "is," in “The Chinese for this is…” 是 . 是。

Last is 什么 (shénme), "what." 什么 . 什么。

All together, 这个的中文是什么 (Zhèige de Zhōngwén shì shénme?) literally, "The Chinese of this is what," but it translates as "What's this in Chinese?"

这个的中文是什么？

“What's this in Chinese?”

这个的中文是什么？

This is a very useful pattern for using Chinese to learn Chinese.

You should be aware of this pattern, but you won’t need it for this lesson.

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

笔 (bǐ) "pen."

笔 . 笔.

筷子 (kuàizi) "chopsticks."

筷子 . 筷子.

铅笔 (qiānbǐ) "pencil."

铅笔 . 铅笔.

这个 (zhèige) "this."

这个 . 这个.

那个 (nèige) "that."

那个 . 那个.

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 "to say?"

说 (shuō)

And how to say "how to?"

怎么 (zěnme)

Do you remember how to say "Chinese"?

中文 (Zhōngwén)

And how to say "to use"?

用 (yòng)

Do you remember how Lisa says, "How do you say 'textbook' in Chinese?"

“Textbook” 用中文怎么说？ (Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

“Textbook” 用中文怎么说？(Textbook yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Do you remember the word for "textbook?"

课本 (kèběn)

And how to say "this?"

这个 (zhèige)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Anna Xu , and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Zhimin Zhao .

Ask, "How do you say "chopsticks" in Chinese?"

Ready?

Chopsticks 用中文怎么说？(Chopsticks yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

筷子。(Kuàizi.)

Listen again and repeat.

Chopsticks 用中文怎么说？(Chopsticks yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Now you want to know the word for "pen" in Chinese.

Ready?

Pen 用中文怎么说？(Pen yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

笔 (bǐ).

Listen again and repeat.

Pen 用中文怎么说？(Pen yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Let's try one more.

Imagine you’re Jason Xu , and you’re studying with a classmate. Point to a nearby pencil, and ask how to say “this” in Chinese.

Ready?

这个用中文怎么说？(Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

铅笔。 (Qiānbǐ.)

Listen again and repeat.

这个用中文怎么说？(Zhèige yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.

Do you remember how to say,

"Sorry."

不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi)

And how to say,

"Say it one more time."

再说一遍 (zài shuō yíbiàn)

Do you remember how to say,

"please."

请 (qǐng)

And do you remember how to say,

"Sorry. Please say it one more time."

不好意思，请再说一遍。(Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng zài shuō yí biàn.)

Do you remember how to say, "slowly?"

慢 (màn)

And do you remember how to say,

"Please say it slowly."

请说慢一点。(Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Imagine You're Jack Jones , and you're meeting your fellow student Lu Liu for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.

Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time, and slowly.

Ready?

你好。我叫刘璐。(Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Liú Lù.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng zài shuō yí biàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Listen again, and repeat.

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng zài shuō yí biàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Chinese portion of it you want to know how to say chopsticks in Chinese.

Ask Lu Liu how to say "chopsticks" in Chinese.

Chopsticks用中文怎么说？(Chopsticks yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

筷子。(Kuàizi.)

Listen again, and repeat.

Chopsticks用中文怎么说？(Chopsticks yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.

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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