How to say "please" in Chinese? - Du Chinese Blog

How do you say “please” in Chinese? When using it in a sentence you would use 请 qǐng . When you want to say please in the sense of “please, ... Skiptocontent PostAuthor:DuChinese Postpublished:May7,2020 PostCategory:LearnChinese PostComments:0Comments UpdateaddedbyDuChineseinMay2020:  Howdoyousay“please”inChinese?Whenusingitinasentenceyouwoulduse请qǐng.Whenyouwanttosaypleaseinthesenseof“please,Ibegyou”youcoulddoitbysaying拜bài托tuō.InmanycaseswhereyouwouldsaypleaseinEnglishitwouldactuallybeunnecessaryinChinese.Inthefollowingpostyou’llseesomeexamplesasfurtherexplanationofhowtouse“please.”  Originalpost:  WhenaskingforsomethinginEnglish,youwouldoftenuse‘can,’‘could,’or‘would.’Forexample,whenorderingfoodinarestaurant,anEnglishspeakerwouldsay‘CouldIhaveasteak?’or‘Iwouldliketohaveasteakplease.’ AmistakeIoftenmake(andIthinkmanyforeignstudentsdoso,too)istoliterallytranslatethesesentencesintoChinese.Forexample你nǐ可kě以yǐ给gěi我wǒ一yí份fèn牛niú肉ròu面miàn吗ma(Couldyoubringmeaplateofbeefnoodles?)or请qǐng来lái一yí份fèn牛niú肉ròu面miàn(Pleasebringoneplateofbeefnoodles).Whilegrammaticallycorrect,thesesentencesaretoopoliteforthecontextofaChineserestaurant.Youcansimplysaylikethis: ThismightsoundalittlerudeinEnglish,butnotsoinChinese. Similary,whenaskingafriendforasmallfavour,saypouringyouasoda,there’snoneedtobeoverlypolite.Insteadofsaying你nǐ可kě以yǐ给gěi我wǒ一yì杯bēi可kě乐lè吗ma??(Couldyougivemeaglassofcola?)itismoreappropriatetosay： Thereasoningisthatyouarefriendswhohaveacloserelationship,sothereisnoneedtobetoocourteous.Infact,beingtoopolitetowardsChinesefriendsmaymakethemthinkyoudon’treallyregardthemasfriends. Lastly,thereisoftennoneedtothankpeopleinChinese.‘Thanks’and谢xiè谢xiebothmeanthesamething,butthereisasubtledifferenceininterpretation.WhereastheEnglish‘thanks’ismorelightweight,theChinese谢谢carriesaslightlystrongerconnotation,perhapscomparableto‘thanksalot.’Whenyouthankawaiterwhohasjustservedyouyourfood,theywilloftensay不bú用yòng谢xiè(You’rewelcome–Noneedtothankme).Thisisoutofcourtesy,ofcourse,butsayingthankyouactuallyreallyisn’tneeded. ThisblogisprovidedbyGoEast,ProfessionalChineseLanguageTraining.KevinwritescolumnsfortheGoEastBlogonstudyingChinese,Chineseculture,andlifeasaforeignstudent.HehasstudiedChinaandChineseforoverfiveyears,firstinhishomecountrytheNetherlands,theninBeijing,andnowattendsFudanUniversity’sChineseSocietydepartment. Thisistheaccompanyingblogpostforourintermediatelesson“HavingAMistress“. YouMightAlsoLike TopStudentDog–学霸狗 December25,2015 HowtoSetSuccessfulLanguageLearningGoals January17,2020 NewfeaturescomingforDuChinesesubscribers July13,2020 LeaveaReplyCancelreplyCommentEnteryournameorusername Enteryouremail Savemyname,email,andwebsiteinthisbrowserforthenexttimeIcomment. RecentPosts ExpressingGratitudeinChineseNovember17,2021 DuChinesePricingUpdateAnnouncementOctober15,2021 ChineseGradedReadersJuly18,2021 NewHSKLevels2021–AQuickOverviewApril23,2021 WelcometoDuChineseApril14,2021 Categories HSK1 HSK2 HSK3 HSK4 HSK5 HSK6 IntrotoReadingChinese LearnChinese Archives Archives SelectMonth November2021 October2021 July2021 April2021 March2021 February2021 January2021 December2020 November2020 October2020 September2020 August2020 July2020 June2020 May2020 April2020 March2020 February2020 January2020 December2019 November2019 October2019 January2018 April2017 January2017 December2016 October2016 September2016 July2016 June2016 May2016 April2016 March2016 February2016 January2016 December2015 CloseMenu Closethismodule FirstNameNameYouremailEmailSubmitNeverseethismessageagain.