In this article, I've chosen ten phrases which are commonly used in Chinese people's daily lives. I have provided the situations in which these phrases are used, as well as vocabulary and grammar explanations for each phrase.
I will explain the most basic things so that even beginners will have no problems understanding these phrases.
This article goes together with my video on Youtube, which presents the ten phrases in the context of real life situations. For beginners, I suggest reading this article first and then watching the video for listening practice. More advanced learners should try watching the video first and then reading my article.
æćæ„äș / WÇ huílai le
Meaning: I’m back.
Situation: When you come back from somewhere.
Vocabulary:
- æ / wÇ (I)
- ć / huí (to return)
- æ„ / lai (to come)
- äș/ le (particle)
Grammar Explanation:
When we want to say that we are "returning to a place," we use ć / huí + place. For example:
- ććź¶ / huíjiÄ (go home)
- ććŠæ Ą / huí xuéxiào (go back to school)
Sometimes, instead of using a place after ć / huí, we use æ„ / lái (to come) or ć» / qù (to go) after it. ćæ„ / huílai means to come back, ćć» / huíqù means to go back.
The last word äș/ le is a particle used at the end of a sentence to indicate the emergence of a new situation. For example: 怩ć·äș/ tiÄn lÄng le (it was not cold before, but it is cold now.)
ć, äœ ćšćȘćżćąïŒ/ Wéi, nÇ zài nÇr ne?
Meaning: Hello, where are you?
Situation: When you are talking to somebody on the phone and you want to know their location.
Vocabulary:
- ć / wéi (hello- on the phone)
- äœ / nÇ (you)
- ćȘćż / nÇr (where)
Grammar Explanation:
When we refer to a location, we use ćš / zài + place. For example:
- æćšćäșŹ / wÇ zài BÄijÄ«ng (I'm in Beijing)
- ć„čćšćź¶ / tÄ zài jiÄ (she is at home)
When we ask about the location, we use:
- ćšćȘćż / zài nÇr (where)
ćą / ne is a modal particle which is used at the end of a question. It has no specific meaning; it just makes the tone more friendly.
ç°ćšć çčäșïŒ/ Xiànzài jÇdiÇn le?
Meaning: What time is it now?
Situation: When you want to know the time.
Vocabulary:
- ç°ćš / xiànzài (now)
- ć / jÇ (how many)
- çč / diÇn (o'clock)
Grammar Explanation:
We have two question words for numbers: ć / jÇ and ć€ć° / duĆshao. ć / jÇ is used for small numbers, commonly those under ten, while ć€ć° / duĆshao is used for bigger ones. When asking about times or dates, we only use ć / jÇ. For example:
- ć çč / jÇdiÇn, (what time)
- ć æć ć· / jÇyuè jÇhào (which month and which date)
- ææć / xÄ«ngqÄ« jÇ (which day of the week)
Here, äș is an optional particle. The usage is similar to that in the first phrase æćæ„äș/ wÇ huílai le. However, when talking about time, its use is optional.
ćšæ«äœ æç©șćïŒæèŻ·äœ ćé„ / ZhĆumò nÇ yÇu kòng ma? WÇ qÇng nÇ chÄ« fàn
Meaning: Do you have time this weekend? I want to treat you to a meal.
Situation: When you want to ask somebody out for a meal on the weekend.
Vocabulary:
- ćšæ« / zhĆumò (weekend)
- æ / yÇu (to have)
- ç©ș / kòng (empty, free time)
- èŻ· / qÇng (to invite)
- ć / chÄ« (to eat)
- é„ / fàn (meal)
Grammar Explanation:
The character ç©ș can be pronounced two different ways. When we say kĆng, it means empty, like in the phrase èżäžȘæżćæŻç©șç / Zhège fángzi shì kĆngde (this house is empty). When we read it as kòng, it means free time. Expressions like æČĄç©ș / méikòng (to have no free time) and æç©ș / yÇukòng (to have free time) are commonly used in daily life.
ć / ma is used at the end of a sentence to make it a yes-or-no question. When asking questions in Chinese, you don't need to change the word order. So the answer to ćšæ«äœ æç©șćïŒ/ ZhĆumò nÇ yÇu kòng ma? (Do you have time this weekend?) is ćšæ«ææç©ș / ZhĆumò wÇ yÇu kòng (I have time this weekend).
The structure èŻ· / qÇng + somebody + do something conveys inviting somebody to do something. èŻ· / qÇng + somebody + ćé„ / chÄ«fàn is a popular phrase in Chinese daily life because for us, having a meal together is an important way to enhance our relationship, and treating other people to a meal demonstrates the positive quality of being generous.
æäčćäșćżïŒ/ ZÄnme huíshìr?
Meaning: What happened?
Situation: When something happened, but you have no idea what happened.
Vocabulary:
- æäč / zÄnme (how)
- äș / shì (thing)
- ć / huí (measure word for äș)
Grammar Explanation:
This is simply a fixed expression. It is difficult to explain exactly why these words appear together.
In Northern China, people prefer to add ćż / er after some nouns or verbs. For example:
- äșćż / shìr (thing or event)
- ç©ćż / wánr (to play)
- ć°ć©ćż / xiÇoháir (kid)
They sometimes add it to location pronouns as well. For example:
- èżćż / zhèr (here)
- éŁćż / nàr (there)
- ćȘćż / nÇr (where)
çŽŻæ»æäș / Lèi sÇ wÇ le
Meaning: I'm very tired.
Situation: When you have finished doing something that has made you very tired.
Vocabulary:
- 环 / lèi (tired)
- æ» / sÇ (to die)
Grammar Explanation:
Adjective + æ»æäș/ sÇwÇ le is an exaggerated way to express a feeling. The literal meaning is “I'm so … that I could almost die”. Other common expressions are:
- çæ»æäș/ rè sÇ wÇ le (I'm so hot I could die)
- 㻿»æäș/ dòng sÇ wÇ le (I'm freezing)
äœ èŻŽçć€ȘćŻčäșïŒ/ NÇ shuĆde tài duì le!
Meaning: What you said is so right!
Situation: When you hear other people's words and you can’t agree more.
Vocabulary:
- èŻŽ / shuĆ (to say)
- ç / de (a word showing subordinate relation)
- ć€Ș / tài (too)
- ćŻč / duì (right/correct)
Grammar Explanation:
The structure subject + verb + ç / de is like a subject clause in English. For example:
- äœ èŻŽç / nÇshuĆde (what you said)
- äœ æłç / nÇ xiÇng de (what you think)
ć€Ș / tài + adjective +äș/ le is a fixed structure that demonstrates the high degree of the adjective.
èżäžȘć€ć°é±äč°çïŒ/ Zhège duĆshao qián mÇide?
Meaning: How much did you pay for this?
Situation: When you see that your friend has something amazing and you want to know how much it cost.
Vocabulary:
- èżäžȘ / zhège (this)
- ć€ć° / duĆshao (how much)
- é± / qián (money)
- äč° / mÇi (to buy)
Grammar Explanation:
When asking about price, we use ć€ć°é± / duĆshao qián.
The complete form of this sentence is èżäžȘæŻć€ć°é±äč°çïŒ/ Zhège shì duĆshao qián mÇide? æŻ / shì is omitted in informal speech. The structure subject + æŻ / shì + place/time/means/price + verb + ç / de implies that the action has happened in the past and it emphasizes a feature of that action. Other examples are:
- ææŻä»ćäșŹæ„ç / WÇ shì cóng BÄijÄ«ng lái de (I came from Beijing)
- 仿Żć»ćčŽć»çŸćœç / TÄ shì qùnián qù MÄiguÇ de (He went to America last year)
ćć, èŻ·éźæŽæéŽćšćȘćżïŒéŁćżïŒ/ ShĆ«shu, qÇngwèn xÇshÇu jiÄn zài nÇr? Nàr!
Meaning: Sir, may I ask where the washroom is? Over there!
Situation: When you want to find the washroom.
Vocabulary:
- ćć / shĆ«shu (uncle)
- èŻ· / qÇng (please)
- éź / wèn (ask)
- æŽæéŽ / xÇshÇujiÄn (washing room)
- éŁćż / nàr (there)
Grammar Explanation:
ćć / shĆ«shu basically refers to your father’s younger brother, but in China, we have a culture of using terms for family members to address people outside of our families; even strangers! So, we call any male whose age is similar to our parents’ ćć / shĆ«shu (uncle), any female whose age is similar to our parents’ éżć§š / Äyí (aunt), any old lady whose age is similar our grandma’s ć„¶ć„¶ / nÇinai (grandma), and any old man whose age is similar to our grandpa’s ç·ç· / yéye (grandpa).
èŻ· / qÇng + éź / wèn together literally means “may I ask.” It is used like "excuse me" in English. We use it before a question to show politeness.
The three characters in æŽæéŽ / xÇshÇujiÄn actually have their own separate meanings:
- æŽ / xÇ (to wash)
- æ/ shÇu (hand)
- éŽ / jiÄn (room)
Together, they mean washroom.You may sometimes see ć«çéŽ / wèishÄngjiÄn which refers to the same thing. ć«ç / wèishÄng means “hygiene.”
ä»ć€©ć€©æ°çć„œïŒ/ JÄ«ntiÄn tiÄnqì zhÄn hÇo!
Meaning: The weather is so good today!
Situation: When you see that the weather is great.
Vocabulary:
- ä»ć€© / jÄ«ntiÄn (today)
- ć€©æ° / tiÄnqì (weather)
- ç / zhÄn (really)
- ć„œ / hÇo (good)
Grammar Explanation:
In Chinese, we don't use the structure subject + am/is/are + adjective. Instead, we use the structure subject+ adverb + adjective. So you should never say, for example:
- ææŻć„œ / wÇ shì hÇo (I'm good)
- ć„čæŻé« / tÄ shì gÄo (she is tall)
- äœ æŻæŒäșź / nÇ shì piàoliang (you are pretty)
You should use an adverb before the adjective.
Literally, ç / zhÄn means “really,” but it also implies a kind of exclamation. If you have a strong feeling when you see or hear something, then you can say ç / zhÄn + adjective. It can also be used in praise. For example:
- äœ ä»ć€©çæŒäșź / nÇ jÄ«ntiÄn zhÄn piàoliang (you are so pretty today)
- äœ ćź¶ç性 / nÇjiÄ zhÄn dà (your house is so big)
- äœ çè±èŻçæŁ / nÇde YÄ«ngyÇ zhÄn bàng (your English is so amazing)
These phrases were chosen from my personal experience, not according to any research or survey, so they may not be the most commonly used ones. The aim of this article is simply to present some useful words and expressions in a practical way.
I hope that all of my work may help more people understand and use Chinese correctly.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions!
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Hero Image by Dennis Jarvis (CC BY-SA 2.0)