You‘re being TOO polite in Chinese！Say THIS instead！
Too polite
Fēi cháng gǎn xiè nín.
非常感谢您。
Thank you so much (too stiff).
Natural
Xīn kǔ le!
辛苦了！
Thanks for your hard work!
Too polite
Bào qiàn, wǒ shāo hòu lián xì nín.
抱歉，我稍后联系您。
Sorry, I’ll contact you later (super formal).
Natural
Hǎo de, wǎn diǎn zhǎo nǐ.
好的，晚点找你。
Okay, I’ll hit you up later.
Too polite
Qǐng wèn nín yǒu kòng ma?
请问您有空吗？
Excuse me, do you have time?
Natural
Máng ma? Liáo liáo?
忙吗？聊聊？
Busy? Got a sec to chat?
Stop sounding like a textbook! 3 quick fixes to sound natural in Chinese.
Textbook Chinese
Qǐng shāo děng yī xià.
请稍等一下。
Please wait a moment.
Real Chinese
Děng yī xià hā～
等一下哈～
Wait a sec～
Textbook
Wǒ míng bai le.
我明白了。
I understand.
Real Chinese
Ò, dǒng le dǒng le!
哦，懂了懂了！
Oh, got it, got it!
Textbook
Wǒ jué de zhè ge hái bù cuò.
我觉得这个还不错。
I think this is pretty good.
Real Chinese
Zhè ge kě yǐ a.
这个可以啊。
Not bad at all.
If you understand Chinese but still can‘t speak, this is why！
If you understand Chinese but still can’t speak… this is why.
You are not bad at languages.
This is very common.
Most learners can:
● understand simple Chinese videos
● recognize many words
● feel like “I kind of understand”
But when they try to speak…
they freeze.
The problem is not vocabulary.
The problem is:
you are learning words,
but not learning sentences.
Let me show you the difference:
Word learning:
Chī
吃
eat
Shí wù
食物
food
Cān tīng
餐厅
restaurant
This alone does NOT help you speak.
Sentence learning:
Wǒ xiǎng qù cān tīng chī fàn
我想去餐厅吃饭
I want to go to a restaurant to eat
Zhè ge cān tīng hěn hǎo chī
这个餐厅很好吃
This restaurant is very good
Now you can actually use it in real life.
Try this today. Say it out loud:
Wǒ xiǎng shuō zhōng wén
我想说中文
I want to speak Chinese
Qǐng nǐ shuō màn yī diǎn
请你说慢一点
Please speak a little slower
Wǒ tīng bù dǒng
我听不懂
I don’t understand
Don’t just study them.
Speak them.
Chinese Upgrade: Stop “Chinglish” ！2 Tips to Sound More Natural!
Don’t translate word-by-word
Chinglish
Yǒu yī běn shū zài zhuōzi shàng.
有一本书在桌子上。
There is a book on the table.
Natural Chinese
Zhuōzi shàng yǒu yī běn shū.
桌子上有一本书。
There is a book on the table.
Avoid “English thinking order”
Chinglish
Wǒ míngtiān huì qù gōngsī.
我明天会去公司。
I will tomorrow go to office.
Natural Chinese
Wǒ míngtiān qù gōngsī.
我明天去公司。
I’m going to the office tomorrow.
Stop Translating Word by Word！Tips for More Natural Chinese!
Chinglish
Zhè gè cài shì hěn hǎo chī.
这个菜是很好吃。
This dish is very delicious.
Natural Chinese
Zhè gè cài hěn hǎo chī.
这个菜很好吃。
This dish is delicious.
Chinglish
Wǒ qù le gōng yuán zuó tiān.
我去了公园昨天。
I went to the park yesterday.
Natural Chinese
Zuó tiān wǒ qù le gōng yuán.
昨天我去了公园。
Yesterday I went to the park.
Chinglish
Wǒ chī fàn zài jiā.
我吃饭在家。
I eat at home.
Natural Chinese
Wǒ zài jiā chī fàn.
我在家吃饭。
I eat at home.
Want to learn more?
Try your first free 1-on-1 trial class with a live native Chinese teacher today—get personalized speaking practice that actually sticks!