Děng yī xià 等一下 Wait a moment
Děng yī xià wǒ. 等一下我。 Wait for me.
Māma, děng yī xià! 妈妈，等一下！ Mom, wait a second!
Děng yī xià， wǒ lái bāng nǐ. 等一下，我来帮你。 Wait, I’ll come to help you.
Děng yī xià， wǒ xiǎng zì jǐ …
Learning Chinese can sometimes feel intimidating. Many students over-pursue perfection, which actually slows down their progress.
Based on my experience teaching Chinese, students often show “excessive reverence“toward the language in the following aspects. Understanding these can help you communicate more naturally and confidently.
Zhè ge bú shì wǒ fù zé de bù fen. 这个不是我负责的部分。 This part wasn’t under my responsibility.
Wǒ zhè biān zhǐ shì àn liú chéng zuò de. 我这边只是按流程做的。 I just followed the procedure on my side.
Zhè ge wǒ kě néng xū yào zài jiě …
Yuán dàn kuài lè 元旦快乐 Happy New Year’s Day
Xīn nián kuài lè 新年快乐 Happy New Year
Zòng shǐ yǒu 2025 zhǒng kùn nán,yuàn nǐ yǒu 2026 zhǒng què xìng 纵使有 2025 种困难，愿你有 2026 种确幸 Even if there are 2025 difficulties,may you have 2026 moments …
Kě néng yǒu diǎn xiǎo wèn tí. 可能有点小问题。 There might be a small issue.
Zhège shì bú shì yǒu diǎn bú tài duì? 这个是不是有点不太对？ Is this… maybe not quite right?
Wǒ jìde hǎo xiàng bú shì zhè yàng de. 我记得好像不是这样的。 I remember it being a …
Hǎo le. 好了。 I’m ready. / Done.
Wǒ hǎo le. 我好了。 I’m ready.
Wǒ chī hǎo le. 我吃好了。 I’m done eating.
Wǒ chuān hǎo le. 我穿好了。 I’m dressed. / I’m done getting dressed.
Wǒ xiě hǎo le. 我写好了。 I’m done writing.
Wǒ xǐ hǎo shǒu …
Yuán dàn kuài lè! 元旦快乐！ Happy New Year!
Xīn nián kuài lè! 新年快乐！ Happy New Year!
Xīn de yī nián, yī qiè shùn lì. 新的一年，一切顺利。 Wishing you everything goes smoothly in the new year.
Xīn nián xīn kāi shǐ. 新年新开始。 New year, new beginning.
Gān …
Wǒ bù xǐ huan 我不喜欢 I don’t like
Wǒ bù xǐ huan xià yǔ tiān. 我不喜欢下雨天。 I don’t like rainy days.
Wǒ bù xǐ huan chī yào. 我不喜欢吃药。 I don’t like taking medicine.
Wǒ bù xǐ huan bèi rén chǎo xǐng. 我不喜欢被人吵醒。 I don’t like …
Nǐ qù nǎr kuà nián ya? 你去哪儿跨年呀？ Where are you going to celebrate New Year’s?
Wǒ men yī qǐ qù kuà nián ba. 我们一起去跨年吧。 Let’s go ring in the New Year together.
Xīn nián dào jì shí kāi shǐ la! 新年倒计时开始啦！ The New Year countdown …
If you‘ve ever spent New Year‘s Day in a Chinese-speaking environment, you might have noticed something surprising. People don’t immediately say “Happy New Year.“
Before midnight, conversations focus on plans, invitations, and how the evening will unfold.
As a Mandarin learner, …
Jīn tiān wǎn shang yǒu kòng ma? 今天晚上有空吗？ Are you free tonight?
Yǒu a. 有啊。 Yes, I am.
Yào bù yào yī qǐ chī fàn? 要不要一起吃饭？ Do you want to eat together?
Hǎo a. 好啊。 Sure.
Nǐ xiǎng chī shén me? 你想吃什么？ What do you …
Wǒ Xiǎng Yào… 我想要… I Want…
Wǒ xiǎng yào hē shuǐ. 我想要喝水。 I want to drink water.
Wǒ xiǎng yào chī bīng qí lín. 我想要吃冰淇淋。 I want to eat ice cream.
Wǒ xiǎng yào mā ma bào. 我想要妈妈抱。 I want a hug from mom.
Wǒ …
You think it means:“I don‘t need help, thanks.“
😳 What Chinese people hear:
“I don‘t need you.” This sounds cold, rejecting, even hurtful.
🔥 Why it’s dangerous:Chinese is sensitive to who is being rejected.…
Bù hǎo yì si. 不好意思。 Excuse me.
Zěn me le? 怎么了？ What’s wrong?
Wǒ mí lù le. 我迷路了。 I’m lost.
Nǐ yào qù nǎr? 你要去哪儿？ Where are you going?
Wǒ yào qù dì tiě zhàn. 我要去地铁站。 I want to go to the subway station.
Wǒ …
Nǐ dào nǎr le? 你到哪儿了？ Where are you now?
Wǒ zài lù shang. 我在路上。 I’m on the way.
Hái yào duō jiǔ? 还要多久？ How long will it take?
Dà gài shí fēn zhōng. 大概十分钟。 About ten minutes.
Méi guān xi, wǒ děng nǐ. 没关系，我等你。 No …
If you’ve been learning Chinese for a while, you’ve probably heard this word very early on:
东西(Dōng xi). Most textbooks translate it as “thing.”
Simple. Neutral. Harmless.But here’s what many learners don’t realize until much later:
“东西” is one of the …
Nǐ zěn me le? 你怎么了？ What’s wrong?
Wǒ yǒu diǎn bù shū fu. 我有点不舒服。 I don’t feel very well.
Nǎ lǐ bù shū fu? 哪里不舒服？ Where does it hurt?
Tóu yǒu diǎn téng. 头有点疼。 My head hurts a bit.
Nà nǐ xiān xiū xi yī …
Kě yǐ ma 可以吗 Can I
Wǒ kě yǐ wán ma? 我可以玩吗？ Can I play?
Wǒ kě yǐ chī ma? 我可以吃吗？ Can I eat?
Wǒ kě yǐ qù ma? 我可以去吗？ Can I go?
Wǒ kě yǐ mǎi zhè ge ma? 我可以买这个吗？ Can I buy this?…
Fú wù yuán, mǎi dān. 服务员，买单。 Check, please.
Hǎo de, shāo děng. 好的，稍等。 Okay, one moment.
Qǐng wèn Xiàn jīn hái shì shuā kǎ? 请问现金还是刷卡？ Cash or card?
Shuā kǎ ba. 刷卡吧。 Card, please.
Hǎo de, Yào fā piào ma? 好的，要发票吗？ Do you need a …
Wèi shén me 为什么 Why
Wèi shén me yào shàng xué? 为什么要上学？ Why do we go to school?
Wèi shén me yào shuì jiào? 为什么要睡觉？ Why do we need to sleep?
Wèi shén me bù kě yǐ wán? 为什么不可以玩？ Why can’t I play?
Wèi shén …
