{"id":1307,"date":"2021-05-16T11:10:14","date_gmt":"2021-05-16T03:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/?p=1307"},"modified":"2023-08-15T12:51:21","modified_gmt":"2023-08-15T04:51:21","slug":"please-in-chinese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.maayot.com\/blog\/please-in-chinese\/","title":{"rendered":"Politeness in Chinese: Saying ‘Please’ the Right Way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As already explained in the post \u201cYour Welcome in Chinese<\/a>\u201d, being polite in Chinese is quite easy. Chinese people are very direct when compared with their Korean or Japanese counterparts, and they don\u2019t get offended very easily. Saying \u201cplease\u201d in Chinese is actually less complicated than in English. English uses many expressions like \u201cwould\u201d, \u201ccould\u201d, \u201ccan\u201d and it can be very formal sometimes. Chinese, however, tends to be very direct when it comes to politeness.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>
\n

What is more, every English speaker should avoid the mistake of being \u201ctoo polite\u201d for the Chinese standards. When it comes to giving requests, people from countries that are very polite actually struggle a lot with adapting to the new \u201cimpolite\u201d standards. We put \u201cimpolite\u201d in quotation marks because what sounds impolite to us, may not be so for people from other cultures. It is not a thing that is commonly discussed in language learning, but it is still important.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

This is why one of our most common mistakes is to literally translate a request from our language to Chinese<\/strong>, to the point when it sounds excessively polite and unnatural for Chinese speakers. We will explain it further below. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The Chinese word for \u201cplease\u201d:<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    The Chinese word for \u201cplease\u201d is easy and it is \u8bf7 [q\u01d0ng] (\u8acb in Taiwan). In order to ask for something, we put \u8bf7 in front of the sentence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u4f60\u4eec\u4fdd\u6301\u5b89\u9759 [q\u01d0ng n\u01d0men b\u01ceoch\u00ed \u0101nj\u00ecng] \u2013 Please remain calm<\/em>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u6211\u8981\u8bf7\u4f60\u59d0\u59d0\u6765\u5e2e\u5fd9\u6211 [w\u01d2 y\u00e0o q\u01d0ng n\u01d0 ji\u011bji\u011b l\u00e1i b\u0101ngm\u00e1ng w\u01d2] \u2013 I want to ask your sister to help me. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u7cfb\u4e0a\u5b89\u5168\u5e26 [q\u01d0ng j\u00ecshang \u0101nqu\u00e1nd\u00e0i] \u2013 Please fasten the seatbelt.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u60a8\u7a7f\u597d\u6551\u751f\u8863 [q\u01d0ng n\u00edn chu\u0101nh\u01ceo ji\u00f9sh\u0113ngy\u012b] \u2013 Please wear life vest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u6234\u53e3\u7f69 [q\u01d0ng d\u00e0i k\u01d2uzh\u00e0o] \u2013 Please wear a mask.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Note the context of the sentences above, especially the three last ones: we can encounter them in official situations, so the request should be more polite. You are likely to see them in public spaces, especially if followed by the polite \u201cyou\u201d form \u60a8 [n\u00edn]. They are formal requests, therefore\u8bf7 was used. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    However, even in this situation \u8bf7 is not always necessary. A Chinese public request may also say:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8fdb\u5165\u533b\u9662\u5fc5\u987b\u6234\u53e3\u7f69 [j\u00ecnr\u00f9 y\u012byu\u00e0n b\u00ecx\u016b d\u00e0i k\u01d2uzh\u00e0o] \u2013 Wearing mask is mandatory when entering the hospital. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    2. Other meaning of \u8bf7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7 is also commonly used as a word for \u201cinvite\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u540c\u4e8b\u5403\u996d [q\u01d0ng t\u00f3ngsh\u00ec ch\u012b f\u00e0n] \u2013 To ask a co-worker for a meal. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u8bf7\u6559\u6388\u53d1\u8a00 [q\u01d0ng ji\u00e0osh\u00f2u f\u0101y\u00e1n] \u2013 To invite a professor to give a speech.<\/em> It can be also translated as: Let\u2019s invite the professor to give a speech. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you want to express yourself more formally, a proper word would be \u9080\u8acb [y\u0101oq\u01d0ng]. It is not only verb, but also a noun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example sentences:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u63a5\u53d7\u9080\u8bf7 [ji\u0113sh\u00f2u y\u0101oq\u01d0ng] \u2013 To accept invitation<\/em>. Note that we don\u2019t say \u201c\u63a5\u53d7\u8bf7\u201d since \u8bf7 is not a noun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u975e\u5e38\u611f\u8b1d\u4f60\u7684\u9080\u8acb [f\u0113ich\u00e1ng g\u01cenxi\u00e8 n\u01d0de y\u0101oq\u01d0ng] \u2013 Thank you very much for your invitation. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4ed6\u88ab\u9080\u8bf7\u4e86\u53c2\u52a0\u79d1\u5b66\u5ea7\u8c08\u4f1a [t\u0101 b\u00e8i y\u0101oq\u01d0ng le c\u0101nji\u0101 k\u0113xu\u00e9 zu\u00f2t\u00e1nhu\u00ec] \u2013 He was invited to attend a scientific forum. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    3. When not to use \u8bf7<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A standard dictionary will tell you that \u8bf7 means \u201cplease\u201d, but will not explain when is the correct time to say it. Since you are a foreigner and you may be worried about offending someone on your first trip to China, you may feel a need to use \u8bf7 in every situation that involves giving even a small request. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As mentioned above, one of the mistakes that foreign learners do is literally translating requests from their native language into Chinese. Such sentences are often grammatically correct<\/strong>\u2013 from the grammar perspective, there is nothing wrong with putting \u8bf7 in front of a request sentence \u2013 but they sound unnatural or excessively polite<\/strong> for Chinese native speakers. In reality, you will be rarely using \u8bf7 in your daily life.<\/strong> Unless you work in Chinese customer service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Take this situation as an example: you are in a noodle store and you want to order a bowl of beef noodles. You probably first thought of saying: \u8bf7\u4f60\u7ed9\u6211\u4e00\u4efd\u725b\u8089\u9762 [q\u01d0ng n\u01d0 g\u011bi w\u01d2 y\u012bf\u0113n ni\u00fa r\u00f2u mi\u00e0n], since it is an English level of politeness. However, a Chinese person will never say it. Instead they just say \u4e00\u4efd\u725b\u8089\u9762 (a bowl of beef noodles). Sounds rude, but in Chinese it is natural. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    If you feel it is too \u201cextreme\u201d for you, you can add \u8c22\u8c22 [xi\u00e8 xi\u00e8] (thank you) in the end: \u4e00\u4efd\u725b\u8089\u9762, \u8c22\u8c22. It is not necessary, but it might be a good compromise between what is natural in Chinese and comfortable for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To sum up, when you talk to a waiter or any person from customer service, \u8bf7 is not necessary. Many people in China don\u2019t say \u8c22\u8c22, neither, although nothing stops you from doing that if you want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"<\/figure>
    \n

    When asking a friend for a favor, you can use other words, since \u8bf7 would sound excessively formal. There is one very good word: \u53ef\u4ee5 [k\u011by\u01d0], which means \u201ccan\u201d. You can also add the word \u5e2e [b\u0101ng], which means \u201chelp\u201d, in the middle of the sentence. It stresses the fact that they are helping you. Actually, you can also use \u53ef\u4ee5 even when you ask a stranger on the street (but you may first say \u5bf9\u4e0d\u8d77 [du\u00ecb\u00f9q\u01d0] when interrupting). <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Example sentence: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u53ef\u4ee5\u6765\u5e2e\u6211\u4e00\u4e0b\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 k\u011by\u01d0 l\u00e1i b\u0101ng w\u01d2 y\u012bxi\u00e0] \u2013 Can you come over to help me? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u53ef\u4ee5\u5e2e\u6211\u53bb\u627e\u8001\u5e08\u5417\uff1f[n\u01d0 k\u011by\u01d0 b\u0101ng w\u01d2 q\u00f9 zh\u01ceo l\u01ceosh\u012b ma] \u2013 Can you go and search for the teacher (for me)? <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Other way to ask a friend for help is by only using \u5e2e. It is more direct than \u53ef\u4ee5. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Example sentence: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u5e2e\u6211\u4e22\u6389\u8fd9\u4e2a [b\u0101ng w\u01d2 di\u016bdi\u00e0o zh\u00e8ge] \u2013 Please throw it away. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u4f60\u5e2e\u6211\u62ff\u8fd9\u4e2a\uff0c\u8c22\u8c22 [n\u01d0 b\u0101ng w\u01d2 n\u00e1 zh\u00e8ge\uff0cxi\u00e8 xi\u00e8] \u2013 Please take it, thanks. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Remember that being less polite actually indicates that you are friends with somebody. In fact, being too polite can make your Chinese friends feel that they are not really your friends. Therefore, it is better to forget for a moment about our own cultural norms and learn with the native speakers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Interested in learning Chinese, but everything seems too overwhelming? In Maayot<\/a>, we solve this problem. With our articles, we can help you understand basic grammar concepts and important vocabulary. Things that seemed too complicated can now become very easy. Just check out more of our articles below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n