Learn how to refuse politely
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| Introduction |
| Eric: Welcome to 3-Minute Chinese Season 1, Lesson 6 - Refusing Politely. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to politely refuse an invite in Chinese. |
| Body |
| Eric: Here's the formal way to say "no, thank you" in Chinese. |
| Cho: [Normal] 不，谢谢。(bù, xièxiè.) |
| Eric: First is a word meaning "no” |
| Cho: [Normal] 不 [Slow] 不 (bù) |
| Eric: Last is the word meaning "thanks" |
| Cho: [Normal] 谢谢 [Slow] 谢谢(xièxie) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "No, thank you." |
| Cho: [Slow] 不，谢谢。 [Normal] 不，谢谢。 |
| Eric: Ok, now let's take a look at the formal way to say "It's okay." |
| Cho: [Normal] 没关系。(méi guānxì) |
| Eric: First is a word meaning "no" |
| Cho: [Normal] 没 [Slow] 没 (méi) |
| Eric: Last is the noun for "relationship" |
| Cho: [Normal] 关系 [Slow] 关系(guānxì) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "It's okay." |
| Cho: [Slow] 没关系。 [Normal] 没关系。 |
| Eric: Following is the formal way to say "I already have plans." |
| Cho: [Normal] 我已经有计划了。(wǒ yǐjīng yǒu jìhuà le.) |
| Eric: First is a pronoun meaning "I" |
| Cho: [Normal] 我 [Slow] 我(wǒ) |
| Eric: Next is the adverb meaning "already" |
| Cho: [Normal] 已经 [Slow] 已经(yǐjīng) |
| Eric: Next is the verb meaning "to have" |
| Cho: [Normal] 有 [Slow] 有(yǒu) |
| Eric: Then comes the noun for "plan" |
| Cho: [Normal] 计划 [Slow] 计划(jìhuà) |
| Eric: Last is the particle indicating a state. |
| Cho: [Normal] 了 [Slow] 了(le) |
| Eric: Listen again to the formal phrase meaning "I already have plans." |
| Cho: [Slow] 我已经有计划了。 [Normal] 我已经有计划了。 |
| Eric: Finally, here is an informal way to say "Sorry, but I already have plans." |
| Cho: [Normal] 不好意思， 但是我已经有计划了。(bù hǎoyìsi, dànshì wǒ yǐjīng yǒu jìhuàle.) |
| Eric: First is a word meaning "no" |
| Cho: [Normal] 不 [Slow] 不(bù) |
| Eric: Next is the adjective meaning "good" |
| Cho: [Normal] 好 [Slow] 好(hǎo) |
| Eric: Then comes the word for "meaning" |
| Cho: [Normal] 意思 [Slow] 意思(yìsi) |
| Eric: Followed by the conjunction meaning "but" |
| Cho: [Normal] 但是 [Slow] 但是(dànshì) |
| Eric: And last is the expression meaning "I already have plans." |
| Cho: [Normal] 我已经有计划了。 [Slow] 我已经有计划了。(wǒ yǐjīng yǒu jìhuà le.) |
| Eric: Listen again to the informal phrase meaning "Sorry, but I already have plans." |
| Cho: [Slow] 不好意思， 但是我已经有计划了。 [Normal] 不好意思， 但是我已经有计划了。 |
| Cultural Insight |
| Eric: Now it's time for a quick cultural insight. |
| Cho: In China, if a person’s invitation gets turned down, it’s not common for that person to push for more details regarding why their invitation was declined. Also, if you have to refuse an invitation in China, it's considered better to state the real reason you cannot go rather than making up a lie. So keep these things in mind, listeners! |
Outro |
|---|
| Eric: And that’s all for this lesson. Don’t forget to check out the lesson notes, and we’ll see you in the next lesson! |
| Cho: 再见。 |
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