Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Fun &Easy Chinese by ChineseClass101.com!
嗨大家好,我是李殷如. (Hài dàjiā hǎo, Wǒ shì Lǐ Yīnrú.)
Hi everyone, Yinru Li here.
Can you say “goodbye” in Chinese?
Saying goodbye is a part of our daily life, no matter how much we don’t want to. In Chinese, there are quite a few ways to say goodbye depending on the occasion.
Let’s take a look.
再见 (zài jiàn)
拜拜 (bái bái)
明天见 (míng tiān jiàn)
先走了 (xiān zǒu le)
慢走 (màn zǒu)
保重 (bǎo zhòng)
First, 再见, which is the most common Chinese farewell phrase.
再见 (zài jiàn) literally means “again see”. 再 means “again” 再,and 见 means “to see” 见.
Together 再见 literally, “again see”, but translates as “see you again”.
再见 (zài jiàn)
The next commonly used parting phrase may sound familiar to you: 拜拜 (bái bái). It is directly translated from the English “bye-bye”. And in Chinese characters, they look like this. It is mostly used on informal and casual occasions. 拜拜.
The next phrase...
明天见 (míng tiān jiàn) is actually a variation of the first phrase we talked about, 再见. Can you see the repeated word? Right, it’s 见, which means “to see”.
And the word 再 “again” is replaced by 明天 (míng tiān), which meaning “tomorrow”.
So 明天见 (míng tiān jiàn) means “see you tomorrow”.
明天见 (míng tiān jiàn)
We can make more variations by plugging in other time related words to the pattern: “...见”
周一 (zhōuyī) means “ Monday”
so 周一见 (zhōuyī jiàn) is “see you on Monday”
周一见.
下次 (xiàcì) means “next time”
So 下次见 (xiàcì jiàn) “see you next time”
It’s 9pm Friday. Amy is still working in the office. Her colleague Xiao Wu is getting ready to go home. Let’s find out what parting phrases they use to say goodbye to each other.
小吴:艾米,下周一见。
(Xiǎo Wú: àimǐ, xià Zhōuyī jiàn.)
“Xiao Wu: Amy, see you next Monday.”
艾米:下周一见。拜拜!
(Àimǐ: Xià zhōu yī jiàn. Bái bái)
“Amy: See you next Monday. Bye!”
Next.
先走了。This particular phrase is used when you have to leave before everyone else does.
先走了(xiān zǒu le)
先 means “first”, 先, and 走了 here means “to get going”. 走了. Together, 先走了, "I have to get going first".
先走了
It can be used in casual situations, such as leaving a party, and it can be used in formal situations, like when you have to leave a meeting for another appointment.
When someone is leaving and you’re staying, this is the phrase to say to see someone off.
慢走 (màn zǒu) [slow] 慢走。
It literally means “to walk slowly”. 慢 means “slow” or “slowly” and 走 means “to walk” or “to go,” 走.
Together, 慢走 means “to walk slowly”, but translates as “be careful” or “take care”.
慢走
Amy and Xiao Wu are at a meeting. Xiao Wu has leave the meeting now. She excuses herself and Amy says bye to her.
小吴: 我先走了。
(Xiǎo Wú: Wǒ xiān zǒu le.)
Xiao Wu: I gotto go now.
艾米:没事。慢走。
(Àimǐ: Méi shì. Màn zǒu.)
Amy: It’s ok. Take care.
When it’s time to say goodbye, the next phrase also means “take care”, but the connotation is a lot heavier than 慢走, the last phrase we talked about. This phrase is 保重 (bǎo zhòng). [slow] 保重
It means “to take good care”. It is often used when you know that you’re not going to see the other person for a while, and you want to tell them to take good care of themselves.
You may see or hear people use this phrase at a train station or airport where people are holding each other’s hands.
Before I say “goodbye” 再见 to you, let’s review all the goodbye phrases we learned in this lesson.
What is the most common Chinese farewell phrase that means "see you again"?
再见 (zài jiàn)
Do you remember the phrase that comes from the English “bye-bye?”
拜拜 (bái bái)
Ok, do you remember how to say “see you tomorrow”?
明天见 (míng tiān jiàn)
And what do you say when you have to leave before someone else?
先走了 (xiān zǒu le)
Do you remember how to say “take care” to someone who is leaving, but you expect to see again shortly?
慢走 (màn zǒu)
And the heavier version of 慢走 (màn zǒu), “take care”, which is often used to someone you’re not going to see for a while?
保重 (bǎo zhòng)
Well done!
I'll see you next time! 下次见!(xià cì jiàn!) Thank you for watching.

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