How to Ask for Clarification

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask for clarification in Chinese.

For example, "Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly." is

请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Lisa Xu meets her neighbor, Haoran Huang , for the first time in the lobby of their building.

Haoran introduces himself but Lisa doesn’t catch his name and asks for clarification.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components,

再说一遍 (Zài shuō yíbiàn.)

"say it one more time"

再说一遍

慢 (màn)

"slowly"

慢

Listen to the conversation.

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.)

Once more with the English translation.

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

"Hello. My name is Haoran Huang."

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

"Sorry. Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly."

黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.)

"Huang-Hao-Ran."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Haoran introduces himself?

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

First is 你好 (nǐhǎo), meaning, "Hello." 你好 . 你好。

When meeting someone for the first time, you often start with 你好 (nǐhǎo). It can be used in both formal and informal situations.

Next is 我叫黄浩然。(Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) "My name is Haoran Huang." 我叫黄浩然 . 我叫黄浩然。

First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我 . 我。

Next is 叫 (jiào), meaning "to be called," in this context. 叫 . 叫。

Together, 我叫 (wǒ jiào), literally means "I'm called..." but translates as "My name is…". 我叫 . 我叫。

Next is the neighbor's full name: 黄浩然 (Huáng Hàorán).

First is his family name, 黄 (Huáng), followed by his given name, 浩然 (Hàorán).

For Chinese names, the order is family name followed by given names.

Altogether, it's 你好。我叫黄浩然。(Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.) "Hello. My name is Haoran Huang."

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

Lisa can’t catch his name.

Do you remember how she asks,

"Sorry. Please say it one more time. Please say it slowly."

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

First 不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi), which literally means "to be embarrassed," but it translates as "sorry," in this context. 不好意思 . 不好意思。

Next is 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn), "Please say it one more time." 请再说一遍.

This has several parts:

First is 请 (qǐng), "please." 请 . 请。

After this is 再 (zài), "again." 再 . 再。

Next is 说 (shuō), "say," as in “please say [it] again.” 说 . 说。

Last is 一遍 (yíbiàn), meaning, "one time." 一遍 . 一遍。

All together, 请再说一遍 (qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn) literally means "Please again say one time," but translates as "Please say [it] one more time." 请再说一遍。

The last part of Lisa's response is 请说慢一点 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn) "Please say it slowly."

First is 请 (qǐng), "please." 请。

Next is 说 (shuō), "say." 说。

After that is 慢 (màn), "slow." 慢 . 慢。

And finally 一点 (yìdiǎn), meaning "a little." 一点 (yìdiǎn). 一点 (yìdiǎn).

Pronunciation note: People in the north part of Chinese tend to pronounce it as 一点儿 (yìdiǎnr) . 一点儿。

Combining 慢 (màn) with 一点 (yìdiǎn)，慢一点 (màn yìdiǎn) means "slow [down] a bit" or "slowly." 慢一点 . 慢一点。

All together, it's 请说慢一点 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.) Literally, “Please say slow a little,” but translates as "Please say it slowly." 请说慢一点。

Lisa's whole response is:

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。(Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Finally, Haoran replies by stating his name again,

黄-浩-然。 (Huáng - Hào - Rán.)

"Huang-Hao-Ran."

Let’s look at the expressions once more.

Listen and repeat.

请再说一遍。 (Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

“Please say it one more time.”

请再说一遍。 (Qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

“Please say it slowly.”

请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

“Sorry, please say it one more time.”

不好意思，请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

不好意思，请说慢一点。 (Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

“Sorry, please say it slowly.”

不好意思，请说慢一点。 (Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

“Sorry, please say it one more time. Please say it slowly.”

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

能再说一遍吗？(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?)

“Can you say it one more time?”

能再说一遍吗？(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?)

Did you notice how the native speaker used a different expression?

能再说一遍吗？(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?)

"Can you say it one more time?"

能再说一遍吗？(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?)

This request starts with 能 (neng), meaning "can," as in to be able. 能 . 能。

And it ends with 吗 (ma), the question-marking particle indicating a question. 吗？

The 能...吗 (Neng…ma)？sentence pattern is used to make a polite request.

Note: the answer to a 吗 question should confirm or negate the verb. In this case, “Yes, you can,” or

“No, you can’t.”

Between 能 (neng) and 吗 (ma) is what we've learned earlier 再说一遍 (zài shuō yíbiàn) "say it one more time" 再说一遍。

Together 能再说一遍吗？(Neng zài shuō yíbiàn ma?)

"Can you say it one more time," or “Could you say it one more time? 能再说一遍吗？

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "sorry?"

不好意思 (bùhǎo yìsi)

And how to say “one time?”

一遍 (yíbiàn)

Do you remember how to say “to say?”

说 (shuō)

And how to say “again?”

再 (zài)

Do you remember how to say "please?"

请 (qǐng)

Do you remember how Lisa Xu says,

"Sorry. Please say it one more time."

不好意思，请再说一遍。(Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

Do you remember how to say “slow?”

慢 (màn)

And how to say “a little?”

一点 (yìdiǎn)

Do you remember how to say "slowly?"

慢一点 (màn yìdiǎn)

Do you remember how Lisa says,

"Please say it slowly."

请说慢一点。 (Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Do you remember how to say "hello"?

你好 (nǐhǎo)

Do you remember how Haoran introduces himself?

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jason Xu . Haoran , introduces himself, but you can’t catch his name. Start with, “sorry,” and ask him to “please say it again.”

Ready?

你好。我叫黄浩然。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Huáng Hàorán.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

Listen again and repeat.

不好意思，请再说一遍。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn.)

Let’s try another.

Imagine you're Haoran . Ask Anna Xu to say it slowly.

Start with “sorry.”

Ready?

你好。我叫许安娜。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.)

不好意思，请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Listen again and repeat.

不好意思，请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Haoran . Ask Lisa Xu to “say it again,” and to “say it slowly.” Start with “sorry.”

Ready?

你好。我叫许丽莎。 (Nǐhǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Lìshā.)

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Listen again and repeat.

不好意思，请再说一遍。请说慢一点。 (Bùhǎo yìsi, qǐng zài shuō yíbiàn. Qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn.)

Well done! This is the end of this lesson.

In this lesson, you learned how to ask for clarification in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of getting clarification on things when you're speaking Chinese.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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