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Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

Taiwanese Mandarin Survival Phrases Lesson 1: Thank You!
Every country has its own set of manners to show politeness. In our first lesson, we will look at ways to say “thank you.” Some phrases can be used in casual conversation and others are used in formal situations to add politeness.
Here is the first way:
In Chinese, an informal way to say "thank you" is 謝謝(Xiè xie).
Let’s break it down by tone:
謝(xiè) is in the fourth tone
Now, let’s break it down by meaning:
謝(xiè) means “thanks.”
Let’s break it down:
[Slow] “謝謝(Xiè xie).”
[Normal] “謝謝(Xiè xie).”
A more polite way to say “thank you” is 感謝(gǎn xiè).
In Chinese, this translates as "thank you very much."
Let’s break it down by tone:
The first tone, 感(gǎn), has a falling-rising tone.
The second tone, 謝(xiè), has a falling tone.
Now, let’s break it down by meaning:
感(gǎn) means "feel."
謝(xiè) means "thanks."
Literally, the phrase means “being thankful.”
Altogether, we have 感謝(gǎn xiè.)
Listen again, one more time, slowly:
[Slow] 感謝(gǎn xiè).
[Normal] 感謝(gǎn xiè).
To speak even more politely, you can say 我很感謝(Wǒ hěn gǎnxi è).
In Chinese, this means "I am very thankful."
Let’s break it down by tone:
First, we have 我(wǒ).
Next, we have 很(hěn).
Finally, we have 感(gǎn). This is in third tone.
Usually 我(wǒ) is in third tone, but because it is followed by “很(hěn),” it becomes second tone. In addition, usually, 很(hěn) is in third tone, but because it is followed by 感(gǎn), it becomes second tone.
Now, let’s break it down by meaning:
我(wǒ) means "I."
很(hěn) means "very."
感謝(gǎn xiè) means “thankful.”
Altogether, we have 我很感謝(Wǒ hěn gǎnxiè).
Listen again, one more time, slowly:
[Slow] 我很感謝(Wǒ hěn gǎnxiè).
[Normal] 我很感謝(Wǒ hěn gǎnxiè).
You use 謝謝(Xiè xie), the most common and informal form of “thank you”, when you leave a store, for example.
You can use 感謝(gǎn xiè) when you receive something from a friend or a relative.
You should only use 我很感謝(Wó hén gǎnxiè), the highest level of politeness, when you are very grateful for something someone gives or does for you. This phrase is not used often in casual conversation.

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