To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.

com/Mandarin
 Nǐ hǎo
Lesson 4 on Basic Mandarin!
To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin
 Revision

English Mandarin
Lisa Hello! Nǐ hǎo!
Mark Hello! Nǐ hǎo!
Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?
Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Lisa I am also very good Yě hěn hǎo

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 1 Greetings

2 Etiquette conversation

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 What's in store today?

Today we will learn some more common

greetings and some etiquette phrases like
'thank you' and 'sorry'!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 1 Greetings

2 Etiquette conversation

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Greetings

Today we will learn some other responses to -

'How
are you?' or 'Nǐ hǎo ma?' - to help you learn
some interesting conversations!

Let’s start with a common one : 'Not bad!'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Vocabulary

English Mandarin
Not Bú
Bad Cuò

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Before moving on, lets take a closer look

at the pronunciations for the new
words we've just learnt!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Not = Bú

It is pronounced using a
'mid rising' tone (2nd)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Bú

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Bú

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Bad = Cuò

It is pronounced using a
'falling' tone (4th)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Cuò

It is said with a 'falling' tone - Cuò

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Responding to 'how are you?'

Great! Now let's use them as a phrase!

Not bad!

Not = Bú (adv.)
Bad = Cuò (adj.)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Grammar tip

Not = Bú

Bú is an adverb and is used to negate verbs

In Mandarin, adverbs always come before the
verb

Eg:
To be (is/am/are) = Shì
Not to be (is not/ am not/ are not) = Bú shì

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 So one of the responses to 'how are you?' is...

Not bad

Bú cuò

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 So remember!

English Mandarin Type

Not Bú Adv.
Bad Cuò Adj.

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Let’s try this in a conversation!

English Mandarin
Lisa How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma?
Mark I am very good, and you? Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Lisa Not bad Bú cuò

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Moving on…

We can also reply to 'how are you?' by

saying 'Fine'

Let's take a look at the vocabulary

required for the same!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Vocabulary

English Mandarin

Still Hái
Ok Kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Still = Hái

It is pronounced using a
'mid rising' tone (2nd)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Hái

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Hái

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Ok = Kěyǐ

'Kěyǐ', stresses on two tones, 'e' and 'i'

On both, it uses the ‘falling rising’ tone

Let’s break it down and see how

each one is pronounced!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Kě

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Kě

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Yǐ

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone -Yǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Great! Now lets try it together

Let's try and say Kěyǐ

It is said with a 'falling rising' tone - Kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 As we saw...

Still = Hái
Ok = Kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Responding to : how are you?

Fine

Hái kěyǐ

Literally : Still ok

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Grammar tip

Apart from meaning 'Ok', Kěyǐ also reflects

the 'ability' to ask permission

Kěyǐ is made up of two characters

The first (kě) means 'can' or 'may' and the

second (yǐ) means 'according to'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Let's see if you remember…

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'not bad'?

1 2 3
Bú cuò Hái kěyǐ Nín hǎo

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'not bad'?

1 2 3
Bú cuò Hái kěyǐ Nín hǎo

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 So remember!

English Mandarin Type

Not Bú Adv.
Bad Cuò Adj.
Still Hái Adv.
Ok Kěyǐ Adj.

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 1 Greetings

2 Etiquette conversation

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Moving on...

Let's learn a few new

expressions used daily!

Let's begin with 'thanks'!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Etiquette conversation

Thanks

Xièxie

Literally : thanks, to thank

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

In pinyin 'X' is pronounced

with a 'sh' or 'zh' sound, unlike the
English 'x' as in 'xylophone'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Thanks = Xièxie

It is pronounced using a
'falling' tone (4th)

Note, that 'Xièxie' can be broken into two

similar parts, except that the second time we
say 'xie', the sound softly fades away

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Xièxie

It is said with a 'falling' tone -Xièxie

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Etiquette conversation

Thank you

Xièxie nǐ

Thanks = Xièxie
You = Nǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Etiquette conversation

In English, we would typically say 'You are

welcome' while responding to 'Thank you'

In Mandarin, 'You are welcome' is used as

'Don't be polite'
(to indicate ‘You don't need to thank me’)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Etiquette conversation
You are welcome = Don't be polite

Polite = Kèqi
Don't be polite = Bú kèqi

Remember that 'Bú' means not

'Be' is not translated here, as 'polite' is an adjective

Let's see how to pronounce the following words!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

We already know how to pronounce Bú,

it is said with a 'mid rising' tone

Let's see how to pronounce 'Kèqi'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Note that in pinyin 'q' is pronounced

with a 'ch' sound, unlike the
English 'q' as in 'quiet'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Polite = Kèqi

Kè is pronounced using a
'falling' tone (4th)

Let's try and say Kèqi

Great! Now lets say the whole

phrase together!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 So now you know!

Don't be polite (reply to 'Thank you')

Bú kèqi

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Moving on...

Now let's look at how we would say 'sorry'

There are many ways to say 'sorry' in
Mandarin, but one of the most common
and versatile phrases is duì bu qǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tip

Duì is pronounced using a 'falling' tone

Let's try and say it again, Duì

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tip

Bù is pronounced using a 'falling' tone

Let's try and say it again, 'Bù'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tip

Remember that in Mandarin 'Q' is

pronounced with a 'ch' sound

Qǐ is pronounced using the

'falling rising' tone

Let's try and say it again, Qǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Etiquette conversation

Sorry

Duì bù qǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Try saying Duì bù qǐ

Remember 'Q' takes up the sound of 'ch'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Another way to say 'sorry'

Sorry

Bù hǎo yì si

Literally, 'not a good meaning'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Grammar tip

Bù hǎo yì si is frequently used in the Chinese

culture as a way of saying 'sorry' or
to mean 'I'm embarrassed'

Since we already know how to pronounce 'Bù

hǎo',
let's learn how to say 'yì si'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Yì si

'Yì' is pronounced using a

'falling' tone (4th)

'Si' is a neutral tone and is

pronounced with a soft fading tone

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

'Meaning' translates to 'Yì si'

Let's try and say Yì si

Yì is said with a falling tone - Yì si

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Grammar tip

Bù hǎo yì si can also be used as 'Thank you' in

some cases – usually when you want to say
'Your kindness is too much'/ 'This wasn't needed'

Situations include accepting gifts or tips

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Cultural tip

The Chinese tradition of gift-giving demands that

the gift is first refused, and finally accepted with
'xièxie' or 'Bù hǎo yì si'

This is done for any type of gift, including picking

up the tab in a restaurant

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 More greetings

It's alright

Méi ɡuān xi

Literally, 'that's alright /

doesn't matter'

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Méi

'Méi' is pronounced using a

'mid rising' tone (2nd)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Méi

It is said with a 'mid rising' tone - Méi

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pronunciation tip

Guān

'Guān' is pronounced using a

'high level' tone (1st)

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tips

Let's try and say Guān

It is said with a 'high level' tone - Guān

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Tonal tip

Xi

'Xi' is pronounced in the neutral tone, like a

soft fading away sound

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Let's see if you remember…

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'thanks'?

1 2 3
Xièxie Bú kèqi Hái kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'thanks'?

1 2 3
Xièxie Bú kèqi Hái kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'you're welcome'?

1 2 3
Bú kèqi Xièxie Hái kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'you're welcome'?

1 2 3
Bú kèqi Xièxie Hái kěyǐ

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'sorry'?

1 2 3
Bù hǎo yì si Bú kèqi Xièxie

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Pick the right option

How do we say 'sorry'?

1 2 3
Bù hǎo yì si Bú kèqi Xièxie

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Let’s revise!

English Mandarin
Thanks Xièxie
You are welcome Bú kèqi
Bù hǎo yì si /
Sorry Duì bù qǐ

It's alright Méi ɡuān xi

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Culture Leaf

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Culture leaf : Chinese names

Names in China are used slightly differently

than names you would hear in the west

Let's look at some examples…

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Culture leaf : Chinese names - Boys

Wāng Péng is a boy's name

In China, family (or clan) names always precede

personal or given names
'Wāng' is family name and 'Péng' is
given name

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Culture leaf : Chinese names - Girls

Lǐ Yǒu is a girl's name

Lǐ is the family name

Yǒu is the given name

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Culture leaf : Chinese names
In Chinese culture the use of given names (first
names in
west) often suggests a much higher degree of
intimacy than
is the case in the west

If one’s given name is monosyllabic, it's used is

even more limited, usually confined to one’s lover
or spouse

For example, Wāng Péng’s girlfriend can address

him as
Péng, but most people would call him Wāng Péng
To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin
rather than Péng
 What's next?

In the next lesson, we will learn some

common expressions such as 'good
morning', 'good evening' etc...!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 Credits

Content
Team CultureAlley, Sunny Dang

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin

 See you at the Alley!

To view this with Audio and practice games, visit www.CultureAlley.com/Mandarin