Excuse me.
Use before politely asking a question.
FREE BEGINNER LESSON 4 · MANDARIN CHINESE
Mandarin Chinese: A little politeness
Make a polite request and respond to thanks.
Polite · everyday expressions. Learn the meaning, listen to the pronunciation, then practise in the interactive lesson.
Practise this lessonOpening vocabulary referenceUseful Mandarin Chinese phrases and their meanings
Please sit down.
请 adds politeness to 坐, sit.
You are welcome.
A normal reply to 谢谢.
It is all right.
A reassuring reply to an apology.
How the sentence works
请 can introduce a polite request. 请问 is a conventional excuse me before a question. 不客气 replies to thanks. 没关系 reassures someone after an apology. 不 and 没 have different uses; learn these expressions as useful chunks first.
A short conversation in Mandarin Chinese
Sorry.
It is all right.
Thank you.
You are welcome.
Words to recognise
please
sorry
you are welcome
it is all right
Listen to the whole phrase before focusing on each word. You can replay as often as you like, and the interactive lesson uses pictures and a short exchange to put the meaning in context.
Open the interactive lessonThe opening six teaching lessons are free, including the mini-tests after lessons three and six. A test accepts any answer and shows the score and corrections at the end. No typing or speaking aloud is required.
Keep learning Mandarin Chinese
Free five-minute audio lesson and MP3 · Language learning games
The pronunciation uses prepared synthetic voices. Credits and licences explain the free voice models. Independent native-speaker certification is not claimed.