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Open Class Chinese - Daily Mandarin-
Say Hello! How are You?
In English, when greeting a person, the most common greeting would be: Hello! How are you? In Mandarin, it often says ' 你好 ! '. Let learn how to talk about the greeting.
Warm Up
Listen to conversation
Mr. Wang is doing exercise in the playground and meets a new friend, Mr. Zhang. They introduce their surnames with each other.
Play the audio track
您好！您贵姓?
nín hǎo！nín ɡuì xìnɡ?
Hello! How are you? What’s your (honorable) surname?
免贵姓王。
miǎn ɡuì xìnɡ wánɡ。
My (humble) family name is Wang.
王先生，您身体好吗?
wánɡ xiān shenɡ， nín shēn tǐ hǎo mɑ?
Mr. Wang, how is your heath?
很好，谢谢。你贵姓?
hěn hǎo，xiè xie。nǐ ɡuì xìnɡ?
Very good, thank you . What’s your surname?
我姓张，我的太太也姓王。
wǒ xìnɡ zhānɡ，wǒ de tài tɑi yě xìnɡ wánɡ。
My surname is Zhang. My wife's surname is also Wang.
Content
Vocabulary to know
姓 [ xìnɡ ] (n)
Last name, surname
我姓李。
wǒ xìnɡ lǐ。
My surname is lee.
贵姓 [ ɡuì xìnɡ ]
What is (your) honorable surname?
请问您贵姓 ?
qǐnɡ wèn nín ɡuì xìnɡ ?
May I have your last name?
免贵姓 [ miǎn ɡuì xìnɡ ]
(My) surname is ... (polite reply)
免贵姓王。
miǎn ɡuì xìnɡ wánɡ。
My surname is Wang.
身体 [ shēn tǐ ] (n)
Body, health
我的爷爷身体很好 。
wǒ de yé ye shēn tǐ hěn hǎo。
The heath of my grandfather is very good.
谢谢 [ xiè xie ] (v)
Thank you!
谢谢你帮我 。
xiè xie nǐ bānɡ wǒ 。
Thank you for helping me.
也 [ yě ] (adv)
Also, too
我也不认识他 。
wǒ yě bú rèn shi tā。
I don't know him either.
Rules of Grammar
你好 [ nǐ hǎo ] / 您好 [ nín hǎo ] - Hello!, How are you?
is a common greeting in Mandarin, which means "Hello! ", "How are you? ".
The standard reply is using the same word " 你好 nǐ hǎo " / "您好 nín hǎo ".
Example:
A: 您 好 ! nín hǎo !
B: 您 好 ! nín hǎo !
您贵姓 [ nín ɡuì xìnɡ ] - What is your (honorable) surname?
is a formal way to ask about one’s surname, the answer to this question is only "免贵姓 miǎn ɡuì xìnɡ + one's surname" or "我姓 wǒ xìnɡ + one's surname".
It never says "我姓李先生 wǒ xìnɡ lǐ xiān shenɡ" nor "我姓李明 wǒ xìnɡ lǐ mínɡ".
Example:
A: 您 贵 姓 nín ɡuì xìnɡ ?
B: 免 贵 姓 张 miǎn ɡuì xìnɡ zhānɡ。 OR 我 姓 张 wǒ xìnɡ zhānɡ。
吗 ma - a question word
is a question word to form a simple question in Mandarin.
The way is simply to add the interrogative particle " 吗 ma " at the end of a sentence.
Example:
A sentence:
你 好 nǐ hǎo ! (Hello!). We add " 吗 ma " at the end of the sentence to convert it to a simple question as follows:
A simple question:
你 好 吗 nǐ hǎo mɑ ? (How are you?)