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Mythic Mandarin

Sorry, please, how much: survival phrases

Chinese Foundations · Lesson 10 of 11 · About 15 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can apologise, answer thanks, ask politely and ask a price.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 狗 mean?

    1. dog
    2. now
    3. family, home
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, dog.

    狗 (gǒu) means dog.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “dog”?

    1. 五
    2. 狗
    3. 四
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 狗.

    “dog” is 狗 (gǒu).

New words

  • 对不起duìbuqǐsorry
  • 没关系méiguānxiit doesn't matter
  • 不客气búkèqiyou're welcome
  • 请qǐngplease
  • 要yàoto want
  • 多少duōshaohow many, how much
  • 钱qiánmoney
  • 块kuàikuai (unit of money, spoken)

Polite answers

Every polite phrase has a set answer:

Phrase and answer
SayAnswer
谢谢！ thank you不客气。 you're welcome
对不起！ sorry没关系。 it doesn't matter

  • 请喝茶。

    Qǐng hē chá.

    Please have some tea.

请 (qǐng, please) goes at the start: 请 + verb.

Asking a price

多少 (duōshao) asks how many or how much, for any number. 多少钱 is how much money: the price question.

  • 茶多少钱？

    Chá duōshao qián?

    How much is the tea?

  • 五块。

    Wǔ kuài.

    Five kuai.

  • 我要茶。

    Wǒ yào chá.

    I want tea. (I'll have tea.)

块 (kuài) is the everyday word for one yuan, China's money.

  • Not: 茶是多少钱？

    But: 茶多少钱？ Chá duōshao qián?

    No 是 in price questions.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

At a tea stall

David buys tea from Old Zhang at a small stall in a park.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

  1. Listening

    Listen first. How much is the tea?

    1. eight kuai
    2. four kuai
    3. ten kuai
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, eight kuai.

    老张 says 八块: eight kuai.

  2. Listening

    Why does David say 对不起?

    1. He doesn't want the tea any more.
    2. He doesn't have enough money.
    3. He came to the stall late.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, He doesn't have enough money..

    对不起，我没有八块: he does not have eight kuai.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 大卫

    你好Nǐ hǎo！我Wǒ要yào茶chá。

    Hello! I'd like some tea.

  2. 老张

    好Hǎo。

    OK.

  3. 大卫

    茶Chá多少duōshao钱qián？

    How much is the tea?

  4. 老张

    八Bā块kuài。

    Eight kuai.

  5. 大卫

    对不起Duìbuqǐ，我wǒ没有méiyǒu八bā块kuài。

    Sorry, I don't have eight kuai.

  6. 老张

    没关系Méiguānxi，请qǐng喝hē茶chá！

    Never mind, please have the tea!

  7. 大卫

    谢谢Xièxie！

    Thank you!

  8. 老张

    不客气Búkèqi！

    You're welcome!

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 茶多少钱？

    Chá duōshao qián?

    How much is the tea?

  • 没关系，请喝茶！

    Méiguānxi, qǐng hē chá!

    Never mind, please have the tea!

  • 对不起，我没有八块。

    Duìbuqǐ, wǒ méiyǒu bā kuài.

    Sorry, I don't have eight kuai.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 对不起 mean?

    1. sorry
    2. yesterday
    3. please
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, sorry.

    对不起 (duìbuqǐ) means sorry.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “it doesn't matter”?

    1. 没关系
    2. 明天
    3. 现在
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 没关系.

    “it doesn't matter” is 没关系 (méiguānxi).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 不客气 (you're welcome)?

    1. búkěqi
    2. búkèqi
    3. búkèqí
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, búkèqi.

    不客气 is read búkèqi. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    请 qǐng

    1. please
    2. big
    3. day of the month (spoken)
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, please.

    You heard 请 (qǐng): please.

  5. Pinyin

    Type the pinyin of 要 (to want). Tone marks or tone numbers are welcome.

    Show the answer

    Answer: yào

    要 is yào in pinyin.

  6. In context

    Someone says 谢谢！ What do you answer?

    1. 对不起。
    2. 不客气。
    3. 没有。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 不客气。.

    不客气。: 不客气: you're welcome, the answer to 谢谢.

  7. In context

    Someone says 对不起！ What do you answer?

    1. 不客气。
    2. 没关系。
    3. 再见。
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 没关系。.

    没关系。: 没关系: it doesn't matter.

  8. Word order

    Put the words in order: How much is the water?

    • 多少
    • 钱
    • 水
    Show the answer

    水多少钱 Shuǐ duōshao qián?

    How much is the water?

    水多少钱？ No 是 in price questions.

Order and pay

Practise a tea-stall exchange out loud, playing both people.

  1. Ask for something: 我要…。
  2. Ask the price: …多少钱？
  3. Answer with a price in 块, then thank and answer the thanks.

Sentence frames

  • ＿＿多少钱？

    ＿＿ duōshao qián?

    How much is ...?

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I know the answers to 谢谢 and 对不起.
  • I can ask a price with 多少钱.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: I speak a little Chinese