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In the last few years, China has been making headlines for all of the wrong reasons.
As a result, many people have misconceptions about this country. The truth is that there are so many fascinating things to learn and experience in China! The following blog post will introduce 9 mistakes made with Chinese surnames that everyone should avoid.
Keywords: Chinese culture, Chinese surnames, China In addition to being a prosperous country with an amazing culture and history, there are many interesting facts about the people of China. The following blog post will introduce you to some common mistakes made when dealing with Chinese surnames that can be easily avoided!
A few things every foreigner needs to know: Every single surname in China is written first before any title or given name.
For instance, Deng Xiaoping would have been called “Deng” not “Teng Hsiao ping.” This also means that if someone has two last names it’s possible for them to go by either one depending on what context they’re using it in. Other countries like Japan only use their family name so they would be “Deng Teng Hsiao ping.”
There are four tones in Mandarin which can make it difficult to match the correct tone when speaking. One of the most common mistakes foreigners will do is spell a Chinese person’s name wrong because they had trouble figuring out how to pronounce their given name or last names so you have two options:
a) get them to write it down for you phonetically and then repeat until you’re confident, or
b) just use pinyin. Pinyin is an alphabet system that corresponds with sounds instead of letters. For instance huan means “yellow” and if spelled as wan would mean something totally different like “want.” It won’t always work but it’s a good backup.
It may seem like you’re just being polite, but it’s actually great to know how to say “thank you” in Mandarin and any other phrases that are useful for travel or work purposes.
a) xièxie (pronounced shay shee)
b) wǒ yào qù zuòfàn (I want to go eat dinner – this one will come up quite often!)
c) nǐ hěn gāoxìng jiēshíwén ma? (Are you happy now?) （This is what people might be saying if they’ve been yelling at you for a while and this is the first time you’ve really started to listen.）
It’s also helpful to know how to say “I’m sorry” in Mandarin (duìbùqǐ)
a) duì bú qǐ, wǒ zhēn de xièxie le nàge diūshīr! （ I am very sorry about that mistake – it was my fault entirely!)
Some other phrases which might come up: 抱歉; 对不起; 谢谢你。(excuse me/sorry); thank you. These are all phrases that people might say if they’re trying to get your attention or are apologizing for something.
I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?
Yes! the phrase is xièxie (shay shee) and it’s said at the end of a conversation when someone has been talking to you about their problems and they want them solved right away. You can also use it as just an acknowledgement in general conversation too, like thank you.”
The first sentence is “Some other phrases which might come up: 抱歉; 对不起; 谢谢你。(excuse me/sorry); thank you.” The second sentence should be “I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?” The third sentence should be “Yes! the phrase is xièxie (shay shee) and it’s said at the end of a conversation when someone has been talking to you about their problems and they want them solved right away.”
I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one? Yes! the phrase is xièxie (shay shee) and it’s said at the end of a conversation when someone has been talking to you about their problems and they want them solved right away. You can also use it as just an acknowledgement in general conversation too, like thank you.”
Some other phrases which might come up: 抱歉; 对不起; 谢谢你。(excuse me/sorry); thank you.
You can also use it as just an acknowledgement in general conversation too, like thank you.”
It’s important to know that the first person pronoun is nǐ (nee), and not wǒ (waw) or tā (tah). The second sentence should be “I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?” If I say xièxie but someone says ni zhīdào ma? That means they’re asking if I know what happened. We’ll go over this phrase more later on! In response, I would say Wo shì bèi, xīnkǔ le. (I’m sorry – oops, did I miss one?)
There are two more phrases you’ll want to know that will help get your point across: 对不起啊 and 你好吗? The first means “sorry” or “excuse me,” while the latter is just an acknowledgement of a person’s presence.”
The second sentence should be “I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?” If I say xièxie but someone says ni zhīdào ma? That means they’re asking if I know what happened. We’ll go over this phrase more later on!
In response, I would say Wo shì bèi, xīnkǔ le. (I’m sorry – oops, did I miss one?)
There are two more phrases you’ll want to know that will help get your point across: 对不起啊 and 你好吗? The first means “sorry” or “excuse me,” while the latter is just an acknowledgement of a person’s presence.”‘ > {{ content }}
2016-09-19
The second sentence should be “I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?” If I say xièxie but someone says ni zhīdào ma? That means they’re asking if I know what happened. We’ll go over this phrase more later on! In response, I would say Wo shì bèi, xīnkǔ le. (I’m sorry – oops, did I miss one?)-There are two more phrases you’ll want to know that will help get your point across: 对不起啊 and 你好吗? The first means “sorry” or “excuse me,” while the latter is just an acknowledgement of a person’s presence.”‘
The second sentence should be “I’m sorry – whoops, did I miss one?” If I say xièxie but someone says ni zhīdào ma? That means they’re asking if I know what happened. We’ll go over this phrase more later on! In response, I would say Wo shì bèi, xīnkǔ le. (I’m sorry – oops, did I miss one?)-There are two more phrases you’ll want to know that will help get your point across: 对不起啊 and 你好吗? The first means “sorry” or “excuse me,” while the latter is just an acknowledgement of a person’s presence.
“I’m sorry, I missed one.” There are two more phrases you’ll want to know that will help get your point across:
对不起啊 and 你好吗? The first means “sorry” or “excuse me”, while the latter is just an acknowledgement of someone’s presence. Excusing yourself when there are interruptions in conversation or accidental mistakes goes a long way-to show respect for others’ space. It’s also nice to remember to say hello back! You can do this with either Wèi hǎo ma (Is everything ok?) or simply Nǐ hǎo ma (Hi!).
N.B. Note the use of “sorry” and “excuse me”, as well as acknowledgement in Chinese for interruptions or mistakes made.” In Chinese, the word 你好吗? is often used as a polite question to ask if you may enter someone’s personal space. You can say this in place of “hello” or 请问有什么事情时候叫你。 The two words 对不起 are also quite common and will serve well when apologizing for anything from interrupting them while speaking to accidentally spilling their coffee on them.” -N.B. Note the use of “sorry”, as well as acknowledgement in Chinese for interruptions or mistakes made.” How To Say Hello In Mandarin: Nǐ hǎo ma
