Short Chinese phrases that will do wonders for you

Aside from the universal magic word that you might have known from the very first day of your Chinese learning – “谢谢 xiè xie (thank you)”, there are still lots of other Chinese phrases that will do wonders for you. Today I will introduce a few popular polite Chinese phrases that will bring you convenience in your every day life in a mandarin speaking environment. See if you already know all of them?

1. 借过 jiè guò - “Please let me pass to the other side.” or “Excuse me ( I need to pass.)”

Literally it means “borrow to pass “. Isn’t it easy to memorize? Whenever you need to pass through people you can use this word.

2. 多谢 duō xiè – “Much appreciated.”

Literally it means “much appreciated “… Do I need to explain anymore? While 谢谢 xiè xie can do the job of expressing your gratitude, 多谢 duō xiè can do a even better job.

3. 抱歉 bào qiàn – “Sorry.”

Literally it means “hold apologies “. It’s a neater expression to express “you’re sorry” than 对不起 duì bu qǐ.

4. 不好意思 bù hǎo yì si - “Sorry, I am so silly to do this.”

Literally it means “not good meaning”. Well, definitely the literal translation is just too off. If you get familiar with this phrase, actually it could be very useful when you need to express all different kinds of apologies. The meaning of it is a bit more on blaming yourself than 抱歉 bào qiàn or 对不起 duì bu qǐ. Usually it shows you do realizing your mistakes and feel sorry for that (we’re talking about minor mistakes here.)

5. 恭喜恭喜 gōng xǐ gōng xǐ - “Congratulations!”

To congratulate people with their new achievements, promotion, no babies etc.

Feel free to share any “wonder Chinese words” you know that I haven’t mentioned here, thanks…