Learn to Respond Properly to Can You Speak Chinese

Be sure to practice your Mandarin Chinese every chance you get. With just a few words and phrases, you can have a simple conversation with a native speaker. Here are a few useful phrases to explain your level of Mandarin and whether you understand or not. Note that there is a difference between understanding spoken Mandarin (Ã¥  ¬Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦â€¡â€š; tÄ «ng dà © dÇ’ng) and written Chinese (çÅ"‹çš„懂; kà  n dà © dÇ’ng) – the difference between understanding the sound (Ã¥  ¬; tÄ «ng) and the sight (çÅ"‹; kà  n) of the language. Audio clips are marked with ââ€" º Level of Chinese When starting a conversation in Chinese, you may need to explain your level of Mandarin Chinese so that your conversation partner knows what to expect. Here are a few different ways to answer the question: do you speak Chinese? Do you speak Mandarin?ââ€" º NÇ  huà ¬ shuÃ…  ZhÃ… ngwà ©n ma?(trad) ä ½  Ã¦Å"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡åâ€"Ž?(simp) ä ½  Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å â€"?I speak Mandarin.ââ€" º WÇ’ huà ¬ shuÃ…  ZhÃ… ngwà ©n.(trad) 我æÅ"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡(simp) 我ä ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡I speak a little Mandarin.ââ€" º WÇ’ huà ¬ shuÃ…  yÄ «diÇŽndiÇŽn ZhÃ… ngwà ©n.(trad) 我æÅ"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸â‚¬Ã© »Å¾Ã© »Å¾Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡(simp) 我ä ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§â€š ¹Ã§â€š ¹Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡Yes, a little.ââ€" º Huà ¬, yÄ « diÇŽn diÇŽn.(trad) æÅ"Æ',ä ¸â‚¬Ã© »Å¾Ã© »Å¾(simp) ä ¼Å¡,ä ¸â‚¬Ã§â€š ¹Ã§â€š ¹Not very well.ââ€" º Bà º tà  i hÇŽo.ä ¸ Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¥ ¥ ½My Mandarin is not good.ââ€" º WÇ’ de ZhÃ… ngwà ©n bà ¹ hÇŽo.我的ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡ä ¸ Ã¥ ¥ ½I only know a few words.ââ€" º WÇ’ zhÇ  zhÄ «dao jÇ ge zà ¬.(trad) 我å  ªÃ§Å¸ ¥Ã© â€œÃ¥ ¹ ¾Ã¥â‚¬â€¹Ã¥ ­â€"(simp) 我å  ªÃ§Å¸ ¥Ã© â€œÃ¥â€¡  Ã¤ ¸ ªÃ¥ ­â€"My pronunciatio n is not very good.ââ€" º WÇ’ de fÄ yÄ «n bà ºshà ¬ hÄ›nhÇŽo.​(trad) 我的ç™ ¼Ã©Å¸ ³Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¥ ½(simp) 我的å â€˜Ã©Å¸ ³Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¥ ¾Ë†Ã¥ ¥ ½ Does Your Friend Speak Mandarin? If you are with another person, you may be to answer for them if they do not speak Chinese. For example: Does your friend speak Mandarin?ââ€" º NÇ  de pà ©ngyou huà ¬ shuÃ…  ZhÃ… ngwà ©n ma?(trad) ä ½  Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦Å"‹å â€¹Ã¦Å"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡åâ€"Ž?(simp) ä ½  Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¦Å"‹å â€¹Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å â€"?No, my friend doesn’t speak Mandarin.ââ€" º Bà º huà ¬, wÇ’ de pà ©ngyou bà º huà ¬ shuÃ…  ZhÃ… ngwà ©n.​(trad) ä ¸ Ã¦Å"Æ', 我的æÅ"‹å â€¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦Å"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡(simp) ä ¸ Ã¤ ¼Å¡, 我的æÅ"‹å â€¹Ã¤ ¸ Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡ Listening and Writing Comprehension Skills With these phrases, you can explain your level of Chinese beyond just speaking but also in terms in writing. Do you understand (spoken) Mandarin?ââ€" º NÇ  tÄ «ng dà © dÇ’ng ZhÃ… ngwà ©n ma?(trad) ä ½  Ã¨  ½Ã¥ ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡åâ€"Ž?(simp) ä ½  Ã¥  ¬Ã¥ ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å â€"?Do you understand (written) Mandarin?ââ€" º NÇ  kà  n dà © dÇ’ng ZhÃ… ngwà ©n ma?(trad) ä ½  Ã§Å"‹å ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡åâ€"Ž?(simp) ä ½  Ã§Å"‹å ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å â€"?I can speak Mandarin, but I can’t read it.ââ€" º WÇ’ huà ¬ shuÃ…  ZhÃ… ngwà ©n dà  nshà ¬ wÇ’ kà  n bà ¹dÇ’ng.(trad) 我æÅ"Æ'è ª ªÃ¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡ä ½â€ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã§Å"‹ä ¸ Ã¦â€¡â€š(simp) 我ä ¼Å¡Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡ä ½â€ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã§Å"‹ä ¸ Ã¦â€¡â€šI can read Chinese characters, but I can’t write them.ââ€" º WÇ’ kà  n dà © dÇ’ng ZhÃ… ngwà ©n zà ¬ dà  nshà ¬ wÇ’ bà º huà ¬ xiÄ›.(trad) 我çÅ"‹å ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å ­â€"ä ½â€ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦Å"Æ'Ã¥ ¯ «(simp) 我çÅ"‹å ¾â€"懂ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡å ­â€"ä ½â€ Ã¦Ëœ ¯Ã¦Ë†â€˜Ã¤ ¸ Ã¤ ¼Å¡Ã¥â€ â„¢ Do You Understand Me? Your conversation partner might check in from time to time to make sure youre understanding everything that is being said. If they are speaking too fast or inaudibly, here are some helpful phrases you can ask. Do you understand me?ââ€" º NÇ  tÄ «ng dà © dÇ’ng wÇ’ shuÃ…  shà ©nme ma?(trad) ä ½  Ã¨  ½Ã¥ ¾â€"懂我è ª ªÃ¤ »â‚¬Ã© º ¼Ã¥â€"Ž?(simp) ä ½  Ã¥  ¬Ã¥ ¾â€"懂我è ¯ ´Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†Ã¥ â€"?Yes, I can understand you.ââ€" º Shà ¬, wÇ’ tÄ «ng dà © dÇ’ng.(trad) æ˜ ¯, 我è  ½Ã¥ ¾â€"懂(simp) æ˜ ¯, 我å  ¬Ã¥ ¾â€"懂I can’t understand you very well.ââ€" º WÇ’ tÄ «ng bà º tà  i dÇ’ng nÇ  shuÃ…  shà ©nme.(trad) 我è  ½Ã¤ ¸ Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¦â€¡â€šÃ¤ ½  Ã¨ ª ªÃ¤ »â‚¬Ã© º ¼(simp) 我å  ¬Ã¤ ¸ Ã¥ ¤ ªÃ¦â€¡â€šÃ¤ ½  Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ »â‚¬Ã¤ ¹Ë†Please speak more slowly.ââ€" º QÇ ng shuÃ…  mà  n yÄ «diÇŽn.(trad) è «â€¹Ã¨ ª ªÃ¦â€¦ ¢Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã© »Å¾(simp) è ¯ ·Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¦â€¦ ¢Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã§â€š ¹Please repeat that.ââ€" º QÇ ng zà  i shuÃ…  yÄ «cà ¬.(trad) è «â€¹Ã¥â€  Ã¨ ª ªÃ¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¦ ¬ ¡(simp) è ¯ ·Ã¥â€  Ã¨ ¯ ´Ã¤ ¸â‚¬Ã¦ ¬ ¡I don’t understand.ââ€" º WÇ’ tÄ «ng bà º dÇ’ng.(trad) 我è  ½Ã¤ ¸  懂(simp) 我å  ¬Ã¤ ¸ Ã¦â€¡â€š Ask For Help Dont be shy! The best way to learn new words is to ask. If youre trying to convey an idea in a conversation but find that you cant, ask the person youre talking to if they can give it a try. Then, try and bring up that phrase again and again in future conversations; repetition is good practice for memorization. How do you say XXX in Mandarin?ââ€" ºXXX ZhÃ… ngwà ©n zÄ›nme shuÃ… ?(trad) XXX ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡æ€Žé º ¼Ã¨ ª ª?(simp) XXX ä ¸ ­Ã¦â€"‡æ€Žä ¹Ë†Ã¨ ¯ ´?