4.8 Thanks, Apologies, and Small Talk — Epoché
What you will be able to do Thank somebody and answer a thank-you with one of the usual set phrases. Apologise and accept an apology, likewise. Make one remark about the weather, which is how a conversation is often opened. Leave, with three different closing formulas. Prerequisites : 4.1, which gives the greetings. Two pairs of phrases with set answers, a remark about the weather, and the closings. They are short, and you will use them every day; they are also the place where an English speaker over-applies a habit, which the section on differences deals with. Dialogue A A café. A customer (A) asks for the menu and orders; the waiter (B) brings it, and is slow with the coffee. A 麻烦给我菜单。 [1] — Could I see the menu, please? B 给你。 [2] — Here you are. A 谢谢。 [3] — Thank you. B 不客气。 [4] — You're welcome. A 我要咖啡，谢谢。 [5] — A coffee, please. B 对不起让你一直等。 [6] — Sorry to keep you waiting. A 没关系。 [7] — That's all right. Two pairs are in it. The answer to the thank-you is three characters, 不客气 , literally "don't be polite"; the answer to the apology is three as well, 没关系 , literally "there's no connection". Neither is composed fresh each time: they come back as automatically as you're welcome does in English. Notice also the first line: 麻烦 , "trouble", opens a request the way English opens one with could I or sorry to bother you , and 谢谢 at the end of the order does the work of English please . Dialogue B Two colleagues leaving work on a Friday, opening with the weather and closing with three formulas. A 今天很冷。 [8] — It's cold today. B 天气冷了。 [9] — It's getting cold. A 周末愉快。 [10] — Have a good weekend! B 你也是。 [11] — You too. A 下周见。 [12] — See you next week. B 再见！ [13] — Bye! The weather is a common opening between people who know each other slightly, as it is in English, and the remark is short. The three closings at the end — have a good weekend, see you next week, goodbye — finish with the most final of them. Saying It Another Way The two pairs again, with other answers that are just as ordinary. Chinese English When 谢谢。 [3] Thank you. the ordinary thank-you 不客气。 [4] You're welcome. the commonest answer to it 不用谢。 [14] Not at all. another answer: "no need to thank me" 不谢！ [15] Don't mention it! a shorter form of the one above 对不起。 [16] I'm sorry. the ordinary apology 没关系。 [7] That's all right. the commonest answer to it 没事儿。 [17] No problem. a more casual answer, from lesson 0.7 How This Differs from English The answers are set phrases. English gives you a wide choice — you're welcome , no problem , not at all , or just a smile. Chinese has a few set answers too, as the table above shows, and what matters is that one of them comes back. Learn each pair as two halves rather than as separate phrases. Thanks between close people. Thanking a close friend or a relative formally for a small, ordinary favour can sound distant in Chinese, because the formula belongs more to dealings with people you are not close to. Keep the full thank-you for real favours and for people outside the family. What the apology covers. The apology in this lesson is for something that actually put somebody out, such as keeping a customer waiting in Dialogue A. It can also be used to get somebody's attention, though for a question to a stranger 请问 from 3.1 is the usual opening. The weather is a real opening. A remark about the weather is not filler: it is a recognised way to begin a conversation with somebody you know slightly, and the reply is usually a short remark in kind, as in Dialogue B. Two lines and then the business. New words Word Meaning Notes 谢谢 zh xièxie （ 謝謝 ） xièxie verb / phrase · thank you Note for English speakers From 0.8. A doubled verb. Also usable with an object: thank you for the tea. At the end of a request it does the work of English please. 谢谢。 — Thank you. 不客气 zh bù kèqi （ 不客氣 ） bù kèqi phrase · you are welcome Note for English speakers From 3.1. Literally: don't be polite. The commonest answer to a thank-you. 不客气。 — You're welcome. 对不起 zh duìbuqǐ （ 對不起 ） duìbuqǐ phrase · sorry; excuse me Note for English speakers From 3.1. Both an apology and a way to get attention. 对不起。 — I'm sorry. 没关系 zh méiguānxi （ 沒關係 ） méiguānxi phrase · it does not matter Note for English speakers From 3.1. Literally: there's no connection. The commonest answer to an apology. 没关系。 — That's all right. 天气 zh tiānqì （ 天氣 ） tiānqì noun · weather Note for English speakers From 0.2. Sky plus air. 天气冷了。 — It's getting cold. 冷 zh lěng adjective · cold Note for English speakers From 2.13. Works like a verb: no word for "is" goes in front of it, so 'today very cold' is a whole sentence. 今天很冷。 — It's cold today. 热 zh rè （ 熱 ） rè adjective · hot Note for English speakers Of temperature, not of spice — that is the word in 3.4. 再见 zh zàijiàn （ 再見 ） zàijiàn phrase · goodbye Note for English speakers From 0.2. Again plus see. 再见！ — Bye! 愉快 zh yúkuài adjective · pleasant Note for English speakers From 4.6. In parting wishes: have a pleasant weekend. 周末愉快。 — Have a good weekend! 麻烦 zh máfan （ 麻煩 ） máfan noun / verb / adjective · trouble; to trouble somebody Note for English speakers Used where English says sorry to bother you or could I, and as a noun for trouble itself. 麻烦给我菜单。 — Could I see the menu, please? Practice Read it aloud. Read both dialogues aloud twice, once as each speaker. Complete the pairs. Write the Chinese answer to 谢谢。 and to 对不起。 , and then a second answer for each that is just as ordinary. Take the waiter's part. Cover B's lines in Dialogue A and write B's three lines in Chinese, in order, then uncover the dialogue and check. Where not to. Name two situations in which an English speaker would thank somebody and a Chinese speaker might not. Open with the weather. Write a remark in Chinese about today's weather, and a reply to it. Three closings. Write three ways to say goodbye in Chinese to a colleague on a Friday, from the least to the most final. Words coming back. Write a short sentence in Chinese with each of these words f