All About Me
Introducing yourself
In China, when people meet for the first time, they ask about surnames before first names. This shows respect.
nín guì xìng？/ 您 贵 姓 - May I know your name?
wǒ jiào ... / 我 叫 - My name is ...
nǐ zhù zài nǎ er？/ 你 住 在 哪 儿 - Where do you live?
wǒ zhù zài / 我 住 在 - I live in ...
... Yīng guó / 英 国 - ... England
... Wēi ' ěr shì / 威 尔 士 - ... Wales
... Sū gé lán / 苏 格 兰 - ... Scotland
... Ai ’ěr lán / 爱 尔 兰 - ... Ireland
Did you notice that only the names of countries start with a CAPITAL LETTER in pinyin?
Here are a couple of useful phrases you might need if the speaker talks too fast or you don’t catch what they say!
wǒ bù míng bái / 我 不 明 白 - I don't understand.
qǐng zài shuō yī biàn / 请 再 说 一 遍 - Repeat that, please.
qĭng shuō màn yī diăn er / 请 说 慢 一 点 儿 - Slower, please.
