Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?

Study in the app →

Help improve this content. If something looks off, let us know →

Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 2 · Chapter 10

我们今天去吃饺子, 好吗? Let's go eat dumplings today, OK?

Wǒmen jīntiān qù chī jiǎozi, hǎo ma?

Four soft-confirmation question forms — append to a proposal to invite agreement: 好吗 (widest), 可以吗 (permission-flavoured), 行吗 (colloquial / casual), 怎么样 (opinion-asking). Also introduces the V+到 result-complement family (找到 / 看到 / 听到 / 见到).

我们今天去吃饺子, 好吗? — Let's go eat dumplings today, OK?

  1. 张天 zhōu, menjīntiānchījiǎo, hǎoma? Zhou Yu, let's go eat dumplings today, OK?
  2. 周雨 hǎo! xiǎngchī. zhǎodàojiālema? Yes! I want some too. Did you find that place?
  3. 张天 zhǎodàole. zàitiězhànpángbiān. Found it. Right next to the subway station.
  4. 周雨 hěnjìn. menzuòtiěguò, zěnmeyàng? Then it's close. Let's take the subway over — what do you think?
  5. 张天 hǎo, chū! Great, let's go!

不好意思, 我不行 — Sorry, I can't

  1. 大卫 zhāngtiān, bāngzhǎodàojiādiàn, ma? Zhang Tian, can you help me find that place?
  2. 张天 hǎosi, jīntiānxíng. Sorry, I can't today.
  3. 大卫 shìma? míngtiānne? Really? How about tomorrow?
  4. 张天 míngtiāndìng. tàiyǒushíjiān. Tomorrow's also not for sure. I don't really have time.
  5. 大卫 hǎo, yòng. zhǎo. OK, no need. I'll find it myself.

我们决定吧 — Let's decide

  1. 周雨 gāowén, menjīntiānjiādiàn, xíngma? Gao Wen, we'll go to that place today — that work?
  2. 高文 . tīngdàojiāhěncuò. OK. I heard that place is pretty good.
  3. 周雨 jiàndàowèile, xiǎng. I ran into David too — he also wants to go.
  4. 高文 menjuédìngba. sānrén. Then let's decide. The three of us go together.
  5. 周雨 hǎo. menchū! Great. Off we go!
汉字PinyinTừ loạiNghĩa
xíng adj./v. OK; it works (alternation with 好 / 可以 in soft-confirmation)
不行 bùxíng adj. not OK; can't (negative pair of 行)
不好意思 bù hǎo yìsi exp. sorry; excuse me — soft refusal / apology
不一定 bùyídìng adv. not necessarily; not for sure
不太 bùtài adv. not very (often softens an adjective in a negative direction)
不用 bùyòng adv. no need; don't bother
决定 juédìng v./n. decide; decision
找到 zhǎo//dào v. find — V+到 result complement (formal lesson Bk2)
看到 kàn//dào v. see; catch sight of — V+到 result complement
听到 tīng//dào v. hear — V+到 result complement
见到 jiàn//dào v. meet; encounter — V+到 result complement
汉字PinyinTừ loạiNghĩa
idea; intention (in 故意; closes the 心 cluster) 不好意思 bù hǎo yìsi — sorry; excuse me — soft refusal / apology故意 gùyì — on purpose; deliberately注意 zhùyì — pay attention; be careful
think; thought (in 意思) 不好意思 bù hǎo yìsi — sorry; excuse me — soft refusal / apology有意思 yǒu yìsi — interesting没意思 méi yìsi — not interesting; boring (pair with 有意思)
(in 可能 = possibly; possibility) 可能 kěnéng — possibly; possibility可能性 kěnéngxìng — possibility宁可 nìngkě — would rather
with; use (Level 1 revisit; in 以前 / 以后) 以前 yǐqián — before; in the past以后 yǐhòu — after; in the future所以 suǒyǐ — so; therefore
jué decide; resolutely (in 决定) 决定 juédìng — decide; decision

xíng / háng OK / can (xíng — chapter sense); a row / firm (háng, deferred) Viết

6 strokes left-right

jué decide; resolutely (in 决定) Viết

6 strokes left-right radical 冫

Phono-semantic compound: 冫 (ice / water radical) + 夬 (guài, phonetic). Original sense: "to break through / cut" — like splitting water. Modern senses: "decide / resolutely" — 决定 (decide), 决心 (determination), 决不 (definitely not). Pairs with 定 in 决定.

dìng set; settled (in 决定, 一定) Viết

8 strokes top-bottom radical 宀

Phono-semantic compound: 宀 (roof radical, "settled / secure") + 正 (zhèng, simplified to 疋). Original sense: "fixed / settled / at peace at home". Modern uses: 决定 (decide — "settle a choice"), 一定 (definitely — "fixed for sure"), 定时 (set time). The 宀 radical clusters 定 with 容 / 安 (ch5) — the "indoor / settled" group.

yòng use; need (Level 1 revisit; here as 不用 = "no need") Viết

5 strokes single-component

zhǎo look for; find Nhận biết

7 strokes left-right radical 扌

dào arrive (revisit ch8); also: V+到 result complement (this chapter) Nhận biết

8 strokes left-right

kàn look; see (Level 1 revisit; in 看到) Nhận biết

9 strokes top-bottom

tīng listen; hear (Level 1 revisit; in 听到) Nhận biết

7 strokes left-right

jiàn see; meet (Level 1 revisit; in 见到, 见面) Nhận biết

4 strokes single-component

not (Level 1 revisit; chapter heavy in 不 compounds: 不行 / 不一定 / 不太 / 不用 / 不好意思) Nhận biết

4 strokes single-component

tài too; very (Level 1 revisit; in 不太) Nhận biết

4 strokes single-component

好吗 / 可以吗 / 行吗 / 怎么样 — soft-confirmation questions 好吗 / 可以吗 / 行吗 / 怎么样 — soft-confirmation question tags

把"…, 好吗 / 可以吗 / 行吗 / 怎么样?"放在提议或者陈述的后面, 听起来像是请对方同意——比直接问"你同意吗?"温和。四个的语气有差别: (1) 好吗——最普通, 在朋友间常用。(2) 可以吗——带"得到允许"的意思。(3) 行吗——口语化, 有时显得急。(4) 怎么样——征求看法, 不只是 yes/no。注意: 前三个本身已经包含"吗", 不要再加"吗"; "怎么样"本身是疑问, 也不要加"吗".

Append "…, 好吗 / 可以吗 / 行吗 / 怎么样?" to a proposal or statement to invite the other person's agreement — softer than "你同意吗?" ("do you agree?"). The four forms differ in register: (1) 好吗 — neutral, friend-to-friend default. (2) 可以吗 — has a "may I have permission?" feel. (3) 行吗 — colloquial, sometimes mildly impatient. (4) 怎么样 — opinion-asking, not just yes/no — invites the other person to weigh in. CRITICAL: the first three already contain 吗 — don't add another 吗. 怎么样 is itself interrogative — also don't add 吗.

  • 我们今天去吃饺子, 好吗? Wǒmen jīntiān qù chī jiǎozi, hǎo ma? Let's go eat dumplings today, OK?
  • 你帮我找到那家, 可以吗? Nǐ bāng wǒ zhǎo dào nà jiā, kěyǐ ma? Can you help me find that place?
  • 我们坐地铁, 行吗? Wǒmen zuò dìtiě, xíng ma? We'll take the subway — that work?
  • 我们去那家店, 怎么样? Wǒmen qù nà jiā diàn, zěnmeyàng? Let's go to that place — what do you think?

轻声 — neutral-tone weak forms Neutral tone weak forms (light particles)

Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?

Study in the app →

Report an issue

Spotted an error or have a suggestion? Every report helps us improve this content.