2.1: Lesson 1 Dialogue 1- Meeting People for the First Time

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Dialogue:

(Li Xiaopeng is a freshman at a university. Today is her first day at school. She meets Wang Gui on campus.)
Li Xiaopeng: 您好！我姓李，请问您贵姓？
Wang Gui: 你好！我姓王。
Li Xiaopeng: 王先生，您叫什么？
Wang Gui: 我叫王贵。李小姐，你呢？
Li Xiaopeng：我叫李小朋。很高兴认识您！
Wang Gui: 很高兴认识你！

One or more interactive elements has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view them online here: https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/chs101/?p=5#oembed-1

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/chs101/?p=5#h5p-2

Vocabulary:

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你	nǐ	pron., you
好	hǎo	adj., good, nice, kind
你好	nǐ hǎo	hello
您	nín	pron., a respectful way to say “you”
请	qĭng	v., to please
问	wèn	v., to ask
请问	qĭng wèn	a polite way to start a question, meaning “May I ask…”
贵	guì	adj., honorable, expensive
姓	xìng	v./n., to be surnamed; surname
贵姓	guìxìng	a polite way to ask for people’s surname
我	wǒ	pron., I/me
王	Wáng	Chinese surname
先生	xiānsheng	n., Mr.; gentleman; husband
王先生	Wáng xiānsheng	Mr. Wang
李	Lĭ	Chinese surname
小姐	xiăojiě	n., Miss, Madam
李小姐	Lĭ xiăojiě	Miss Li
叫	jiào	verb, to call or to be called
什么	shén me	question word, what
叫什么	jiào shén me	to be called what
小	xiǎo	adj., little, small
朋	péng	noun, friend as in 朋友
呢	ne	question particle, used after a noun or a pronoun to form a question
很	hěn	adv., very, very much
高兴	gāo xìng	adj., happy, glad, pleased
认识	rèn shi	verb, to know
很高兴认识你	hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nǐ	It’s a pleasure to meet you.

An interactive H5P element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here:
https://openbooks.lib.msu.edu/chs101/?p=5#h5p-1

Grammar Notes:

1. Greeting with 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello, literally “you good/well”):
   This expression is often used to greet people whom you meet for the first time. 您好 “nín hǎo” is the respectful form of “nǐ hǎo”—it’s used to express special respect for the addressee. It is typically used when meeting people more senior in age or status or when greeting customers. In such situations the reply is often simply 你好 or 您好.
2. The verb 姓 (xìng, to be called):
   This verb is used with the surname only, never with the first name or the first plus surname together. For example, 我姓李 literally “I am called Li by last name”, meaning “My last name is Li”.
3. How to use 贵姓 (guì xìng):
   贵姓 literally is “honorable surname”. 你/您贵姓 is a formal way to ask for somebody’s surname. Note: when answering such a question, just reply with “我姓 + surname”. For example, “您贵姓？” “我姓王。” Do not repeat “贵姓” in your reply.
4. Requesting politely with 请问 (qĭng wèn):
   In Chinese, the character 请 (similar to “please” in English) is used before verbs to indicate “politeness”. The structure is “请 + verb”. For example, 请听。(Please listen.) In this dialogue, the phrase 请问 (qǐngwèn) is a set expression meaning not “please ask”, but “may I ask”. It often occurs before a question to make polite requests for information. For instance, 请问您贵姓？(May I ask what your surname is?) In this sentence, 您贵姓 is the question that asks for surname, and 请问 is put before it to indicate that the speaker is being polite.
5. Chinese pronouns:
   The basic personal pronouns are:
   我(wǒ): I, me
   你 (nǐ): you
   他, 她, 它 (tā): he/him, she/her, it
   们 is added to the singular to form the equivalent plural pronoun:
   我们 (wǒ men): we/us
   你们 (nǐ men): you (plural)
   他们, 她们, 它们 (tā men): they/them
6. The verb 叫 (jiào, to be called):
   This verb can be followed by a given name or a full name. The structure is “subject + 叫 + bi-syllable given name or full name“. For example, 我叫王小名, literally “I am called Wang Xiaoming”.
7. Questions with 什么 (shén me, what):
   The question word 什么 can be used either as a modifier as in 什么名字 (shénme míngzì, what name) or as a pronoun as in 你叫什么, literally “you are called what?”, meaning “what is your name?”.
8. Questions with 呢 (ne):
   呢 is a question particle used to ask if a previous statement applies to the current situation too. For example: When somebody states 我姓王 (wǒ xìng wǎng, My last name is Wang), he/she may then continues with 你呢 (nǐ ne), meaning “what about you?”.
9. The sentence 很高兴认识你 (hěn gāo xìng rèn shí nǐ):
   It means “(I’m) glad to know you”. To respond to the statement, you can repeat 很高兴认识你 or 认识你很高兴 [literally: to know you (I’m) happy].
10. Word order of the Chinese question:
    Unlike the word order of the English question, the word order of the Chinese question is to keep the word order of the statement and then change the “asked part” to the corresponding question word (see the example below).

Culture Notes:

1. 您贵姓 is normally used in formal or business situations to show courtesy and respect. When responding to it, Chinese people normally respond with 免贵，姓… (miǎn guì xìng…), meaning “no need for the ‘honorable’, my last name is…”
2. Chinese surnames:
   王 and 李 are commonly used Chinese surnames. In this dialogue, 李小朋 is a typical Chinese name, with 李 being the surname preceding 小朋 the given name. Many Chinese surnames contain a single syllable/character. First names often have two syllables. There is a small number of very common surnames, including: 王 (wáng), 李 (lǐ), 张 (zhāng), 刘 (liú), 陈 (chén), 杨 (yáng), 黄 (huáng), 赵 (zhào), 吴 (wú), 周 (zhōu). Learn about most frequently used Chinese surnames here.
3. surname + 先生/小姐:
   When addressing someone in Chinese, it is polite to use personal titles like Mr., Mrs., Dr., etc. after the surname. So instead of saying Mr. Wang and Miss Li, Chinese people say 王先生 [wáng xiān sheng] and 李小姐[lĭ xiăo jiě] . To show respect, friends might use the terms “老 lăo” (old) and “小 xiăo” (young) before surnames to replace titles. For example, I might call a colleague who is older than me 老李. I might also call a friend who is younger than me 小王.
4. When you meet people of your parents’ age, it is polite to address them by using 叔叔 (shū shu, lit. uncle) and 阿姨 (ā yí, lit. aunt). If you know their surname, add it to the front. The pattern is: Surname + 叔叔/阿姨.
5. Greeting people in China:
   When Chinese people greet each other, they normally smile and nod their heads politely or bow slightly. The bow is from the shoulders and should be greater if the person you are greeting has a higher status. Influenced by the West, the Chinese also shake hands in formal situations, but the handshake tends to be lighter and longer than the Western handshake. In addition, always avoid bone-crunching handshakes, bear-hug greetings, kissing, and vigorous slaps on the back. Note: In China, always greet those who are older than you first. When you are introduced to a Chinese person, if you are seated, stand up from your seat to show your respect.