 Very often we miss out on valuable speaking practice simply because we don’t make use of opportunities to start conversations with people in the first place. 1/ When you see someone you know (or “half-know”), a simple greeting can help set a positive tone and often naturally lead into a conversation. Here are three examples of casual greetings/expressions you could use: · 怎么样？ zěn me yàng ？How’s it going?/What’s up? · 你去哪儿？ nǐ qù nǎ er ？Where are you going? · 你吃过了吗？ nǐ chī guò le ma ？(Note: Though it literally means “Have you eaten?” it’s function as a greeting is very similar to that of the phrase “How are you?” in English.) Have you eaten? 2/ Now, if you run into a friend that you haven’t seen in a while, perhaps you’ll want to ask what’s new in their world (related to work, family, hobbies etc.)... These phrases are a good starting point for doing that: · 好久不见！hǎo jiǔ bú jiàn ！Long time no see! · 最近你在做什么？zuì jìn nǐ zài zuò shén me? What have you been up to lately? · 家人都好吧？jiā rén dōu hǎo ba ？How’s your family? · 你还在星巴克工作吗？nǐ hái zài xīng bā kè gōng zuò ma ？Are you still working at Starbucks? · 身体怎么样？shēn tǐ zěn me yàng ？How are you feeling? lit. “How’s your body?” (commonly used with elder people) 3/ In the office, there’s a number of ways to start talking to someone. Just consider the context and timing before dropping your conversation starter. Here are some questions you can use: · 你忙什么呢？nǐ máng shén me ne ？What are you working on? · 你今天工作顺利吗？nǐ jīn tiān gōng zuò shùn lì ma ？Is your work “going smoothly” today? · 你有几分钟的时间吗？nǐ yǒu jǐ fèn zhōng de shí jiān ma ？Do you have a few minutes? · 请问你对这个有什么想法？qǐng wèn nǐ duì zhè gè yǒu shén me xiǎng fǎ ？May I ask for your thoughts/opinion on this? · 你有听说新经理下周一开始上班吗？nǐ yǒu tīng shuō xīn jīng lǐ xià zhōu yī kāi shǐ shàng bān ma ？Did you hear that the new manager starts on Monday? · 你这个周末打算做什么？ nǐ zhè gè zhōu mò dǎ suàn zuò shén me ？(at the end of the week): Do you have any plans for the weekend? · 你的周末过得怎么样？nǐ de zhōu mò guò de zěn me yàng ？(at the beginning of the week): How was your weekend? |
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