| If you've ever found yourself in a conversation in Chinese, overwhelmed by a flurry of words you don't quite understand, it's likely that you've instinctively fallen back on the phrase "听不懂 (tīng bù dǒng)"—meaning "I don't understand." And while it's certainly functional relying too heavily on this phrase can limit your progress and even discourage native speakers from engaging with you further. So, in part one of our article we move beyond “听不懂” and discover how to make your Chinese conversations more dynamic and engaging! Better Ways to Say "I Don't Understand" in Chinese Today, we'll explore some useful phrases for different scenarios where you might not understand, so you can sound more natural and keep the conversation going smoothly.  Scenario 1: When You Don’t Hear Someone Clearly Imagine you're on a crowded subway, and you can't hear your friend well. In such cases, you’ll need to politely ask for repetition. Here are some handy phrases: 不好意思！我没听清楚。(Bù hǎo yìsi! Wǒ méi tīng qīngchǔ.) "Excuse me, I didn't hear you clearly." 请再说一遍。(Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn.) "Please say that again." 你可以再说一遍吗？(Nǐ kěyǐ zài shuō yī biàn ma?) "Can you say that again?" 麻烦你再说一遍！(Máfan nǐ zài shuō yī biàn!) "Could you please say that again?" 什么？你刚刚说了什么？(Shénme? Nǐ gānggāng shuō le shénme?) "What? What did you just say?" (Note: This is more direct and less polite, so use it carefully!) Scenario 2: When Someone Speaks Too Fast Sometimes, it's not the volume but the speed of someone's speech that makes understanding difficult. Here are some useful phrases to ask someone to slow down: 你能再说慢点吗？(Nǐ néng zài shuō màn diǎn ma?) "Could you say that again more slowly?" 你可以说慢一点吗？(Nǐ kěyǐ shuō màn yīdiǎn ma?) "Could you speak a bit more slowly?" 请问，可以慢点说吗？(Qǐngwèn, kěyǐ màn diǎn shuō ma?) "Excuse me, could you speak more slowly?" 不好意思，你说得太快了。(Bù hǎoyìsi, nǐ shuō de tài kuài le.) "Sorry, you're speaking too fast." |
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