Simplified Chinese - Follow-Up Questions

你是什么意思

nǐ shì shénme yìsi?

What do you mean?

Meaning: What do you mean?

When to use: Use when you didn't understand something or need the speaker to explain their point more clearly.

Tip: Can sound blunt if said quickly; softer option: “你是说……？”

请说慢一点，可以吗？

qǐng shuō màn yìdiǎn, kěyǐ ma?

Can you speak more slowly, please?

Meaning: Can you speak more slowly, please?

When to use: Use when someone is speaking too fast and you need them to slow down to understand.

___怎么拼

___ zěnme pīn?

How do you spell ___?

Meaning: How do you spell ___?

When to use: Use when asking someone to spell an English word, a pinyin word, or a name; for asking how to write a Chinese character, say “___怎么写？”.

Tip: Beginners sometimes say this to ask about Chinese characters; use “怎么写？” for characters.

你能多说说___吗？

Nǐ néng duō shuōshuo ___ ma?

Can you tell me more about ___?

Meaning: Can you tell me more about ___?

When to use: Use to invite someone to expand on a topic or give more details; polite alternative: use 您.

后来呢

Hòulái ne?

What happened next?

Meaning: What happened next?

When to use: A short follow-up when someone is telling a story and you want the next event.

你为什么这么想？

Nǐ wèishénme zhème xiǎng?

Why do you think that?

Meaning: Why do you think that?

When to use: Use to ask someone to explain their reasoning or opinion in a neutral way.

你当时感觉怎么样？

Nǐ dāngshí gǎnjué zěnmeyàng?

How did you feel about it?

Meaning: How did you feel about it?

When to use: Ask about someone's emotions or reaction at the time something happened.

你呢

Nǐ ne?

What about you?

Meaning: What about you?

When to use: Use to return the same question to the other person; very common in casual conversation.

哪种___

nǎ zhǒng ___?

What kind of ___?

Meaning: What kind of ___?

When to use: Use to ask for a more specific type or category when someone mentions a general thing.

你说的是哪一个？

nǐ shuō de shì nǎ yí ge?

Which one are you talking about?

Meaning: Which one are you talking about?

When to use: Use to ask someone to identify a specific item or choice from several options.

那是什么时候

nà shì shénme shíhou?

When was that?

Meaning: When was that?

When to use: Use to ask when a previously mentioned event happened.

那是在哪儿发生的？

nà shì zài nǎr fāshēng de?

Where did that happen?

Meaning: Where did that happen?

When to use: Use to ask for the location of an event someone mentioned.

你当时和谁在一起？

nǐ dāngshí hé shéi zài yìqǐ?

Who were you with?

Meaning: Who were you with at the time?

When to use: Use to ask who else was involved or present during the event being described.