Traditional Chinese course

Lesson 157 of 240

New here? This is lesson 157 of a free 240-lesson Traditional Chinese course.

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The LINE misunderstanding in Traditional Chinese

Zhi-Ming asked for a file, and Maya sent it to the breakfast shop LINE group. At Banyan Breakfast, A-Li reads the message aloud, and the mix-up is suddenly public.

Learn how to notice you took someone the wrong way, say you meant something else, and check a detail like Wednesday. Then apologise, double-check, and smooth it over.

Zhi-Ming stays kind. A-Li's soy milk is still unfinished, and nobody treats the fortune slip as solved.

By the end of this lesson

Notice a misunderstanding in a chat, check what the other person meant, and fix it kindly.

  • 我是不是誤會你的意思了？Did I misunderstand what you meant?
  • 我說的是另一件事I was talking about something else.
  • 抱歉，我沒說清楚Sorry, I wasn't clear.
  • 你是指星期三嗎？Do you mean Wednesday?
  • 我再確認一下Let me double-check.
  • 沒事，我們講清楚就好It's okay, as long as we get it clear.

Scene — a mix-up on LINE

Maya sits at Banyan Breakfast with her phone open to LINE. Zhi-Ming is at the same table, still kind about a file that landed in the shop group.

A-Li reads the chat aloud from his two stools. The mix-up is ordinary; his soy milk stays unfinished, and the slip in the till is not a puzzle to solve today.

Maya, Zhi-Ming, and A-Li share a morning table at the breakfast shop, her phone open to a blurred chat while soy milk sits unfinished.

Learn — repairing a chat

These six lines help you catch a mix-up in a chat and fix it without heat.

Listen for 是不是 when you check your reading, and 就好 when you close the matter kindly.

  1. Maya looks up from her blurred phone as if she might have misunderstood.

    我是不是誤會你的意思了？

    Did I misunderstand what you meant?

    When to use it: Use this when you think you read their words the wrong way.

    是不是 turns your guess into a check, asking if that reading is right.

    Say it: 不 changes to second tone before 是 in 是不是.

  2. Zhi-Ming gently turns one palm aside at the breakfast table while Maya listens from the other side.

    我說的是另一件事

    I was talking about something else.

    When to use it: Use this to say you meant a different topic, not that one.

    另 points to another item, not the one just named.

    Say it: 一 changes to second tone before a fourth-tone measure word.

  3. Zhi-Ming leans forward with an open-handed apology while Maya sits back and receives it.

    抱歉，我沒說清楚

    Sorry, I wasn't clear.

    When to use it: Use this when your wording left the other person unsure.

    清楚 after 說 names the result you failed to reach.

  4. A-Li leans from a pair of stools toward Maya's blurred phone while Maya and Zhi-Ming stay still in different poses.

    你是指星期三嗎？

    Do you mean Wednesday?

    When to use it: Use this to check whether they mean Wednesday, not another day.

    是指 asks which thing they are pointing to.

  5. Maya hunches over her phone with both thumbs to double-check the chat while Zhi-Ming's hands wait still.

    我再確認一下

    Let me double-check.

    When to use it: Use this when you need a short pause to check the facts.

    一下 after the verb keeps the check brief and polite.

    Say it: 一 changes to second tone before the fourth-tone 下.

  6. Zhi-Ming eases back with an open palm of reassurance while Maya looks across the table, the mix-up settled.

    沒事，我們講清楚就好

    It's okay, as long as we get it clear.

    When to use it: Use this to ease the mood after you sort the mix-up out.

    就好 means getting this one thing clear is enough.

Story — the wrong group

Maya sent a file to the shop LINE group. Zhi-Ming is kind, and A-Li reads the chat out loud.

Listen for how they check Wednesday and talk the mix-up down.

  1. A-Li欸，群組裡面有一份檔案。Hey, there's a file in the group.
  2. Maya志明，有收到嗎？Zhi-Ming, did you get it?
  3. Zhi-Ming有，可是在早餐店群組。I got it, but it's in the breakfast-shop group.
  4. Maya啊，我傳錯了。Ah, I sent it to the wrong place.
  5. Zhi-Ming我請你把設計稿傳到工作群組。I asked you to send the design draft to the work group.
  6. Maya我以為是星期三的會議資料。I thought it was the Wednesday meeting file.
  7. Zhi-Ming我不是這個意思。That's not what I meant.
  8. Maya我是不是誤會你的意思了？Did I misunderstand what you meant?
  9. Zhi-Ming我說的是另一件事。I was talking about something else.
  10. Maya你是指星期三嗎？Do you mean Wednesday?
  11. Zhi-Ming不是，星期三是開會。No, Wednesday is the meeting.
  12. Maya那你要哪一份？Then which file do you want?
  13. Zhi-Ming要工作群組那份，抱歉，我沒說清楚。The one for the work group; sorry, I wasn't clear.
  14. Maya我再確認一下。Let me double-check.
  15. A-Li leans toward the phone and reads the filename aloud.
  16. A-Li檔案名稱有寫星期三。The filename has Wednesday written on it.
  17. Maya我改傳到工作群組。I'll send it to the work group instead.
  18. Zhi-Ming沒事，我們講清楚就好。It's okay, as long as we get it clear.
  19. A-Li豆漿還沒喝完。The soy milk still isn't finished.

Practice — notice and repair

Work through short drills on noticing a wrong reading, naming the other topic, and checking Wednesday.

After each answer, read why it fits, then say the line again.

0 of 10 done

  1. What does it mean?

    我是不是誤會你的意思了？

  2. What do you say?

    Zhi-Ming's message is vague about the day. Check whether he means Wednesday.

  3. Build the line

    Let me double-check.

    Tap the words in order.

  4. Fill the gap

    Sorry, I wasn't clear.

    抱歉，我沒說____

  5. What did you hear?

  6. Pick the reply

    Zhi-Ming says:

    我好像講得太亂了。

    I think I put it in a messy way.

    And you reply with:

  7. Swap the word

    They think you meant this file. Swap the word so you say it was another matter.

    我說的是____一件事

  8. Match the pairs

    Traditional Chinese

    我是不是誤會你的意思了？Drop the English here
    抱歉，我沒說清楚Drop the English here
    你是指星期三嗎？Drop the English here
    沒事，我們講清楚就好Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Traditional Chinese, or tap one and then the other.

  9. What do you say?

    They think you asked them to post in the shop group. Deny that reading of your words.

  10. Fill the gap

    Did you get it?

    有____嗎？

Say it — clear it up kindly

You play Maya at the breakfast table. Zhi-Ming has seen the file in the wrong chat, and A-Li is still listening.

Tap the microphone, say each line, and keep the tone kind as you fix the mix-up.

  1. Maya sent Wednesday's meeting file to the shop group, thinking that was the design draft Zhi-Ming wanted.
  2. Zhi-Ming我請你傳設計稿，星期三前要弄好。I asked you to send the design draft; please have it ready before Wednesday.
  3. Maya (you)Ask whether you read him the wrong way.

    我是不是誤會你的意思了？

    Did I misunderstand what you meant?

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

Traditional ChineseEnglish
我是不是誤會你的意思了？Did I misunderstand what you meant?
我說的是另一件事I was talking about something else.
抱歉，我沒說清楚Sorry, I wasn't clear.
你是指星期三嗎？Do you mean Wednesday?
我再確認一下Let me double-check.
沒事，我們講清楚就好It's okay, as long as we get it clear.
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Keep practicing with Yak Cards

Today's repair lines are in Yak Cards with more chat phrases for clearing up mix-ups.

Review a few cards after a tricky LINE thread so the kind phrasing comes back.

Open Yak Cards