Questions tagged [informal]
Questions about informal Chinese, e.g., casual talk between friends or relatives.
7
questions
0
votes
1answer
45 views
How to politely ask “What do you really mean?” [closed]
Every now and then in conversation it’s normal for us to have suspicions about the true intentions of a question, comment, proposal, etc., that someone says to us. Having some standard responses ready ...
2
votes
2answers
178 views
How do natives pronounce the 2nd tone in regular conversation? (Pitch levels: 35, 33, or 434?)
In the thread Do tones change at the end of an interrogative sentence?
, one of the answers asserts:
SCALE KEY: 1 (low) to 5 (high). So 55 is a high level tone, 51 is a falling tone, 35 is rising, ...
1
vote
1answer
64 views
What to reply to “祝你好运” (I wish you good luck)?
Does "祝你好运!" expect any "predefined" reply? Which one?
If not, what should be replied?
Would just "谢谢" be appropriate?
2
votes
1answer
187 views
Informal way of saying hello?
Is there a more informal way than the standard 你好 to say "hi" or "wazzup" when meeting friends or equal age people of the same age, or is 你好 always appropriate?
2
votes
4answers
394 views
How appropriate is “拜拜”?
How appropriate, in terms of casualness and/or childishness, is "拜拜"? Is it as childish as "Bye-bye" would be in English, or is it more acceptable?
In case location matters, I'm mainly interested in ...
6
votes
4answers
4k views
What is the rule for forming chinese names diminutives?
In alphabetical languages, diminutives are easily made by adding a suffix (e.g. -ito, -ino, -ine, which belong to some Romance languages) and sometimes contemporaneously changing the ending of the ...
11
votes
3answers
7k views
Is there an equivalent for the Cantonese phrase “M Goi”
The Cantonese phrase "M Goi" has many meanings:
"Excuse me"
"Thanks" (casual)
"Hey"
Does it have a 普通话 equivalent? And how can I write it in pinyin? Is it even possible?
