“Please” in Chinese: how to say it and how to write it
Please
“Please” in Chinese is 请, qǐng, roughly “ching”. It is a verb, “to ask, to request”, and it goes at the start of the sentence, before what you ask for: 请坐, “please sit down”. Where English tacks “please” onto the end — “a coffee, please” — Chinese either opens with 请 or doesn’t use it at all.
How to use 请: please + the action
请 comes first, then the verb: 请 and what the other person should do.
- 请坐qǐngzuòplease sit down
- 请进qǐngjìnplease come in
- 请问qǐngwènexcuse me, may I askbefore a question
请问 is literally “please let me ask”. It opens any question to a stranger: the way, the price, the time — the Chinese “excuse me, …”.
- 请再说一遍。qǐngzàishuōyíbiàncould you say that again, please?
- 请给我一杯水。qǐnggěiwǒyìbēishuǐa glass of water, please
- 请问，厕所在哪儿？qǐngwèn,cèsuǒzàinǎrexcuse me, where is the restroom?
请 is never the answer to “thank you”
In some languages the word for “please” also answers “thanks”. Not in Chinese: say 请 after 谢谢 and the other person hears “please…” and waits for the rest. The answer is “you’re welcome”:
- 不客气búkèqiyou’re welcome; literally “don’t stand on ceremony”
- 不用谢búyòngxièno need to thank me
- 没事méishìno problem, it’s nothing
不客气 is the neutral answer and always fits. 不用谢 is “there’s no need to thank me”. 没事 is the most casual, among friends. And answers an apology, not thanks. More on these on the page “You’re welcome in Chinese”, and on saying thanks — “Thank you in Chinese”.
How to ask politely without 请
In conversation 请 sounds rather formal — like a sign or an announcement. With people you know, Chinese asks more softly: with a question, or with 麻烦, “sorry to trouble you”.
- 你能帮我一下吗？nǐnéngbāngwǒyíxiàmacan you help me for a second?
- 你帮我拍一张，好吗？nǐbāngwǒpāiyìzhāng,hǎomacould you take a picture of me?
- 麻烦你帮我开一下门。máfannǐbāngwǒkāiyíxiàménwould you mind opening the door for me?
Three things do the work of “please” here: at the start, 一下 (“once, for a moment”) after the verb, and 好吗 (“OK?”) at the end.
请 also means “to invite” and “to treat”
请 has a second meaning: “to invite, to treat someone”. is literally “to invite a guest”. When someone at a restaurant says , they are not asking for anything — they are picking up the bill.
Common mistakes
The first is putting 请 at the end, the English way: “water, please” is 请给我一杯水, with 请 up front. The second is answering 谢谢 with 请. The third is saying 请 when you hand something over. “Here you go” is 给你 (gěi nǐ), “to you”. And the sound: the q in qǐng is like the “ch” in “cheese” with a puff of air, and the tone is the third, low. Don’t make it rise like a question.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say “please” in Chinese?
“Please” in Chinese is 请, in pinyin qǐng.
How do you pronounce 请?
请 is read qǐng. The marks over the vowels are the tones: each syllable has its own melody, so listen to the recording on this page and repeat it.
How do you write “please” in Chinese characters?
请 is 1 character. What each one means and how the phrase is put together is explained on this page.
What does 请 mean?
请 (qǐng) means “please”.
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