How to say please in Chinese: 請 (qǐng)
Please in Chinese is 請, written qǐng in pinyin and ㄑㄧㄥˇ in 注音. It is a third tone, which dips low before it rises, and it goes in front of a verb (請坐, please sit) rather than at the end of a sentence like English please.
Standard and spoken
Our native speaker recorded 請 twice: standard, slow and clear like a textbook, and spoken, at normal speed. Both lines are drawn on the same time scale.
In the standard recording, 請 starts in the upper middle of her voice, drops to the bottom, then rises to the top. That is the full third tone.
In the spoken recording, it still drops to the bottom, but the rise only comes back to the middle. The low part matters most; the rise is short.
Before another third tone, 請 rises instead: 請你 (qǐng nǐ) is said qíng nǐ.
The syllable
- 請Third tone. q is like ch in cheese with the tongue tip behind the lower teeth, ing like the end of sing. Go low, then lift.
Common mistakes
- Putting 請 at the end of the sentence, like English please.Put it before the verb: 請坐, 請等一下.
- Starting low and only rising, which sounds like a second tone.Drop first, then lift. The low part matters most.
- Saying q as an English k or kw.q is close to the ch in cheese, with the tongue tip low.
Common phrases and replies
- 請問excuse me, may I askThe polite way to start a question to a stranger.
- 請坐please sit down請 + a verb: please do this.
- 請進please come inAt a door, an office or a classroom.
- 麻煩你could you please…Softer than 請 when you ask a favour.
Taiwan and mainland
請 is used the same way in Taiwan and the mainland. 請 also means to treat someone: 我請你 (wǒ qǐng nǐ, said wó qǐng nǐ) means it's on me. For favours, 麻煩你 and 不好意思 are often more natural than 請.
Practise it out loud
Say it and see your pitch drawn over the recording.
The tone visualizer is free and needs no account.
Questions
Where does 請 go in a sentence?
Before the verb: 請說 (please say it), 請等一下 (please wait a moment). Putting it at the end, like English please, sounds wrong.
Is the q in qǐng like an English q?
No. It is close to the ch in cheese, made with the tongue tip low behind the lower teeth and a puff of air. There is no kw sound.
Do I have to say the full dip and rise?
Slowly and alone, yes. In normal speech the low part matters most and the rise is short. A 請 that starts low and only rises sounds like a second tone.