Communication Skills

🗣️ Practical Conversations: Communication Skills in Chinese

Imagine you’re a traveler with a magic phrase book. Each page unlocks a new way to connect with people. Today, we’re opening eight magical pages that help you share your thoughts, feelings, and curiosity in Chinese!

🎯 What You’ll Learn

Think of communication like painting. You need different brushes for different strokes:

• Expressing Views – Sharing what you think
• Likes and Dislikes – Telling people what makes you happy or sad
• Certainty – Being sure or unsure about something
• Surprise and Regret – Reacting to unexpected news
• Polite Communication – Being kind with words
• Asking for Clarification – When you don’t understand
• Describing People – Painting word pictures of friends
• Describing Places and Objects – Making things come alive with words

1️⃣ Expressing Views (表达观点)

The Story

Imagine you’re at a table with friends. Everyone shares their favorite ice cream flavor. You say, “I think chocolate is the best!” That’s expressing a view!

Key Phrases

Example Conversation

👧 小美: 你觉得这部电影怎么样？ (Nǐ juéde zhè bù diànyǐng zěnmeyàng?) What do you think of this movie?

👦 小明: 我觉得很有意思！ (Wǒ juéde hěn yǒu yìsi!) I think it’s very interesting!

💡 Pro Tip

• 我觉得 (wǒ juéde) is softer, like “I feel”
• 我认为 (wǒ rènwéi) is stronger, like “I firmly believe”

2️⃣ Expressing Likes and Dislikes (表达喜好)

The Story

You walk into a candy store. Your eyes light up at gummy bears but you make a face at licorice. Your face already shows likes and dislikes! Now let’s say it in Chinese.

Key Phrases

Strength Ladder

graph TD
    A["我爱 - I love"] --> B["我很喜欢 - I really like"]
    B --> C["我喜欢 - I like"]
    C --> D[我不喜欢 - I don't like]
    D --> E["我讨厌 - I hate"]

Example Conversation

👧 妈妈: 你喜欢吃什么？ (Nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme?) What do you like to eat?

👦 小明: 我喜欢吃苹果，但我不喜欢吃香蕉。 (Wǒ xǐhuan chī píngguǒ, dàn wǒ bù xǐhuan chī xiāngjiāo.) I like eating apples, but I don’t like eating bananas.

3️⃣ Expressing Certainty (表达确定性)

The Story

Imagine you’re a weather reporter. Sometimes you KNOW it will rain (100% sure). Sometimes you GUESS it might rain (maybe sure). Chinese has special words for both!

Certainty Scale

Example Sentences

✅ 他一定会来。 (Tā yídìng huì lái.) He will definitely come.

🤔 他可能会来。 (Tā kěnéng huì lái.) He might come.

❌ 他不可能来。 (Tā bù kěnéng lái.) He can’t possibly come.

4️⃣ Expressing Surprise and Regret (表达惊讶和遗憾)

The Story

Your friend tells you they won the lottery! 😲 That’s SURPRISE! Then you realize you forgot to buy a ticket too… 😔 That’s REGRET!

Surprise Phrases

Regret Phrases

Example Dialogue

👧 小美: 我考试得了100分！ (Wǒ kǎoshì dé le yì bǎi fēn!) I got 100 on my test!

👦 小明: 真的吗？太棒了！ (Zhēn de ma? Tài bàng le!) Really? That’s amazing!

👧 小美: 可惜你没参加这次考试。 (Kěxī nǐ méi cānjiā zhè cì kǎoshì.) Too bad you didn’t take this test.

👦 小明: 真遗憾！ (Zhēn yíhàn!) What a shame!

5️⃣ Polite Communication (礼貌用语)

The Story

Magic words open doors! “Please” and “Thank you” are like keys that make everyone smile. In Chinese, being polite is SUPER important!

Essential Polite Phrases

Polite Request Formula

请 + verb + object
(qǐng)

Examples

🙏 请帮我一下。 (Qǐng bāng wǒ yíxià.) Please help me.

🙏 请问，洗手间在哪里？ (Qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ?) Excuse me, where is the bathroom?

🙏 麻烦你了。 (Máfan nǐ le.) Sorry to trouble you.

6️⃣ Asking for Clarification (请求澄清)

The Story

Imagine someone speaks really fast and you miss some words. Don’t panic! Ask them to repeat or explain. It’s totally okay and very smart!

Key Clarification Phrases

Example Conversation

👦 小明: 这个词是什么意思？ (Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi?) What does this word mean?

👩‍🏫 老师: “努力"的意思是"to work hard”。 (“Nǔlì” de yìsi shì “to work hard”.) “努力” means “to work hard.”

👦 小明: 请再说一遍，好吗？ (Qǐng zài shuō yí biàn, hǎo ma?) Please say it again, okay?

7️⃣ Describing People (描述人物)

The Story

If someone asks about your best friend, how do you paint a picture with words? Let’s learn to describe how people look and what they’re like inside!

Appearance Words (外表)

Personality Words (性格)

Description Pattern

他/她 + 很/非常 + adjective
(Tā)  (hěn/fēicháng)

Example

👧 我的朋友叫小美。她很高，有长头发和大眼睛。她非常友好和聪明。 (Wǒ de péngyou jiào Xiǎoměi. Tā hěn gāo, yǒu cháng tóufa hé dà yǎnjing. Tā fēicháng yǒuhǎo hé cōngming.) My friend is called Xiaomei. She is tall, has long hair and big eyes. She is very friendly and smart.

8️⃣ Describing Places and Objects (描述地点和物品)

The Story

Close your eyes. Imagine your favorite room. Now describe it so someone else can see it too! That’s the magic of descriptive words.

Location Words

Descriptive Adjectives

Example Descriptions

Describing a Place:

🏠 我的房间很小但很干净。床在窗户旁边。桌子上有一台电脑。 (Wǒ de fángjiān hěn xiǎo dàn hěn gānjìng. Chuáng zài chuānghù pángbiān. Zhuōzi shàng yǒu yì tái diànnǎo.) My room is small but clean. The bed is next to the window. There’s a computer on the desk.

Describing an Object:

📱 这是我的新手机。它是黑色的，很薄，非常漂亮。 (Zhè shì wǒ de xīn shǒujī. Tā shì hēisè de, hěn báo, fēicháng piàoliang.) This is my new phone. It’s black, very thin, and very beautiful.

🌟 Quick Reference Summary

graph TD
    A["Communication Skills"] --> B["Views"]
    A --> C["Likes/Dislikes"]
    A --> D["Certainty"]
    A --> E["Surprise/Regret"]
    A --> F["Polite Words"]
    A --> G["Clarification"]
    A --> H["Describe People"]
    A --> I["Describe Places"]

    B --> B1["我觉得/我认为"]
    C --> C1["喜欢/不喜欢/讨厌"]
    D --> D1["一定/可能/也许"]
    E --> E1["真的吗/真可惜"]
    F --> F1["请/谢谢/对不起"]
    G --> G1["什么意思/再说一遍"]
    H --> H1["高/矮/友好/聪明"]
    I --> I1["大/小/在...旁边"]

🎉 You Did It!

You’ve just learned 8 powerful communication tools in Chinese! Remember:

1. Practice daily – Use one phrase each day
2. Don’t fear mistakes – They help you learn!
3. Listen and repeat – Copy native speakers
4. Have fun – Communication is about connection!

Now go out and 说中文！ (shuō Zhōngwén!) – Speak Chinese!