Basic Requests and Instructions | Learn Chinese in English

Sentence explanations

1. 请进来。

   Please come inside.

   请

   please

   进来

   come in

   More detail

   请 is a polite request marker. Here it softens the following action, so 请 + verb is a reusable way to make a polite request. Example: 请看。 — “Please look.” 进来 means “come in” or “come inside.” It combines 进 “enter” with 来 “come”; 来 indicates movement toward the relevant viewpoint or location. The opposite directional idea is 出去 “go out.” Example: 他进来了。 — “He came in.” Together, 请进来。 means “Please come inside.” The utterance politely requests that the listener move into the inside area. The following example, 请坐这里。, shows the same reusable 请 + verb request pattern with a different action.

2. 请坐这里。

   Please sit here.

   请

   please; a polite request marker

   坐

   sit

   这里

   here

   More detail

   请 appears at the beginning as a polite request marker. It makes the following action a courteous request; in this sentence, the fixed translation supports “please.” The same pattern is reusable: 请 + action, as in 请进来 (“please come inside”) and 请在这里等 (“please wait here”). 坐 means “sit” here and is the verb naming the requested action. Its basic form is 坐; Mandarin does not change this verb for person or number. Example: 请坐。 — “Please sit.” 这里 means “here,” referring to the location indicated in the situation. It is a location expression rather than a verb, and it can follow an action verb to specify where the action should happen. Example: 请在这里等。 — “Please wait here.” Together, 请 + 坐 + 这里 gives the meaning “Please sit here.” The request marker 请 makes 坐 courteous, while 这里 specifies the requested sitting location.

3. 请在这里等。

   Please wait here.

   请

   please; polite request marker

   在这里

   here; in this place

   等

   wait

   More detail

   请 marks a polite request. It commonly comes before the requested action, as in 请坐。 (“Please sit.”) and 请看。 (“Please look.”). It does not itself express a number or tense. 在这里 means “in this place” or simply “here.” 在 introduces a location, and 这里 is the location word “here.” The same location phrase can be reused with other actions: 请在这里坐。 means “Please sit here.” 等 is the verb “to wait.” In this sentence it is the action requested by 请. Example: 我在这里等。 means “I wait here” or, depending on context, “I’ll wait here.” Together, the pattern 请 + 在 + place + verb makes a polite request to perform an action at a location. Thus 请在这里等。 means “Please wait here.”

4. 请看这里。

   Please look here.

   请

   please; a polite request marker

   看

   look

   这里

   here

   More detail

   请 comes first. Here it politely marks a request or instruction: “please …”. It can introduce different actions, as in 请在这里等 (“Please wait here”) and 请认真听 (“Please listen carefully”). It does not itself name the action; the following verb does that. 看 means “look” or “look at” here. It is the basic verb, and this form does not show English-style tense or subject agreement. The same verb can be reused in requests such as 请看书 (“Please look at the book”). 这里 means “here”, referring to the relevant location near the speaker or at the indicated place. It is a location expression: 这 points to “this”, while 里 contributes the sense of “inside/place”; together, 这里 is used as the ordinary expression “here”. For contrast, 那里 means “there”, a location farther from the speaker or not treated as the current location. Together, 请 + 看 + 这里 forms a polite request: “Please look here.” The request is directed to the listener, but Chinese does not need an overt subject in this sentence. The same reusable pattern is 请 + verb + location or object, for example, 请看那里 means “Please look there.”

5. 请认真听。

   Please listen carefully.

   请

   please

   认真

   carefully; seriously

   听

   listen

   More detail

   请 is a polite request marker placed before the action. In this sentence, 请听 means “please listen.” It can also introduce other requests, as in 请看这里。 “Please look here.” and 请慢慢说。 “Please speak slowly.” 认真 means “carefully” or “seriously” here. It describes how the listening should be done and functions adverbially before the verb. A reusable pattern is 认真 + verb, for example: 请认真学习。 “Please study diligently.” 听 means “to listen” or “to hear,” and here it is the requested action: “listen.” It is a verb that does not change form for person or number. For example: 我听。 “I listen.” The order is 请 + 认真 + 听: 请 marks the polite request, 认真 specifies the manner, and 听 gives the action. Together, 请认真听。 means “Please listen carefully.”

6. 请慢慢说。

   Please speak slowly.

   请

   please

   慢慢

   slowly

   说

   speak

   More detail

   请 comes first as a polite request marker. In this sentence, it makes the following action a request: “please …”. A useful reusable pattern is 请 + action, as in 请坐。 — “Please sit.” Here, 请 does not itself identify who should perform the action. 慢慢 means “slowly” here and describes how the speaking should happen. It is the reduplicated form of 慢 (“slow”); 慢慢 is commonly used adverbially for a gradual or unhurried manner. For example, 请慢慢走。 means “Please walk slowly.” 说 is the verb “speak” or “say.” This form is the basic, non-past form; Chinese verbs do not change form for the speaker or listener. For example, 他说中文。 means “He speaks Chinese.” Together, 请 + 慢慢 + 说 forms a polite request meaning “Please speak slowly.” The adverb 慢慢 is placed before the verb 说 to specify the manner of speaking.