Mandarin
Mandarin greetings lean polite first — the words set the tone, not the handshake. Direct requests in Mandarin often sound abrupt — rephrase through context. Every 成语 (chéngyǔ) packs four characters of imagery — short sayings that decorate speech. Mandarin absorbs English, Shanghainese, Cantonese — and a few words everyone knows.
Mandarin greetings lean polite first — the words set the tone, not the handshake.
你好！最近怎么样？
Hello! How have you been lately?
"Lately" (最近) softens the question — friends expect a real answer, not "fine".
Audio: 你好！最近怎么样？我很好。请多关照。
请多关照。
Please take care of me (going forward).
A standard after-introduction line — humble, polite, and still expected in business settings.
Audio: 你好！最近怎么样？我很好。请多关照。
Direct requests in Mandarin often sound abrupt — rephrase through context.
不好意思，借过一下。
Excuse me, may I pass by?
The polite "excuse me to pass" — 借过 (literally: lend me passage) lifts a busy sidewalk crossing.
Audio: 不好意思，借过一下。麻烦你，请。没关系，您先请。
您先请。
After you.
A small but expected gesture at doorways and checkout counters — 尊老 (respect elders) lives here.
Audio: 不好意思，借过一下。麻烦你，请。没关系，您先请。
Every 成语 (chéngyǔ) packs four characters of imagery — short sayings that decorate speech.
马马虎虎。
"Horse horse tiger tiger" — so-so.
Standard humble answer to 怎么样?; better than 不好 (bad), modest without being self-deprecating.
Audio: 马马虎虎。对牛弹琴。不见不散。
不见不散。
Don't leave until we meet — be there or be square.
Promise-of-arrival idiom used to seal plans; pun-friendly and very common on WeChat.
Audio: 马马虎虎。对牛弹琴。不见不散。
Mandarin absorbs English, Shanghainese, Cantonese — and a few words everyone knows.
给力 (gěilì)
Awesome, on point.
Originally Northeast Chinese internet slang; now mainstream and a bit dated but widely understood.
Audio: 给力！靠谱儿。哥们儿，约。
靠谱儿 (kàopǔr)
Reliable, trustworthy.
"Erhua" 儿 sound: very northern. Without it (靠谱) is the same meaning, less colloquial.
Audio: 给力！靠谱儿。哥们儿，约。
Living language
Mandarin module: call-and-response politeness, gesture-leads-language etiquette, idioms that rhyme with weather, and a younger slang that borrows from English.
The four big doors into a language — greetings, etiquette, idioms, and the words only locals know. Listen, read the transcript, then try it out loud.
Mandarin greetings lean polite first — the words set the tone, not the handshake.
TRANSCRIPT你好！最近怎么样？我很好。请多关照。
你好！最近怎么样？
Hello! How have you been lately?
— "Lately" (最近) softens the question — friends expect a real answer, not "fine".
请多关照。
Please take care of me (going forward).
— A standard after-introduction line — humble, polite, and still expected in business settings.
Direct requests in Mandarin often sound abrupt — rephrase through context.
TRANSCRIPT不好意思，借过一下。麻烦你，请。没关系，您先请。
不好意思，借过一下。
Excuse me, may I pass by?
— The polite "excuse me to pass" — 借过 (literally: lend me passage) lifts a busy sidewalk crossing.
您先请。
After you.
— A small but expected gesture at doorways and checkout counters — 尊老 (respect elders) lives here.
Every 成语 (chéngyǔ) packs four characters of imagery — short sayings that decorate speech.
TRANSCRIPT马马虎虎。对牛弹琴。不见不散。
马马虎虎。
"Horse horse tiger tiger" — so-so.
— Standard humble answer to 怎么样?; better than 不好 (bad), modest without being self-deprecating.
不见不散。
Don't leave until we meet — be there or be square.
— Promise-of-arrival idiom used to seal plans; pun-friendly and very common on WeChat.
Mandarin absorbs English, Shanghainese, Cantonese — and a few words everyone knows.
TRANSCRIPT给力！靠谱儿。哥们儿，约。
给力 (gěilì)
Awesome, on point.
— Originally Northeast Chinese internet slang; now mainstream and a bit dated but widely understood.
靠谱儿 (kàopǔr)
Reliable, trustworthy.
— "Erhua" 儿 sound: very northern. Without it (靠谱) is the same meaning, less colloquial.
Audio clips are starter recordings from the GlobalLingo demonstration catalog — 1 MP3 per section per language. Swap in studio-recorded clips by replacing files under /public/culture/<language>/; the page rebuilds without code changes.