Chinese word

麻烦你

Pronunciation

Pinyinmá fán nǐ

Meaning

  • verbplease

Example

麻烦你帮我拿一下这个包。má fán nǐ bāng wǒ ná yí xià zhè ge bāo

Please get this bag for me.

Illustration for 麻烦你 (please)

More examples

麻烦你把灯关掉。má fán nǐ bǎ dēng guān diào

Please turn off the light.

Core concept

A courteous bridge from recognizing another person's inconvenience to asking for a concrete favor.

Common phrases

  • 麻烦你说慢一点má fán nǐ shuō màn yì diǎn

    please speak more slowly

  • 麻烦你再说一遍má fán nǐ zài shuō yí biàn

    please say that again

  • 麻烦你把灯关掉má fán nǐ bǎ dēng guān diào

    please turn off the light

Similar words

请qǐng: Gently and politely asks for an action or favor.
帮忙bāng máng: Requests help with something that needs to be done.
拜托bài tuō: Uses a conversational and heartfelt way to ask for a favor.
劳驾láo jià: Serves as a courteous way to approach someone and ask for something.

Definition in Chinese

用在请求别人帮忙时的礼貌用语，表示承认会给对方带来不便并提出具体要求，常与动词短语或完整句子连用。yòng zài qǐng qiú bié rén bāng máng shí de lǐ mào yòng yǔ biǎo shì chéng rèn huì gěi duì fāng dài lái bú biàn bìng tí chū jù tǐ yāo qiú cháng yǔ dòng cí duán yǔ huò wán zhěng jù zi lián yòng

Word origin

The phrase 麻烦你 (máfánnǐ, "to trouble you") combines the idea of causing trouble with a reference to the person being asked, which made it a conventional opener for requests.

Usage tips

  • English speakers may hear the opening as an apology, but it normally introduces a request rather than reporting that a problem has already happened.

Other meanings

  • excuse meverb
  • could youverb

Related words

Word lists with this word