You finished this day
Daily lessons · Day 25 of 90
When something goes wrong
Asking for help
Nobody wants this vocabulary and everybody should have it. These are short, clear lines that work when you are flustered and your grammar has left you.
Lost, or missing something
Short sentences. Clarity beats politeness here.
Why it works
帮我 plus a verb is the pattern for asking someone to do something for you: 帮我叫, call for me, 帮我看看, have a look for me. It is short, unambiguous and works with any verb, which makes it the single most useful construction on this page.
Not feeling right
Enough to be pointed at the right place.
Why it works
我不舒服 covers everything from a headache to something worse, which is exactly why it is the phrase to know. For anything specific, use a translation app and show the screen: guessing at medical vocabulary you half remember is worse than admitting you do not have the words. 附近有医院吗 is the day 7 pattern with a different noun in it, which is the point of learning a pattern rather than a phrase.
Buying time
Four lines for when you need a moment to think.
Why it works
Saying 我不知道 clearly is better than a vague noise, because it tells the other person to try a different approach instead of repeating the same sentence louder. The same goes for 我听不懂, which invites them to slow down rather than give up.
Keep your accommodation written in Chinese
The most useful thing in an emergency is the address of where you are staying, in characters, on paper as well as on your phone. A phone can run out of battery at the worst moment. A hotel business card in your pocket solves a lost evening, and any hotel will give you one at reception.
Carried over from earlier days
Say each one out loud before you look at the English.
Today’s words 12
Check yourself
8 questions. Get 6 right to finish the day.
What does 帮我 plus a verb mean?
- please do it for me
- help me to learn it
- I will help you
- I did it myself
Show the answer
please do it for me 帮我叫, call for me. It works with any verb.
Type I'm lost in pinyin.
Show the answer
wǒ mílù le 了 marks a change: you were not lost, now you are.
What does 不见了 mean?
- it has disappeared
- I cannot see
- do not look
- it is invisible
Show the answer
it has disappeared Literally not seen, plus 了 for the change.
Why is 我不舒服 a good phrase to know?
- it covers everything from mild to serious without needing specific vocabulary
- it is very precise
- it is formal
- it means you are fine
Show the answer
it covers everything from mild to serious without needing specific vocabulary For anything specific, show a translation on screen.
Which means where is the pharmacy?
- 药店在哪儿 yàodiàn zài nǎr
- 医院在哪儿 yīyuàn zài nǎr
- 哪儿有药店吗 nǎr yǒu yàodiàn ma
- 药店有哪儿 yàodiàn yǒu nǎr
Show the answer
药店在哪儿 yàodiàn zài nǎr 在 for location, and 哪儿 stays in the place slot.
Why say 我不知道 clearly rather than making a vague noise?
- it tells the other person to try a different approach
- it is more polite
- it ends the conversation
- it is grammatically required
Show the answer
it tells the other person to try a different approach Otherwise they repeat the same sentence louder.
What is the most useful thing to carry in an emergency?
- your address in Chinese characters, on paper
- a phrasebook
- a map in English
- a translation app only
Show the answer
your address in Chinese characters, on paper Phones run out of battery. A hotel card does not.
Type please wait a moment in pinyin.
Show the answer
qǐng děng yíxià 请 at the front, and 一下 softening the verb.
Question 1 of 8
Writing practice optional
Every character from today, in the order it came up. Watch it, trace it, then write it from memory.
Press Watch to see the stroke order.
Stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi via Hanzi Writer, Arphic Public License.
Character 1 of 41
This lesson is written by an English speaker who learned Mandarin as a second language, and it is waiting on a check by a native speaker. If you spot something off, please tell us and we will fix it.