8 ways to say "Excuse Me" in Chinese

In English, “Excuse Me” is often used when you get someone's attention in a polite way, interrupt someone, walk past someone, or tell someone you are leaving, etc. But how to say that phrase in Mandarin Chinese? Here you can learn the most practical words and phrases about “Excuse Me” that Chinese people often speak.

Interpretation

1. “请问(qǐng wèn)” is commonly used when you want to ask a question to a stranger in polite. You can add “不好意思(bù hǎo yì si), 麻烦一下(má fan yí xià) or “你(ní hǎo)” before “请问(qǐng wèn)”, that sounds more polite.

Examples

Qǐng
wèn
xiàn
zài
shì
diǎn
?
Excuse me, do you have the time?
hǎo
si
,
qǐng
wèn
suǒ
zài
li
?
Excuse me, where is the toilet?
fan
xià
,
qǐng
wèn
shū
guǎn
zài
li
?
Excuse me, could you tell me where is the library?
hǎo
,
xiǎng
wèn
xià
Zhāng
lǎo
shī
zài
ma
?
Excuse me, is teacher Zhang here?

2. Perhaps you want to apologize when you need to interrupt someone to ask for a favor, or excuse yourself from a conversation, in this situation, you should say “不好意思(bù hǎo yì si)”.

Examples

hǎo
si
,
néng
bāng
xià
shū
ma
?
Excuse me, would you kindly hold this book for me, please?
hǎo
si
,
jiē
ge
diàn
huà
.
Excuse me, I have to take this call.

3. If you have to push past someone in a crowded bus or elevator, you should say ”借过(jiè guò)”, “借过一下(jiè guò yí xià)”, or ”请让一下(qǐng ràng yí xià)“. If you are really in a hurry to run past someone, you can say “借过借过(jiè guò, jiè guò)”.

4. When you have to excuse yourself from a meeting or a meal for a moment, you can politely say “不好意思(bù hǎo yì si)”.

Examples

hǎo
si
,
shī
péi
xià
.
Excuse me, but I must be leaving now.
hǎo
si
,
yào
kāi
huìr
会儿
,
shàng
jiù
huí
lai
.
Excuse me, I have to leave, I will be right back.

5. Sometimes, maybe you do something wrong for carelessness, such as bump into someone or step on someone's foot, you should say “不好意思(bù hǎo yì si)”, “对不起(duì bu qǐ)”, or ”抱歉(bào qiàn)”.

6. It is polite to say “不好意思(bù hǎo yì si)” when you feel embarrassed about burping, sneezing loudly, or making a rude noise.

7. When you didn't hear clearly other's words and want he/she to repeat, you can say “什 么(shén me)”, ”请再说一遍(qǐng zài shuō yí biàn)”.

Examples

Shén
me
?
gāng
cái
méi
tīng
qīng
.
Pardon? I didn't catch that.
Zài
shuō
biàn
,
hǎo
ma
?
?
Could you say it again?

8. You can use “拜托(bài tuō)” or “喂(wèi)” when someone is scolding you or reprimanding you for something, that means “Don't be so harsh!” or “Please be more lenient with me.”

Example 1

 
A:
zěn
me
hái
zuò
fàn
?
Why haven't you cooked yet?
 
B:
Bài
tuō
,
gāng
dào
jiā
.
Give me a break, I'm just back home.

Example 2

 
A:
Kàn
tīng
nòng
de
luàn
zāo
de
!
What a mess you made the living room!
 
B:
Wèi
,
ma
,
shì
nòng
de
.
Come on, Mum, it's not me.

You can use ”得了吧(dé le ba)”, “算了吧(suàn le ba)”,”行了吧(xíng le ba)” when someone is bothering you, that means “Please”, “Come on”, or “Give me a break”.

Example

 
A:
ge
,
néng
gēn
wánr
玩儿
huìr
会儿
ma
?
?
Brother, can you play the game with me?
 
B:
Xíng
le
ba
,
bié
fán
la
!
hái
méi
yǒu
zuò
wán
zuò
ne
!
!
Come on, give me a break, I haven't finished my homework!

You can say ”得了吧(dé le ba)” when someone said something that sounds unbelievable or untrue.

Example

 
A:
jué
de
shéi
shì
men
bān
shang
zuì
piào
liang
de
háir
孩儿
?
?
Who is the prettiest girl in our class?
 
B:
jué
de
Xiǎo
zuì
piào
liang
.
I think Xiao Li is the prettiest girl.
 
A:
le
ba
!
Xiǎo
Líng
Xiǎo
Fāng
dōu
yào
piào
liang
!
Give me a break! Xiao ling and Xiao fang are prettier than her!

Vocabulary

请 问 [qǐng wèn]
 
may I ask
不 好 意 思 [bù hǎo yì si]
 
excuse me; sorry
打 扰 一 下 [dǎ rǎo yí xià]
 
excuse me; sorry to disturb
麻烦一下 [má fan yí xià]
 
excuse me; sorry to bother
借 过 [jiè guò]
 
excuse me
失 陪 [shī péi]
 
excuse me
什 么 [shén me]
 
what
拜 托 [bài tuō]
 
come on; give me a break
喂 [wèi]
 
hey
得了吧 [dé le ba]
 
come on; give me a break
算了吧 [suàn le ba]
 
come on; give me a break
行了吧 [xíng le ba]
 
come on; give me a break

Expansion

“一下(yí xià)”, literally means “give something a try”, it is a casual way to wish someone to take a little time to do something, or suggest someone doing something.

“一下(yí xià)” is commonly used after a verb, such as:

wèn
xià
 
to ask
kàn
xià
 
to look
tīng
xià
 
to listen
wén
xià
 
to smell
xià
 
to touch
shuō
xià
 
to speak
xià
 
to read
xiě
xià
 
to write
děng
xià
 
to wait
shì
xià
 
to try