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How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese: All You Need to Know

Learning how to introduce yourself in Chinese is definitely the very first skill that you’ll need in order to make a great first impression to win over new Chinese friends .

Sure, if you’ve ever done a Chinese language course, you’ve probably spent a considerable amount of time learning how to introduce yourself in Chinese. But if you were to meet a Chinese for the first time at this very moment, would you be prepared to speak about yourself in a natural, convincing way? Probably not.

Let’s face it. You have to deal with awkwardness, nervousness, and shyness. Not to mention that the pressure feels much higher when you’re supposed to introduce yourself in a foreign language like Chinese. But fear not! This article will help you get off to a good start with your new Chinese friends, associates, and acquaintances by hitting all the introduction marks and coming up with neat sentences for your very first Chinese self-introduction.

Table of Contents

How to introduce yourself in chinese – an overview.

In Chinese, a self-introduction is called 自我介绍 (zìwǒ jièshào) . In theory, introducing yourself in Chinese should be quite simple as it’s not too different from how you would introduce yourself in any other language: you start with hello, say your name, and then tell people a little bit about yourself.

In practice, however, there are certain cultural differences and unique concepts you need to be aware of when introducing yourself in Chinese. Since you only get one shot at making a first impression, it’s important to learn how to do it right.

We’ll start by teaching you the three-piece basic Chinese self-introduction, then cultural subtleties, and finally a ton of extra introductory phrases you can use to talk about yourself when you first meet a Chinese speaker, whether the encounter is social, educational, or strictly business. These simple but powerful phrases will boost your Chinese-speaking skills and give you confidence in your early Chinese conversations. 

So, read on to learn all the essential steps to a perfect Chinese self-introduction.  

Basic Self-introduction  in Chinese

Chinese introductions are pretty straightforward on a basic level, so keep it simple: smile, extend a hand, and respond appropriately to the person you’re meeting or the one you’re being introduced to.

Here’s the 3-step Chinese introduction method that will get you through most situations. You can learn it right away.

1. Start with a Greeting – “Hello” in Chinese

First thing first: greetings. They are how almost any conversation in Chinese will start.

This is true – whether you’re meeting a Chinese person for the first or the hundredth time – you’ll want to use an appropriate greeting to start off the conversation on the right foot!

你好 (Nǐ hǎo)

A basic, middle-of-the-road greeting in Chinese is  你好 (Nǐ hǎo) . 你 (nǐ) means “you”, and 好 (hǎo) means “good”, so this expression literally translates to “you good”. Both of the syllables in this word should be pronounced using the third tones, with the first one slightly faster than the latter. You can use this well-wish at any time of the day, and it’s almost as universal as the English “hi” or “hello.”

If you don’t know how to read Pinyin (the standard Romanization of Chinese) yet, You can read our guide here to learn the basics of Pinyin .

您好 (Nín  hǎo )

A more formal version of “hello” in Chinese is 您好 (Nín hǎo) . When respect is called for, replace the 你 (nǐ) – “you” in 你好 (Nǐ hǎo) with its honorific form 您 (nín) to help you sound humble and polite. (This polite form is particularly common in Beijing)

Now, before discussing other essential phrases, it’ll be helpful to know the basic rule of thumb when to use 您 (nín) over 你 (nǐ) in Chinese .

• When talking to  family, friends, or colleagues , you’re expected to use the informal 你 (nǐ). And in casual social situations, it’s perfectly acceptable to use 你 (nǐ) right away to address people near your age – even if they are strangers .
• When you’re introducing yourself to someone who’s older or has higher social status than you (e.g. teacher, manager, officer), use the honorific form of “you” instead and say 您 (nín). You also need to use the formal form of address with people you’re in a professional relationship with , such as your business partners, clients, or customers.
• When you’re in doubt, start with the honorific form – 您 (nín) and don’t take the initiative to break the relationship out of 您 (nín). You can switch to 你 (nǐ) when the other person tells you to address him/her otherwise.

And don’t worry, Chinese people are aware that the cultural nuance could be quite tricky for foreigners, so they always accept the use of 你 (nǐ) with no grudges!

大家好 (Dà jiā hǎo )

Both 你 (nǐ) and 您 (nín) are singular only – they can’t be used to address more than one person.

If you’re greeting a group of people – it doesn’t matter what your relationship is – say 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo) . This is a polite Chinese equivalent of “hello everyone” (literally, “everyone good”).

Time word + 好 ( hǎo )

You could also choose your greeting according to the time . Though less common, it’s totally fine to replace the fitting pronouns with a time word depending on the time of the day before the word 好 (hǎo).

For instance, you may say 早上好 (Zǎoshang hǎo )  – “morning good” for the morning, 下午好 (Xiàwǔ hǎo )  – “afternoon good” for the afternoon and 晚上好 (Wǎnshang hǎo )  – “evening good” for the evening. You could also say 晚安 ( Wǎn’ān )  – “evening peace”, but that’s generally used to say goodbye when it’s late at night or when you’re heading to bed.

Lastly, if you’re talking to someone on the phone, answer or greet them with 喂 (Wèi) – “hello”. In other contexts, however, 喂 (Wèi) is a pretty rude way of getting people’s attention.

To learn about all the ways you can greet people in Chinese, check out our guide to  Saying “Hello” in Chinese: 21 Chinese Greetings to Sound like a Native Speaker .

2. Introduce Your Name – “My name is …” in Chinese

While you might not want to further your conversations with street vendors or restaurant waiters, meeting a local in a cafe or a fellow guest in your hotel is a great place to make a Chinese friend.

“What’s your name?”  is the first question you can expect to hear when meeting someone for the first time. There are several ways to ask it in Chinese.

The most common question you’ll get is 你叫什么？ (Nǐ jiào shénme) . This translates to “You are called what?” and is considered rather informal.

A slightly more formal version of this question is 你叫什么名字？( Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi )  – “You are called what name?”. Alternatively, they’ll ask  你的名字叫什么？(Nǐ de míngzi jiào shénme)  – “Your name is called what?”.

If you hear any of these questions, it means the person wants to know your name – 名字 (míngzi), although you can’t really be sure if the person wants to know your full name or just your first name.

我叫… (Wǒ jiào …)

The typical way to answer “What’s your name” in Chinese is to begin your sentence with 我叫… (Wǒ jiào …)  – “I am called…” and then say your name.  It’s fine to answer with either your full name or your first name.

In return, it’s always polite to ask for the other person’s name. You could repeat the question or simply ask 你呢？(nǐ ne)  – “and you?” for informal situations or 您呢？(nín ne)  – “and you?” for formal situations after you’ve introduced your name. This is a quick way to return the question that you’ve just been asked. (Read more about “ bounce-back questions ”)

我的名字叫… (Wǒ de míngzi jiào …)

Once you’re feeling confident, you may expand the sentence a bit. To do so, simply replace the 我 (wǒ) – “I” in 我叫… (Wǒ jiào …) with the phrase 我的名字 (wǒ de míngzi)  – “my name”. This adds a formal element to your name introduction.

And again, you have the option to include your full name or just your first name in the answer, depending on the formality of the meeting.

我是… (Wǒ shì …)

You could also say  我是   (Wǒ shì)  and then state your name in response to “What’s your name?” in Chinese. 是 (shì) is the verb “to be”, so it’s like saying “I am…” in English. Although this method may be a slightly less common way of introducing yourself in Chinese, it’s still perfectly acceptable and is easier to learn.

我的名字是… (Wǒ de míngzi shì …)

The last method may be the most straightforward way of introducing your name for those who speak English as a first language: You can say 我的名字是… (Wǒ de míngzi shì …)  followed by your name. This is the exact equivalent to the English “My name is…”.

When answering “What’s your name?” or when you’re the one initiating the conversation, you can introduce yourself in Chinese by using any of the four expressions above. And whichever expression you use, don’t be afraid to sound silly. You’ll be understood by following our directions, and in nearly any Chinese-speaking area even the feeblest attempts to speak Chinese will be appreciated!

Your Name in Chinese Most Chinese people will have a hard time pronouncing a foreign name. If you haven’t picked a Chinese name yet, follow our guide to give yourself a Chinese-sounding name, or you can transliterate your name into Chinese to help them pronounce and remember your name better. For instance, instead of introducing yourself as “Elijah”, you could ask them to call you 伊利亚 (Yī lì yà). Read our full guide to learn how to say your name in Chinese .

我姓… (Wǒ  xìng  …)

Now, here’s an interesting fact:

Chinese people generally don’t refer to each other by their first name unless they’re close. To address those who they don’t know well or in a hierarchically higher position, the person’s family name or job title is often used. For instance,

• 李先生 (Lǐ xiānsheng) – Mr Li
• 张经理 (Zhāng jīnglǐ) – Manager Zhang
• 王老师 (Wáng lǎoshī) – Teacher Wang

Admittedly, you’ll be less likely to get asked about your family name being a foreigner, if it does come up, however, someone may ask 您贵姓？(Nín guì xìng)  – “(What’s) your noble family name?”, or in informal contexts:  你姓什么？(Nǐ xìng shénme)  – “You’re surnamed what?”. This means the speaker wants to learn your last name – 姓 (xìng), specifically.

To respond to these questions, begin your answer with 我姓… (Wǒ xìng …)  – “My surname is…” (literally, “I am surnamed”), then state your last name.

3. Express Pleasure to Meet Them – “Nice to meet you” in Chinese

Once you’ve exchanged your names info and shaken hands, it’s a good idea to follow it up with “nice to meet you”. The most universal way to express pleasure upon meeting someone  in Chinese is to say 很高兴认识你 (H ěn gāoxìng rènsh i  nǐ ) .

In this expression, 很 (hěn) means “very”, 高兴 (gāoxìng) means “glad”, and 认识 (rènshi) means “to know or to be acquainted with someone”. So the sentence translates to “Very glad (to) know you” or something similar to “Very glad (to) make your acquaintance”.

Watch out for the pronoun use here. To say “nice to meet you” to a senior person or someone important, switch to the honorific pronoun 您 (nín) and say 很高兴认识您 (H ěn gāoxìng rènsh i  nín ) . And when you’re addressing a group of people – 很高兴认识大家 (H ěn gāoxìng rènshi d àjiā ) .  

If someone says “glad to meet you” ahead of you, you can simply respond 我也是 (wǒ yě shì)  – “I am (glad) too” (literally, “I also am”) to indicate that you’re pleased to meet them too.

Of course, there are a handful of ways to end an introduction politely in Chinese, which I will teach you in a later section. But for most situations, you can just stick to 很高兴认识你/您/大家 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ/nín/dàjiā).

Chinese Self-introductions in a Nutshell

• The most common and simple way to introduce yourself in Chinese is to say “我叫 (Wǒ jiào)” followed by your name.
• Alternatives include “我的名字叫 (Wǒ de míngzi jiào)”, “我是 (Wǒ shì)” or “我的名字是 (Wǒ de míngzi shì)” followed by your name.
• “你好 (Nǐ hǎo)” can be used for either “hi” or “hello.” When respect is called for, use “您好 (Nín hǎo)”. When introducing yourself to a group of people, greet them with 大家好 (Dàjiā hǎo).
• Conclude your self-introduction in Chinese with “很高兴认识你/您/大家 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ/nín/dàjiā)”.    

Basic Chinese Introduction Examples

• 你好, 我叫威廉, 很高兴认识你。 Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Wēi lián, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. Hi, my name is William. Nice to meet you.
• 您好, 我的名字叫爱丽丝, 很高兴认识您。 Nín hǎo, wǒ de míngzi jiào Ài lì sī, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín. Hello, my name is Alice. Nice to meet you (honorific).
• 大家好, 我是詹姆斯·布雷迪, 很高兴认识大家。 Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Zhān mǔ sī · Bù léi dí , hěn gāoxìng rènshi dàjiā. Hello everybody, I am James Brady. Nice to meet you all.

Chinese Etiquette to Introduce Yourself

It’s great to know the phrases to say when introducing yourself in Chinese, but how you say those phrases will make or break your self-introduction.

There are cultural differences to be aware of. They’re subtle, so if you miss them, it probably won’t be counted against you as a foreigner. But paying attention to details like these can give you an extra social edge when you first meet a new Chinese friend.

Read the Context

To establish a good rapport from the very beginning, you should learn the typical Chinese introduction phrases, and understand how to adapt the tone and content of the introduction according to the person you’re meeting, whether it’s a social or a professional encounter, a casual or formal setting.

So, choose the version of the Chinese introduction wisely ! Use the correct phrases to eliminate the awkwardness that sometimes happens when people meet for the first time.  If you’re unsure, lean toward formality . You can always ease into a more laid-back approach after the ice is broken.

Be Friendly

Be friendly in any situation. You can show through your gestures that you’re glad to meet them. 

Unlike Japanese and Koreans, Chinese people never bow when meeting someone. Eye contact, a firm handshake, a smile, and a few standard phrases will be enough. (And please, no hugs or kisses!)

One thing you do have to take note of is the order of the handshake – there are some strict conventional rules. Don’t move in for the handshake if you are meeting ladies and people in a higher position of authority or age. Instead, wait for them to reach out first. But if you’re meeting your peers, you don’t have to worry about who reaches out first (generally, whoever reaches out first is considered more polite).

And if you are not sure when to extend your hand, you can just hold it and let your conversation partner take the initiative. Sometimes a simple nod of the head will show that you acknowledge the other person and that you’re happy to make their acquaintance.

Address Properly

In China, people either introduce themselves by their family names or full names. Chinese family names are typically one character /syllable in length and easily recognizable. You can also take cues from the expression 我姓… (Wǒ xìng …) – “My surname is …” which is specifically used to introduce one’s family name.

If someone only tells you their family name, it means they are not ready to be your friends yet and would prefer you to address them by their family name + title (e.g. Mr. Wang, Professor Li, Engineer Zhou, etc). So don’t ask for their first name – it’s considered rude in Chinese culture .

When Chinese people volunteer their full name, the family name comes first and the first name comes second. 

If you have a Chinese name, it’s customary to introduce your full name because your Chinese family name is – let’s get real – not your real family name. For example, if your Chinese name is 安龙 (Ān lóng), you should introduce yourself as 安龙 (Ān lóng), not Mr 安 (Ān) or just 龙 (Lóng). If your name is transliterated from English, however, you don’t need to change the order of names.

People with experience of living in the West would sometimes reverse the Chinese name order when interacting in English to conform to the common Western practice. If you are not sure whether a switch has been made when you meet Chinese people and they introduce themselves by full names, it’s perfectly acceptable to ask which of their names is their family name or their given name.

Beyond the Basics – Talking about Yourself in Chinese

You nailed the initial three pieces of the Chinese self-introduction. Great job!

Now you’ve said 你好, 我叫… (Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào …) – “Hello, my name is …”, and you’ve smiled, nodded, shaken hands, and expressed delight about meeting your new Chinese friends or associates, you’re ready to take the conversation to the next level!

From here we get into the fun stuff. You can start adding information about yourself, using short sentences that explain where you’re from, what you do, what you like, and so on.

Sharing basic information about you will help people get to know you better when you first introduce yourself. This is especially valuable as you start to make more Chinese-speaking friends and acquaintances.

Here are some sentences you can use to tell more about yourself in Chinese.

1. Introducing Where You Are from

Being a foreigner in China always sparks the imagination of the Chinese. It’s a good idea to let people know where you’re from as the next step of your Chinese self-introduction. Even if you don’t use it during the initial self-intro, your new Chinese friend will probably ask you anyway, so memorizing a few of these phrases is extremely useful.

There are a few ways to ask “where are you from?” in Chinese.

If you hear 你是哪个国家的？(Nǐ shì nǎ gè guójiā de)  – literally, “You are of which country?” or 你是哪国人？(Nǐ shì nǎ guó rén)  – “You are which country person?”, this means the person wants to know your country of origin.

我是…人 (Wǒ shì … rén )

The usual answer to questions about your country of origin is 我是…人 (Wǒ shì … rén ) – I come from … (literally, “I am … person”).  

Simply start the sentence with 我是 (Wǒ shì) , say the name of your country, and add the word 人 (rén)  – “person” afterward.

For example,

• 我是 美国 人。 Wǒ shì Měiguó rén. I am from America. Literally, “I am America person.” 
• 我是 加拿大 人。 Wǒ shì  Jiānádà  rén. I am from Canada. Literally, “I am Canada person.”

Not sure how to say your country in Chinese? Practice with our complete list of country names written out in Chinese (plus abbreviations) .

You may also get asked 你是哪里人？(Nǐ shì nǎli rén)  – literally, “You are where person?” or 你来自哪里？(Nǐ lái zì nǎli)  – “You come from where?” These questions are similar to the English “where are you from?”.

You may still respond with your country of origin, but you’re welcome to name your city, state, or prefecture as well if it’s a major or well-known one like Paris or California. To do so, simply substitute the name of the specific place for the country.  

• 我是 巴黎 人。 Wǒ shì Bālí rén. I am from Paris. Literally, “I am Paris person.”
• 我是 加利福尼亚 人。 Wǒ shì Jiālìfúníyà rén. I am from California. Literally, “I am California person.”

我来自…  (Wǒ lái zì   …)

You can also phrase your answer as 我来自  (Wǒ lái zì)  – “I come from” and the name of the place. It sounds slightly more formal than the 我是…人 (Wǒ shì … rén) structure, but English speakers might find it easier to remember.

• 我来自 法国 。 Wǒ lái zì Fǎguó . I come from France.
• 我来自 巴黎 。 Wǒ lái zì Bālí . I come from Paris.
• 我来自 美国 。 Wǒ lái zì Měiguó . I come from America.
• 我来自 加利福尼亚 。 Wǒ lái zì Jiālìfúníyà . I come from California.

Don’t forget to ask the same questions in return or simply ask 你呢？(nǐ ne) or 您呢 (nín ne) – “and you?” to keep the conversation going.

If you are American, one of the most common questions you’ll get asked from curious Chinese people is which US state you’re from. You can learn how to say your state in Chinese here.

2. Introducing Where You Live

Now that your new Chinese friends know where you’re from originally, they may want to know some additional information about your current status. For example, where you live at the moment.

If they are interested in your current place of residence, they might ask you 你住在哪里？(Nǐ zhù zài nǎli)  or 你住在哪儿？(Nǐ zhù zài  nǎr )  – literally “You live in where?”.

Both 哪里 (nǎli) and 哪儿  (nǎr) mean “where”, with 哪儿  (nǎr) used more often in northern China. You can navigate your way around China town or any place in China easily with this question word. Learn more Survival Chinese .

我住在… (W ǒ zhù zài  …)

The best way to answer the question is to say 我住在 (W ǒ zhù zài )  – “I live in” and the name of the city or region where you live.

• 我住在 伦敦 。 Wǒ zhù zài Lúndūn . I live in London.
• 我住在 北京 。 Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng . I live in Beijing.

If you want to tell people you were born or grew up in one place, but live in another, you can use the conjunction 但 (dàn)  – “but” to connect the two sentences, like

• 我是英国人, 但 我住在澳大利亚。 Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén , dàn  wǒ zhù zài Àodàlìyà. I am British, but I live in Australia.
• 我来自纽约, 但 我住在得克萨斯. Wǒ lái zì Niǔyuē , dàn  wǒ zhù zài Dékèsàsī. I am from New York, but I live in Texas.

3. Introducing Your Age  

As in many parts of the world, asking someone about their age is generally considered impolite in China, especially if you’re a man asking a woman her age. Nevertheless, you can volunteer your age when introducing yourself in Chinese, and your conversation partner will probably do the same.

我…岁 (Wǒ … suì)

Here’s how you would say how old you are in Chinese: start with the pronoun 我 (wǒ) – “I”, followed by the number of your age, and end with 岁 (suì) , which means “years of age”.

For example:

• 我 二十五 岁。 Wǒ èr shí wǔ suì. I am twenty-five years old. Literally, “I twenty-five years of age.”

To tell people your age, simply substitute the number that corresponds to your age in the orange font.

You’ll notice that in English, you use the verb “to be” (am) when describing how old you are (and in some languages, you use the verb “to have”). In Chinese, however, you must drop the verb entirely and connect the subject directly with the age . So, it’s like saying “I ___ years old.” Read more about the topic-comment structure in Chinese .

Okay, to fully introduce yourself in Chinese and state your age, you’ll need to know Chinese numbers. You can follow our complete tutorial here to learn the Chinese numeral system .

At some point, you might still need to ask “how old are you?” in Chinese. And the way you compose this question should be dependent on the age of the person you’re talking to.

To ask about a kid’s age in Chinese, simply say   你几岁？(Nǐ jǐ suì?)  

But for inquiring about an adult’s age in Chinese, you should say 你多少岁？(Nǐ duōshǎo suì)  or 您多少岁？(Nín duōshǎo  suì)  – if you want to show an extra level of respect.

Both 几 (jǐ) and 多少 (duōshǎo) are Chinese question words for numbers. So all these questions translate to “You, what number years of age?”, literally. The difference is that 几 (jǐ) is reserved for small numbers, while 多少 (duōshǎo) is used to inquire about big numbers.

As with many expressions in Chinese, there are a few more ways to inquire about a person’s age. You can follow our complete guide here to learn the various ways of saying and asking age in Chinese .

4. Introducing Your Profession 

The Chinese love talking about jobs and careers. It’s not uncommon for people to ask about each other’s profession during Chinese introductions, especially if it’s a social encounter where people are doing networking.

Some of the first and most common conversations you’ll have in Chinese will require you to answer the question 你是做什么的？(Nǐ shì zuò  shénme de ) , which roughly translates to “what is that you do?” or “what do you do for a living?”

Another way to approach this subject is to ask  你在哪里工作？( Nǐ zài nǎlǐ gōngzuò ) , or more colloquially  你在哪里上班？( Nǐ zài nǎlǐ shàngbān ) , both of which mean “where do you work?” 

When answering these questions with your profession or telling someone about your job, there are a few structures you can use.

我是一名… ( Wǒ shì yì míng …)

This is the most common way to say what you do in Chinese: start the sentence with 我是一名 ( Wǒ shì yì míng) , which means “I am a”, and then add your profession or job at the end of the sentence.

• 我是一名 医生 。 Wǒ shì yì míng  yīshēng . I am a doctor.
• 我是一名 律师 。 Wǒ shì yì míng  lǜshī . I am a lawyer.
• 我是一名 工程师 。 Wǒ shì yì míng  gōngchéngshī . I am an engineer.

If you are a student, you can say

• 我是一名 学生 。 Wǒ shì yì míng  xuésheng . I am a student.

Keep in mind that you need to add a measure word between a number (a/one) and a noun in Chinese. And the best measure word for professions in this context is 名 (míng) . For example, you wouldn’t just say 一医生 (yì yīshēng) for “a doctor”, you would say 一名医生 (yì míng yīshēng), which translates to “a [measure word] doctor”.

A quick grammar usage note: like some languages, you can drop “a” (一名 [yì míng]) before the job in Chinese sometimes and just say 我是 (Wǒ shì) + profession (e.g. 我是医生 [Wǒ shì yīshēng]), however, this does not sound natural to Chinese people when you introduce your profession. So better slip 一名 (yì míng) in the middle of the sentence!

我在…工作/上班 (Wǒ zài … gōngzuò /shàng bān )

To tell your conversation partner about the company, institution or location where you’re currently employed, you’ll say  我在…工作 (Wǒ zài … gōngzuò )  or 我在…上班 (Wǒ zài … shàng bān ) . Both 工作 (gōngzuò) and 上班 (shàngbān) mean “work” in Chinese (工作 [gōngzuò] is slightly more formal), so these expressions are the Chinese equivalents of “I work at/in …”.

• 我在 银行 工作。 Wǒ zài yínháng  gōngzuò. I work in a bank.
• 我在 欧莱雅 上班。 Wǒ zài Ōu lái yǎ shàngbān. I work at L’Oréal.

Remember to substitute the name of your workplace in the orange font. 

我在…上学/读书 ( Wǒ zài  … shàngxué / dúshū )

Students can say where they’re studying by swapping out “work” – 工作 (gōngzuò) or 上班 (shàngbān) with “study” – 上学 ( shàngxué )  or more colloquially 读书 ( dúshū ) .

• 我在 北京大学 上学。 Wǒ zài Běijīng dàxué  shàngxué. I am studying at Peking University.
• 我在 纽约大学 读书。 Wǒ zài Niǔyuē dàxué  dúshū. I am studying at New York University.

See? One easy switch and you’re ready to tell people about your education situation.

Lastly, to say you’re a freelancer, say 我是自由职业 (Wǒ shì zìyóu zhíyè) . And if you’re unemployed, say 我没有工作 (Wǒ méiyǒu gōngzuò)  – “I don’t have a job”. Or if you’re currently looking for a job – 我正在找工作 (Wǒ zhèng zài zhǎo gōngzuò) .

Since “What’s your job?” is a question you might get asked all the time in China, it’s a great idea to memorize the name of your profession in Chinese before embarking on your Chinese conversation journey. That way, you won’t get flustered when it comes up!

To understand what your new friend does for a living, you’ll want to have a solid vocabulary base of Chinese professions. You can practice the names of popular professions in Chinese with our guide here.

5. Introducing Your Family

Family is yet another evergreen small talk topic that you should be prepared to address when introducing yourself in Chinese.

But before learning how to introduce your family, you should know that family is so important in Chinese culture that Chinese has a specific word for almost every family relationship. For example, elder brother and younger brother.

So here’s some key relationship vocabulary.

In China, asking about a person’s family shows a desire to understand the person better. You may get asked if you have any brothers or sisters:

• 你有兄弟姐妹吗？ Nǐ yǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi ma? Do you have any siblings? Literally, “You have brothers (and) sisters ma?”

or how many brothers or sisters you have:

• 你有几个兄弟姐妹？ Nǐ yǒu jǐ gè xiōngdì jiěmèi? How many siblings do you have? Literally, “You have how many brothers (and) sisters?”

我有 (Wǒ yǒu) + number + 个  (gè)  + relationship

To say how many brothers and sisters you have, use the structure 我有 (Wǒ yǒu) + number + 个  (gè)  + relationship , which can be translated as “I have however many of a certain type of relationship”. For instance,

• 我有 一 个 哥哥 。 Wǒ yǒu  yí  gè  gēge . I have an elder brother.
• 我有 两 个 妹妹 。 Wǒ yǒu  liǎng  gè  mèimei . I have two younger sisters.

Here, 有 (yǒu)  is the “have” in Chinese used to express possession, and 个 (gè)  is the measure word for counting people.

To connect multiple relationships, you can use the conjunction 和 ( hé )  – “and”.

• 我有一个哥哥 和 两个妹妹。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè gēge  hé  liǎng gè mèimei. I have an elder brother and two younger sisters.

And if you don’t have siblings, you can say

• 我没有兄弟姐妹。 Wǒ méiyǒu xiōngdì jiěmèi. I don’t have siblings.

To say that you don’t have someone (or something), simply start your sentence with 我没有(Wǒ méiyǒu) . 没 (méi) is the negation word for “have” in Chinese. (Read more about how to express possession in Chinese )

or you can say

• 我是独生子女。 Wǒ shì dú shēng zǐnǚ. I am an only child.

You may also get asked if you’re married in some situations.

• 你结婚了吗？ Nǐ jiéhūn le ma? Are you married?

To say that you’re married, say 我结婚了 (Wǒ  jiéhūn le )  – “I am married”. And if you’re not,  我还没结婚 (Wǒ  hái méi jiéhūn )  – literally, “I still haven’t married”, or  我单身 (Wǒ dān shēn )  – “I (am) single.”

If you’re currently dating someone, you can use the sibling sentence structure.

• 我有一个女朋友。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè nǚ péngyou. I have a girlfriend.
• 我有一个男朋友。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè nán péngyou. I have a boyfriend.

You can also use the sibling sentence structure to talk about your children if you have any.

• 我有三个孩子。 Wǒ yǒu sān gè háizi. I have three kids.
• 我有一个儿子和两个女儿。 Wǒ yǒu yí gè érzi hé liǎng gè nǚ’ér. I have a son and two daughters.

You can even introduce your four-legged family members using this structure. Just make sure to change the measure word 个 (gè), which is reserved for people, to appropriate measure words for animals, for example, 只 ( zhī ) for cats  and 条 ( tiáo ) for dogs .

• 我有两 只 猫。 Wǒ yǒu liǎng  zhī  māo. I have two cats.
• 我有三 条 狗。 Wǒ yǒu sān tiáo  gǒu. I have three dogs.

A quick grammar tip: Mandarin has two words for the number “two”: 二 (èr) and 两 (liǎng). When it comes to counting people and objects, always use 两 (liǎng). For example, to say “two kids”, you would say “两个孩子 (liǎng gè háizi)”, not “二个孩子 (èr gè háizi)”. Read more about when to use 两 (liǎng) over 二 (èr) .

6. Talking about Your Languages 

Since you’re introducing yourself in Chinese, your new Chinese friends will likely be interested in finding out how you’ve learned their native language and what led you to take it up.

First, you may get asked, “how long have you been learning the Chinese language?”.

In Chinese, this question may sound something like 你学了多久中文？ (Nǐ xué  le duō jiǔ  Z hōngwén )  – literally, “You’ve learned how long time Chinese?” or  你汉语学了多长时间 ？(Nǐ Hàn yǔ xué le duō cháng shíjiān )  – “You, Chinese learned how long time?”

我学了 (Wǒ xué  le ) + time duration + 中文 (Z hōngwén )/汉语 (H ànyǔ )

To respond, say 我学了 (Wǒ xué  le ) – “I’ve learned” first, followed by the time duration and then the word 中文 (Z hōngwén )  or 汉语 (H ànyǔ )  – “Chinese”.

• 我学了 三个月 中文。 Wǒ xué le  sān gè yuè  Zhōngwén. I’ve been learning Chinese for three months.
• 我学了 半年 汉语。 Wǒ xué le  bàn nián Hànyǔ. I’ve been learning Chinese for half a year.

In Chinese, several words are used to refer to “the Chinese language”. The word 汉语 (Hànyǔ) means the language of Han Chinese people (the largest ethnic group in China that comprises approximately 92% of its population), in contrast with the languages of the non-Han Chinese peoples in China (e.g. Tibetan , Uyghur , etc). 汉语 (Hànyǔ) is, therefore, the accurate, scientific term for the language. However, the most popular term for the Chinese language is 中文 (Zhōngwén), which translates to “China language”, literally.

If you can respond to the first question, chances are you’ll also be asked  你在哪里学的中文/汉语 ？(Nǐ zài n ǎlǐ xué de Zh ōngwén/ H ànyǔ )  – “Where did you learn Chinese?” (literally, “You in where learned Chinese”)

我在…学的中文/汉语 (W ǒ zài  …  xué de  Z hōngwén /H ànyǔ )

To reply to this question, simply swap out the question word 哪里 (nǎlǐ) – “where” in the question with the name of the place, like

• 我在 北京 学的中文。 Wǒ zài Běijīng xué de Zhōngwén. I learned Chinese in Beijing.
• 我在 学校 学的中文。 Wǒ zài xuéxiào  xué de Zhōngwén. I learned Chinese at school.
• 我在 网上 学的汉语。 Wǒ zài wǎng shàng  xué de Hànyǔ. I learned Chinese online.

People might also ask you “why are you learning Chinese?” – 你为什么学中文/汉语？(N ǐ wèi shénme xué Zh ōngwén /H ànyǔ ).

To prepare to answer the question, take a look at these common examples:

我学中文/汉语是因为… (W ǒ xué Zh ōngwén /H ànyǔ shì yīnwèi  …) – “ (The reason) I learn Chinese is because … ”

• 我喜欢中国文化。 Wǒ xǐhuan Zhōngguó wénhuà. I like Chinese culture.
• 我想去中国工作。 Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó gōngzuò. I want to work in China.
• 我的女朋友是中国人。 Wǒ de nǚ péngyǒu shì Zhōngguó rén. My girlfriend is Chinese.
• 我的爸爸来自中国。 Wǒ de bàba lái zì Zhōngguó. My dad comes from China.

You will see more examples of how to talk about what you like, what you want, as well as introducing other people in the following sections, so don’t stress if you don’t get it yet!

Lastly, you might get asked 你会说哪些语言？ (Nǐ huì shuō nǎxiē yǔyán)  – “What languages do you speak?” (literally, “You can speak which languages?”)

我会说 (Wǒ huì shuō)

To answer, you can say 我会说 (Wǒ  huì shuō )  – “I can speak”, and then the names of the languages. Remember to use the conjunction 和 (hé) – “and” for linking multiple languages.

• 我会说 英语 , 法语 , 和 西班牙语 。 Wǒ huì shuō  Yīngyǔ ,  Fǎyǔ , hé  Xībānyáyǔ . I can speak English, French, and Spanish.

You can also say what languages you’re studying by saying  我正在学… (W ǒ zhèng zài xué  …)  – “I am studying …”. For example, as a Chinese learner, you could say 

• 我会说 英语 和 法语 , 我正在学 中文 。 Wǒ huì shuō  Yīngyǔ  hé  Fǎyǔ , wǒ zhèng zài xué  Zhōngwén . I speak English and French, (and) I am learning Chinese.

7. Talking about Your Interests and Hobbies 

Hobbies might not be the first topic you’ll touch upon when you introduce yourself in Chinese, but it’s certainly the most extensive one. Once you’re past the basics and need something interesting to talk about, you can share your passions to inspire further conversation.

Two common ways to ask someone about their hobbies in Chinese are

• 你平时喜欢做什么？ Nǐ píngshí xǐhuan zuò shénme? What do you like to do in your free time? Literally, “You ordinary time like to do what?”
• 你的爱好是什么？ Nǐ de àihào shì shénme? What’s your hobby? Literally, “Your hobby is what?”

我喜欢… ( Wǒ xǐhu a n  …)

You can answer the questions or speak about your hobbies and interests in various ways, but the easiest one is the expression 我喜欢… ( Wǒ xǐhu a n  …)  – “I like” and then list a noun or a verb.

Here’s a bunch of examples.

• 我喜欢 足球 。 Wǒ xǐhuan zúqiú . I like football.
• 我喜欢 旅行 。 Wǒ xǐhuan lǚxíng . I like traveling.
• 我喜欢 看小说 。 Wǒ xǐhuan  kàn xiǎoshuō . I like reading novels.
• 我喜欢 学外语 。 Wǒ xǐhuan xué wàiyǔ . I like learning foreign languages.

Useful Chinese Words and Phrases Related to Hobbies

Even if you don’t think of your interests as “hobbies,” you can describe them as such anyway.

我的爱好是… ( Wǒ de àihào shì  …)

Alternatively, you can say 我的爱好是 ( Wǒ de àihào shì )  – “My hobby is” then name a noun/verb or two.

• 我的爱好是 钓鱼 。 Wǒ de àihào shì diàoyú . My hobby is fishing.
• 我的爱好是 跑步 和 骑行 。 Wǒ de àihào shì  pǎobù  hé  qíxíng . My hobbies are running and cycling.

我对…很感兴趣 (W ǒ duì … hěn gǎn xìngqù )

You can also use the expression 我对…很感兴趣 (W ǒ duì … hěn gǎn xìngqù )  – “I am very interested in …” to let people know that you have a keen interest in something or doing something. Simply name the “thing” in the blank.

• 我对 汉字 很感兴趣。 Wǒ duì Hànzì hěn gǎn xìngqù. I am very interested in Chinese characters.
• 我对 中国文化 很感兴趣。 Wǒ duì  Zhōngguó wénhuà  hěn gǎn xìngqù. I am interested in Chinese culture.
• 我对 学中文 很感兴趣。 Wǒ duì xué Zhōngwén hěn gǎn xìngqù. I am very interested in learning Chinese.

我擅长… (Wǒ shàn cháng  …)

Lastly, if you want to tell people that you are good at something, you can say 我擅长 (Wǒ shàn cháng )  and then whatever it is that you excel at.

• 我擅长 做菜 。 Wǒ shàncháng  zuòcài . I am good at cooking.
• 我擅长 网球 和 乒乓 。 Wǒ shàncháng  wáng qiú  hé pīngpāng . I am good at tennis and table tennis.

Well, try not to show off too much. Revealing one or two of your strengths is great, but listing all your amazing abilities in your Chinese self-intro will probably annoy others and make you seem over-confident. After all, humility is the king of all virtues!  

8. Talking about Your Plans

And finally, you can include your plans in your Chinese self-introduction. For instance, what you want to do in the future, what new skills you’re trying to acquire, or where you’re traveling to this summer.

Here are some example sentences for talking about your plans in Chinese.

• 我想 去中国旅行 。 Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó lǚxíng . I want to take a trip to China.
• 我想 来上海实习 。 Wǒ xiǎng lái Shànghǎi shíxí . I want to do an internship in Shanghai.
• 我想 说流利的中文 。 Wǒ xiǎng  shuō liúlì de Zhōngwén . I want to speak fluent Chinese.
• 我打算 考 HSK 。 Wǒ dǎsuàn  kǎo  HSK . I plan to take the HSK exam.
• 我打算 在中国开一家公司 。 Wǒ dǎsuàn zài Zhōngguó kāi yì jiā gōngsī . I plan to start a business in China.
• 这个夏天 我打算 参加一个中文课程 。 Zhè gè xiàtiān wǒ dǎsuàn  cānjiā yì gè Zhōngwén kèchéng . I plan to take a Chinese course this summer.

A quick grammar note: the verb 打算 (dǎsuàn) is used to tell what you plan to do. It’s most commonly used in situations where you’ve already made up your mind. It’s definite (or almost definite). Don’t use it for instances where you’re just randomly thinking about something. In that case, use 想 (xiǎng) instead.

Unlike in English where you normally need a preposition like “to” to connect different verbs in a sentence, in Chinese, you can string the verbs together without any linking word to describe a sequence (e.g. want to do, plan to do). Read more on how to connect verbs in Chinese .  

Concluding Your Chinese Self-introduction

All good things come to an end, don’t they?

Earlier we learned how to use the set phrase 很高兴认识你 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ) to conclude your self-introduction. Here are a few more ways to end a conversation gracefully in Chinese.

• 认识你很高兴。 Rènshi nǐ hěn gāoxìng. Nice to meet you.

Here, you can rearrange the word order as 认识你很高兴 (R ènsh i nǐ  h ěn gāoxìng )  – literally, “Knowing you (I’m) very glad.” to express the pleasure of meeting someone when the conversation is over.

• 很高兴见到你。 Hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ. Nice to meet you. Literally, “Very glad (to) meet you”.
• 见到你很高兴。 Jiàn dào nǐ hěn gāoxìng. Nice to meet you. Literally, “Meeting you (I’m) very glad.” 

Alternatively, you can end with the phrase 很高兴见到你 (H ěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ )  – “Very glad (to) meet you” or the other way around – 见到你很高兴 (J iàn dào nǐ  h ěn gāoxìng )  – “Meeting you (I’m) very glad”, two other popular ways of saying “Nice to meet you” in Chinese.

• 请(您)多多关照。 Qǐng (nín) duō duō guānzhào. Please look after me often.
• 请(您)多多指教。 Qǐng (nín) duō duō zhǐjiào. Please guide me often.

Modesty is viewed as a great virtue in Chinese culture. Chinese people like to keep a low profile both in regard to their own achievements, status as well as their interactions with others.

So in professional contexts, you could say 请(您)多多关照 (Q ǐng [nín]   duō duō guānzhà o)  – “Please look after me often” or 请(您)多多指教 (Q ǐng [nín] duō duō zhǐjiào )  – “Please guide me often” at the end of your self-introduction as a way of promoting modesty when you meet new Chinese colleagues or work contacts. It may not be common to say something like this in your culture, but in China, a humble concluding phrase like this can go a long way toward forging a bond!

If you’re excited about establishing a new friendship with someone and plan to meet them again, go ahead and ask for their phone number or WeChat (China’s WhatsApp-like messaging and social media app). Try being direct – it works pretty well in Chinese.

• 我们留个电话吧。 Wǒmen liú gè diànhuà ba. Let’s leave a phone number (to each other).
• 我们加个微信吧。 Wǒmen jiā gè wēixìn ba. Let’s friend each other on WeChat.

To say goodbye in Chinese, simply say 再见 (z àijiàn ) . But if you have another planned meeting with your new Chinese friend at some time soon, it would be more appropriate to say  回头见 ( huí tóu jiàn ) , which means “see you later” or “see you soon”.

How to Introduce Yourself in a Business Setting  

Throughout the article, we’ve already given you various pointers on how to introduce yourself in professional contexts, but it’s important to go deeper into them here if you ever have to introduce yourself in Chinese in a formal business setting.

1. Use the Formal Way of Addressing

Unless someone proposes to use 你 (nǐ), always use the formal way of addressing 您 (nín).

2. Introduce Your Last Name As Well As Your First Name

With regard to introducing your name, there is little difference between China and elsewhere. It is considered polite to give your full name on formal occasions.

If you have a Chinese name, say your last name before your first name. If your name is transliterated into Chinese, then keep the original name order.

3. Give a Brief Summary of Your Job

When you introduce yourself in a business setting, mention the company or organization you work for as well as your job position or the name of your profession in your Chinese self-introduction.

To do so, use the structure 我在…担任…  (W ǒ zài …  dānrèn …) , which translates to “I work as … in/at …” (literally, “I in … take on the position of …”), for example,

• 我在 谷歌 担任 软件工程师 。 wǒ zài  Gǔgē  dānrèn  ruǎnjiàn gōngchéngshī . I work as a software engineer at Google. Literally, “I in Google take on the position of a software engineer.”

4. Use Formal Words and Longer Sentences

Introducing yourself in a formal business setting will require you to use the formal form of Chinese words/phrases and longer sentences.

For example, instead of 我叫… (Wǒ jiào) – “I am called …” or 我是… (Wǒ shì) – “I am …” for introducing your name, it would be more appropriate to use the longer version  我的名字叫…  (Wǒ de míngzi j iào)  – “My name is called …” or  我的名字是…  (Wǒ de míngz i  shì)  – “My name is …”

And instead of saying 我在…上班 (Wǒ zài … shàngbān) – “I work in/at …” for telling people where you work, rephrase it as 我在…工作 ( Wǒ zài … gōngzuò)  or 我在…担任…  (W ǒ zài …  dānrèn …)  – “I work as … in/at …”.

To conclude your self-intro, you could say 非常荣幸认识您 (F ēicháng róngxìng rènsh i  nín )  – “Very honored to meet you” instead of 很高兴认识您 (Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín) – “Nice to meet you” to add a dash of humbleness.

5. Wait for Your Turn to be Introduced

In China, people in a lower position of authority or age will be introduced to the higher first. When it’s your turn to be introduced, stand up, smile, and look at the people also being introduced with ease.

Wait for the person of higher standing to initiate the handshake. Some Chinese people think handshakes are only for equals, so if that person doesn’t automatically offer you their hand, don’t offer yours to offend them! Just nod politely.

6. Use Both Hands to Present Your Business Card

Business cards are called 名片 (míngpiàn) in Chinese (literally, “name cards”), and they are an important part of Chinese work culture. 

When you present your business card, say  这是我的名片 (Zhè  shì wǒ de míngpiàn )  – “This is my business card”, and hold the top edge of the card with both hands to show the recipient respect.

When you are offered a business card, accept it with two hands as well. Make sure to read the person’s name and title on the card before you put it away. Show interest in what they do and act at least a bit impressed with their job title.

Example of Chinese Self-introduction in a Formal Setting

• 您好，我的名字叫大卫·摩根。我在宜家担任销售经理，这是我的名片。非常荣幸认识您。 Nín hǎo, wǒ de míngzi jiào Dà wèi · Mó gēn. Wǒ zài Yíjiā dānrèn xiāoshòu jīnglǐ, zhè shì wǒ de míngpiàn. Fēicháng róngxìng rènshi nín. Hi, my name is David Morgan. I work as a sales manager at Ikea. Here’s my business card. I am very honored to meet you.

Always remember that a self-introduction at a party or a business meeting will be different. You can be casual with friends or people of your age, but should always be formal in the business world. If need be, learn how to be even more prepared to give a strong and professional self-introduction for a Chinese job interview!

How to Introduce Someone in Chinese 

Now that you’ve learned how to introduce yourself in Chinese, in both an informal setting and a formal setting, you’re ready to try and introduce someone else, such as your family, friends, or colleagues.

Here are some typical expressions you can use to introduce other people. Use them to earn extra points with your new Chinese friends!

• 这是 我的妻子 。 Zhè shì wǒ de qīzi . This is my wife.
• 这是 我的丈夫 。 Zhè shì wǒ de zhàngfu . This is my husband.
• 这是 我的儿子 。 Zhè shì wǒ de érzi . This is my son.
• 这是 我的女儿 。 Zhè shì wǒ de nǚ’ér . This is my daughter.
• 这是 我的朋友马修 。 Zhè shì wǒ de péngyou Mǎ xiū . This is my friend, Matthew.
• 这是 我的同事珍妮 。 Zhè shì wǒ de tóngshì Zhēn nī . This is my colleague, Jenny.

Did you notice the pattern here? To introduce someone in Chinese, simply start the sentence with 这是 (Zhè  shì )  – meaning “This is” and finish it with the person you want to introduce.

If you aren’t sure whether your conversation partner has already met the other person, you can use the following phrases. (Simply swap out the name in the orange font for your friend)

• 你认识 巴尼 吗？ Nǐ rènshí  Bā ní  ma? Do you know Barney? Literally, “You know Barney ma?”
• 你见过 泰德 吗？ Nǐ jiàn guò  Tài dé  ma? Have you met Ted? Literally, “You have met Ted ma?”

Once you initiate the introduction, you might want to go on and tell others a bit more about that person. This is rather easy to do in Chinese, as you don’t have to conjugate the verbs like you would have to in many other languages.

In other words, you can just stick to the sentence patterns used for your self-introduction, change the subject to an appropriate one (or use the pronoun 他 [tā] for “he” and 她 [tā] for “she”) , and then you are good to go!

Here are some example sentences for introducing someone in Chinese.

• 我的妻子叫詹妮弗。她三十六岁。 Wǒ de qīzi jiào Zhān nī fú. Tā sān shí liù suì. My wife’s name is Jennifer. She is thirty-six years old.
• 她是英国人。她来自伦敦。 Tā shì Yīngguó rén. Tā lái zì Lúndūn. She is British. She’s from London.
• 我的丈夫是加拿大人。他叫山姆。 Wǒ de zhàngfu shì Jiānádà rén. Tā jiào Shān mǔ. My husband is Canadian. His name is Sam.
• 我的爸爸在多伦多工作。他是一名老师。 Wǒ de bàba zài Duōlúnduō gōngzuò. Tā shì yì míng lǎoshī. My dad works in Toronto. He is a teacher.
• 泰德住在纽约。他是一名建筑师。 Tài dé zhù zài Niǔyuē. Tā shì yì míng jiànzhùshī. Ted lives in New York. He is an architect.
• 泰德的儿子十五岁。他喜欢中国。他想学中文。 Tài dé de érzi shí wǔ suì. Tā xǐhuan Zhōngguó. Tā xiǎng xué Zhōngwén. Ted’s son is fifteen years old. He loves China. He wants to learn Chinese.

Note that while “he” and “she” are represented by different Chinese characters, they are pronounced the same. In a conversation, you’ll need the context to tell whether someone is talking about a male “tā” or female “tā”.

Introducing Yourself in Chinese: Quick Summary

Here’s a quick summary of the key introductory words and phrases you’ve learned from this article that you can use when introducing yourself in Chinese.

Example Self-introduction in Chinese

With the above Chinese introduction phrases under your belt, you’ll be able to make friends and acquaintances without any trouble at all. Just put the pieces together, mind the cultural differences, and practice till its second nature!

Here’s an example of a stellar self-introduction in Chinese for your reference.

• 你好，我叫谢尔顿。很高兴认识你。 Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Xiè ěr dùn. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. Hello, my name is Sheldon. Nice to meet you.
• 我是美国人。我来自得克萨斯，但现在住在加利福尼亚。 Wǒ shì Měiguó rén. Wǒ lái zì Dékèsàsī, dàn xiànzài zhù zài Jiālìfúníyà. I am American. I am from Texas, but currently I live in California.
• 我今年三十七岁，结婚了。这是我的妻子，她的名字叫艾米，她也是美国人。我们还没有孩子。 Wǒ jīnnián sān shí qī suì, jiéhūn le. Zhè shì wǒ de qīzi, tā de míngzi jiào Ài mǐ, tā yě shì Měiguó rén. Wǒmen hái méiyǒu háizi. I am thirty-seven years old this year, married. This is my wife. Her name is Amy. She is American too. We don’t have kids yet.
• 我和我的妻子都在加州理工学院工作。我是一名物理学家。我擅长理论。我的妻子是一名神经科学家。 Wǒ hé wǒ de qīzi dōu zài Jiāzhōu lǐgōng xuéyuàn gōngzuò. Wǒ shì yì míng wùlǐ xuéjiā. Wǒ shàncháng lǐlùn. Wǒ de qīzi shì yì míng shénjīng kēxuéjiā. My wife and I both work at Caltech. I am a physicist. I am good at theory. My wife is a neuroscientist.
• 我的爱好是桌游和漫画。平时我喜欢和朋友在一起。我对语言也很感兴趣。我会说克林贡语。我现在还在学中文。我想去中国旅行。你呢？ Wǒ de àihào shì zhuōyóu hé mànhuà. Píngshí wǒ xǐhuan hé péngyǒu zài yìqǐ. Wǒ duì yǔyán yě hěn gǎn xìngqù. Wǒ huì shuō Kèlíngòng yǔ. Wǒ xiànzài hái zài xué Zhōngwén. Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó lǚxíng. Nǐ ne? My hobbies are board games and comics. In my free time I enjoy being with friends. I am also very interested in languages. I can speak Klingon. I am also learning Chinese at the moment. I want to take a trip to China. What about you?

If there’s ever a time when you need a pause to figure out what to say next during your Chinese self-introduction, don’t be afraid to use filler words to stall for time. For example, you can say 那个 (nèi ge), which works like “um”, “uh”, “well”, or “you know” in English. Read more about Chinese filler words . And in case you don’t know what your conversation partner just said, use the expression 我没听懂 (wǒ méi tīng dǒng) to encourage the person to rephrase and explain with simpler Chinese. (Avoid the overused expression 听不懂 [tīng bù dǒng] which is a conversation killer! Read more about different ways of saying “I don’t understand” in Chinese .)

And One More Thing

No matter how little Chinese you know, it’s doable to introduce yourself to someone who speaks Chinese. In other words, you don’t need to understand the precise meanings of what you’re saying or how the words relate to each other grammatically to introduce yourself in Chinese. But if you’re curious, or if you’re planning on learning Chinese, check out our in-depth guide on how to best learn Chinese from scratch . If you are struggling to improve your Chinese, consider taking a structured Chinese course online – it’s far more effective than reading odd bits and pieces here and there, and trying to put them together on your own. We’ve tested dozens of online Chinese language programs, some are amazing while others are, well… a complete waste of time. Make sure to read our unbiased reviews here and discover the best Chinese course out there for you.  

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How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese: A Complete Guide

The first step in combining Chinese language and culture involves being prepared to introduce yourself in Chinese at any moment. In a culture based on 关系 ( guānxi – relationships), it’s crucial to be able to describe yourself accurately.

The simplest way to introduce yourself in Chinese is to say 你好 ( nǐ hǎo ) meaning “hello” and  我叫 ( wǒ jiào ) meaning “my name is.”

But, if you want to know even more about the different ways you can introduce yourself and information about you in Chinese, we’re here to help.

Simple Chinese Greetings to Introduce Yourself

Introducing your name in chinese, asking about the other person, reacting to a compliment, share your background to introduce yourself in chinese, talking about: where you’re from, talking about: family, talking about: your education and employment situation, talking about: your income and your children’s grades (yeah, this happens), talking about: hospitality, talking about: what you do for fun, concluding your self-introduction, 12 etiquette tips for chinese conversation, and one more thing....

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The basic Chinese greeting is a well-wish, using the word  好 ( hǎo ) — good. Before saying hǎo , you can insert a time of day or a fitting pronoun. The standard greeting is  你好 ( nǐ hǎo ) — hello, nǐ meaning “you.”

[Personal pronoun] hǎo :

您  ( nín ) — The respectful form of the pronoun “you,” used for addressing elderly people or people with higher social or business status

叔叔  ( shū shu ) — Uncle, used for a man who’s old enough to be your father

阿姨 ( ā yí ) — Aunty, used for a woman could be your mom

爷爷  ( yè ye ) — Literally “father’s father,” used for a man who could be your grandfather

奶奶  ( nǎi nai ) — Literally “father’s mother,” used for a woman who could be your grandmother

[Time of day] hǎo:

早上  ( zǎo shàng ) — Morning (before 8:00 a.m.)

上午  ( shàng wǔ ) — Morning (after 8:00 a.m.)

下午  ( xià wǔ ) — Afternoon

晚上  ( wǎn shàng ) — Evening

In conversation, you’ll likely hear one of two questions asking for your name:

怎么称呼您? ( zěnme chénghū nín? ) — How should I address you?

你叫什么名字? ( nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? ) — What’s your name?

The first question includes the respectful nǐn , meaning it should be used to address older people or people with higher social or business status. In less formal relationships, either question can be used. In both cases, you can respond:

我叫 (wǒ jiào) – My name is, and then say your name

You should use questions and phrases that show you’re taking an interest in the person you’re conversing with, thus… building guānxi . For example ,  吃饭了吗? ( chī fàn le ma? ) meaning “have you eaten yet?” is a commonly used phrase that can be used after a typical meal time.

If you already know something about their job or family, do   build that relationship by using 怎么样 ( zěnme yàng ) questions:

[Topic of interest] zěnme yàng ? – How’s [topic of interest]?

Topics of interest may include:

生意  ( shēngyì ) — Business, implying the person runs their own business

工作  ( gōngzuò ) — Work as an employee

家人  ( jiārén ) — Family members

父母  ( fùmǔ ) — Parents

孩子  ( háizi ) — Child or children

If you don’t know anything about them and it’s not around a meal time, just jump into the conversation !

At any point after you say your name, your Chinese will likely be complimented. To be polite, they’ll compliment your Chinese regardless of how good it is.

They recognize the challenge of learning a language since most have at least studied English in school, so saying your Chinese is good is a way to elevate you. It’s now your mission to humbly reject such a lofty compliment.

You’ll hear:

你的中文很好! ( nǐ de zhōngwén hěn hǎo! ) — Your Chinese is very good!

You should say:

哪里哪里 ( nǎlǐ nǎlǐ ) — Literally “Where? Where?” implying “I don’t see anyone around here who deserves such a compliment!”

没有  ( méi yǒu ) — Literally “don’t have,” implying you aren’t qualified for such a compliment

Don’t be afraid to admit:

我还在学习中文  ( wǒ hái zài xuéxí zhōngwén ) — I’m still learning Chinese.

我的中文不太好  ( wǒ de zhōngwén bú tài hǎo ) — My Chinese isn’t that great.

If you include a statement about your low Chinese level, it shouldn’t be the focal point of the sentence. For example, instead of “My Chinese isn’t that great,” you could say “Even though my Chinese isn’t that great, I’m happy to tell you a little bit about myself.”

If you can, deflect the compliment to someone else who really deserves it. This shows you know where the credit really goes. For example, after the other person compliments your Chinese, you could say:

让我的老师很高兴  ( ràng wǒ de lǎoshī hěn gāoxìng ) — That would make my teacher very happy.

A good self-introduction in Chinese needs to describe your essence. That all starts with your background: where you’re from, your family, your education, your work situation and even your income. All of this forms a large part of who you are, so this information is important to share with Chinese people.

Because conversations—especially the first one—are all about building  guānxi , the heart of the conversation starts immediately after exchanging names.

If someone asks:

你是哪里的? ( nǐ shì nǎlǐ de ?) — Where are you from?

你是哪个国家的? ( nǐ shì nǎge guójiā de? ) — What country are you from?

You can answer:

我是 ___ 的  ( wǒ shì ___  de ) — I’m from ___

我来自 ___ ( wǒ láizì ___) — I’m from ___

If you’re from the local area, you can say:

我是本地的 ( wǒ shì běndì de ) — I’m a local, literally “I’m from this place.”

If you ask them where they’re from (or vice versa) and the answer is a little ambiguous (most Chinese will just say “China”), you can say:

___ 哪里? (___ nǎli ?) — Where in ___?

The purpose of the “where you’re from” questions is really to understand what kind of environment you’re from, so you can use these kinds of words to help them paint a picture of you:

农村  ( nóngcūn ) — Rural area, literally “village”

小城  ( xiǎochéng ) — Small town

城市  ( chéngshì ) — Big city

If you want to explain how an environment may have influenced you even though you aren’t directly from there, you can add the word  附近 ( fùjìn ) — “nearby” after the description of where you’re from (e.g., chéngshì fùjìn – near a big city).

Family is so important in Chinese culture that the language has a specific word for almost every family relationship .

For example, in English we would say “cousin,” but in Chinese it’s “your mom’s older sister’s daughter,” which is completely different from”your mom’s younger sister’s daughter.” Understanding your family relationships will help a Chinese person learn about your values and traits.

Someone may ask you how your parents are doing:

你的父母怎么样? ( nǐ de fùmǔ zěnme yàng? ) — How are your parents?

To say your parents are doing well, you can say:

我的___还好 — ( wǒ de ___  hái hǎo ) — My ___ is/are doing well.

爸爸 ( bàba ) — Dad

妈妈  ( māma ) — Mom

You may also be asked if you have any brothers and sisters:

你有几个兄弟姐妹? ( nǐ yǒu jǐ ge xiōngdì jiěmèi? ) — How many siblings do you have?

To say how many brothers and sisters you have, you can say:

我有 how many 个 relationship . ( wǒ yǒu  how many  ge relationship) — I have [however many] of [a certain type of relationship.]

哥哥  ( gēge ) — Older brother

弟弟  ( dìdi ) — Younger brother

姐姐 ( jièjie ) — Older sister

妹妹  ( mèimei ) — Younger sister

You will likely be asked if you’re married:

你结婚了吗? ( nǐ jiéhūn le ma? ) — Are you married?

If you’re married, you can say  结婚了 ( jiéhūn le ) — I’m married.

If you’re dating, you can use the sibling sentence structure, minus the “how many” part:

男朋友  ( nán péngyou ) — Boyfriend

女朋友  ( nǚ péngyou ) — Girlfriend

You can use the sibling sentence structure for how many children you have also (if you’re married, you will be asked if you have children):

孩子  ( háizi ) — Child/children

儿子  ( érzi ) — Son

女儿  ( nǚér ) — Daughter

A person’s education and job situation reflect their current social status.

You might be asked:

你做什么工作? ( nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò? ) — What do you do for work?

是你的专业吗? ( shì nǐ de zhuānyè ma? ) — Is that your profession?

Note :  zhuānyè  literally means “profession,” but the concept generally implies that it was your major in college, as well.

You could reply:

我是 ___ ( wǒ shì ___) — I’m a ___

我做 ___ ( wǒ zuò ___) — I ___

我上(了)大学 ( wǒ shàng (le) dàxué ) — I attend(ed) a university.

自学的  ( zìxué de ) — I am self-taught.

Similar to your education and job situation, your income and your children’s grades tell about your present situation in caring for yourself and your family, as well as what kind of future you might have. If the conversation gets this far, you will be asked about it.

___ 怎么样? (___ zěnme yàng ?) — How’s ___?

___ 可以吗? (___ kěyǐ ma ?) — Is ___ good enough?

成绩 ( chéngjì ) — Grades

工资  ( gōngzī ) — Income

还可以 ( hái kěyǐ ) — “Not bad.” Like in English, the tone of your voice shows how “not bad” it is.

不错 ( bú cuò ) — Pretty good/hard to complain.

很好 ( hěn hǎo ) — Very good/satisfying.

These conversations typically happen over tea or food. Hospitality is a big part of Chinese culture, so even if it’s their first time meeting you, they’ll probably still invite you to tea or a meal . This shows their willingness to spend time with you and build  guānxi .

If you have the time, do accept their offer to have tea or food. This shows your willingness to spend time with them and build  guānxi .

They might say something like:  我们喝茶吧 ( wǒmen hē chá ba ) — Let’s have some tea

You should say:  好的 ( hǎo de ) or  可以 ( kěyǐ ) with a smile. Both phrases carry the “that sounds good” meaning, but without the smile, your willingness could be misunderstood as “I guess I have to.”

You should also ask for their phone number or WeChat information . If you have time for tea, ask for this contact info before you leave. If you don’t have time for tea, ask for it so you can make plans to meet again. This shows you view the relationship as worth continuing.

可以给你我的电话号码吗? ( kěyǐ gěi nǐ wǒ de diàn huà hào mǎ ma? ) — Could I give you my phone number?

我们加微信吧  ( wǒmen jiā wēixìn ba ) — Let’s add each other’s WeChat

Grammar note : Saying 吧 ( ba ) is very important. It means you’re suggesting something. If you don’t say “ba,” you’re telling them what to do.

For more formal relationships:  可以加您的微信吗? ( kěyǐ jiā nín de wēixìn ma ?) — Can I add your WeChat?

Grammar note : 吗 ( ma ) is a word that basically adds a question mark to a sentence. For formal relationships, you want to ask permission, not make a suggestion.

Most conversations between Chinese people don’t require the “Where are you from?” part because they take for granted that they’re from China. In those cases, they’ll skip straight from “What’s your name?” to “ What do you like to do? “

你喜欢做什么? ( nǐ xǐhuān zuò shénme? ) — What do you like to do?

我喜欢 ___ ( wǒ xǐhuān ___) — I like to ___

You may be asked how long you’ve had that hobby:

你什么时候开始___? ( nǐ shénme shíhou kāishǐ ___?) — When did you start doing ___?

You could respond:

我 ___ 岁开始  ( wǒ ___ suì kāishǐ ) — I started when I was ___

我从小喜欢  ( wǒ cóng xiǎo xǐhuān ) — I’ve liked it since I was little

我 when 有兴趣了 ( wǒ when  yǒuxìngqù le ) — I got interested at a certain time

At this point, it would be natural for you to volunteer why you like doing what you do:

我觉得好玩  ( wǒ juéde hǎo wán ) — I think it’s fun, a phrase you can use to express simple enjoyment

让我 ___ ( ràng wǒ ___) — It makes me feel a certain way, a phrase that expresses contentment

轻松  ( qīngsōng ) — Relaxed

高兴  ( gāoxìng ) – Happy

期待  ( qīdài ) — Also meaning “happy,” but from doing something exciting

给我 ___ ( gěi wǒ ___) — It gives me a certain feeling, a phrase to explain deeper reasons.

安全感  ( ānquángǎn ) — A sense of security

满足感  ( mǎnzúgǎn ) — A sense of satisfaction

成就感 ( chéngjiùgǎn ) — A sense of accomplishment

一点幸福感  ( yīdiǎn xìngfúgǎn ) — A small sense of happiness

Note : xìngfú is viewed as an ultimate goal in life, so if you reach xìngfú through your hobbies, they’ll probably think of you as a very shallow person, or they’ll conclude you have no idea what you’re talking about

At the beginning of the conversation, all you knew was the person’s name. You didn’t know anything else about them. Now, after this conversation, you know something about the person, and they know something about you. This is the time to say things such as:

很高兴认识你  ( hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ ) — It was nice to become acquainted with you, literally “I’m happy to have become acquainted with you.”

In a more formal, less developed relationship, you could say:

谢谢您的时间 ( xièxie nín de shíjiān ) — Thank you for your time. This is especially respectful if the meet-and-greet was short, implying they didn’t have a lot of time to give you to begin with.

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In Chinese culture, there are certain things you should pay attention to in order to ensure that you are being respectful, such as particular aspects of your body language. Here are 12 tips to take note of:

1. The older a person is, the more respect they receive in Chinese culture. Calling someone who could be your grandma “grandma” is very well received, while calling her “aunty” may be viewed as insulting because her life experience wouldn’t be properly recognized.

2. Do shake hands when introducing yourself in business-relationship settings. This shows respect for the status of the other person.

3. However, do not shake hands when meeting a potential new friend at a coffee shop. You might feel it shows respect for the other person, but to them it doesn’t show respect for the equal-ness of the relationship. (Of course, the trump card for all of this handshake business is: do shake hands with anyone that wants a handshake, regardless of the situation.)

4. The goal of rejecting compliments is to take the focus off of you and your abilities. The other person will likely emphasize the compliment again. No matter how many times you hear it, reject it.

5. If you’re single, ask and talk about what you like to do with someone who’s the same gender as you, unless you’re looking to start a romantic relationship with the other person.

6. If you’re married, ask and talk about what you like to do with someone who’s the same gender as you, unless your significant other is there with you. A married person of the opposite sex having this conversation might be misunderstood as wanting an external relationship.

7. Don’t make constant eye contact in the conversation. This can be read as defiance, arrogance or even disrespect.

8. Do make casual eye contact in the conversation. This implies you’re both paying attention and thinking about what they’re saying.

9. Don’t talk about religion , politics , sexuality or any other topic with polarized opinions. Your goal is to find a common ground to build your  guānxi on, not to find reasons for conflict. Also, do not talk about death .

10. Don’t verbally take the initiative to break the relationship out of  nǐn.   Leave that for the other person. Ultimately, they know more about the culture than you do.

11. If you’re meeting someone over food or drinks, do fight for the bill when it comes time to pay. This is important because it shows you aren’t just taking advantage of their generosity. However, do let them pay the bill. This is a way to “give face” or 给面子 (gěi miàn zi ).

12. Do not  ask how they are by saying 你好吗 ? ( nǐ hǎo ma ?), which is the literal translation of “How are you?” The English “How are you?” doesn’t translate well , and the “How are you?”—”Good, and you?”—”Good” exchange doesn’t happen in Chinese.

If you just act with self-awareness and cultural respect, Chinese people will be very impressed.

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How To Introduce Yourself In Chinese [Essential Phrases]

• Read time 12 mins

Knowing how to introduce yourself in Mandarin Chinese is essential.

Whether you’re forging new friendships, traveling to China, meeting new business partners, or going for a job interview, a good introduction will leave a good impression.

Beyond a simple hello, you may also want to equip yourself with other introductory phrases.

The context in which you introduce yourself obviously matters.

In this guide, I’ll cover some key phrases that will help you tackle self-introductions with more confidence and ease.

On top of that, understanding a thing or two about Chinese culture/etiquette will also give you an edge.

Etiquette when introducing yourself in Chinese

In Chinese culture, people don’t typically bow when greeting one another.

Instead, you’ll notice handshakes and nods being exchanged.

If it’s your first time meeting a stranger, it’s best to abstain from overly-friendly physical gestures, such as hugging or kissing on the cheek.

Though this may be common in other cultures, it’s rare in Chinese culture.

One of the most common ways to greet someone in China is with a quick handshake, the right amount of eye contact, and a warm smile. But if you’re meeting someone completely new or of a higher status, you may wish to wait for them to initiate the handshake before you go in for it.

And if they don’t, greet them with a polite nod instead.

In business and formal settings, allow your Chinese counterpart to initiate handshakes and try to introduce yourself with your full name. If business cards are exchanged, receive the other party’s card with both hands as a polite gesture.

Take a good look at it before storing it, as this conveys interest and respect. When handing over your business card, do it with both hands as well.

Key phrases to introduce yourself in Mandarin Chinese

Introductions don’t merely involve names.

You’ll likely start with a hello and your name. Moving on from that, you may also talk about your job, profession, where you’re from, or your age.

Any conversation is a two-way street, and the best introductions usually involve two people genuinely wanting to know each other better.

You won’t leave a good impression if you only talk about yourself the entire conversation!

Hence, we’ll also cover how you can ask for a person’s name, where they’re from, and what they’re currently doing.

After you’ve nailed the hellos (and goodbyes ), here’s are some key phrases to follow it up!

1. Telling people your name

After the hello, introductions usually start with an exchange of names.

You may ask for their name to break the ice. You can say 你叫什么名字(nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?), meaning “What’s your name?”

Another phrase you can use is 请问怎么称呼? (qǐngwèn zěnme chēnghu), meaning “How may I address you?”

Once they’ve given you their name, you may proceed with introducing yourself. To do so, you may use the phrase 我叫…, followed by your name. Other than that, you may also say 我的名字是… (wǒ de míngzi shì…), then your name.

If the person has asked for your name first, tell them your name, and you may then ask for theirs by saying, 你呢? (nǐ ne), which means “How about you?” The 你 means “you” while the 呢 is a questions particle in this context.

In business settings or formal situations, you may wish to use 您呢? (nín ne), where the 您 also carries the meaning “you” but is a formal, polite, and highly respectful way of addressing the other party.

If you’re meeting someone of a higher status, someone senior, your boss, or anyone you greatly respect and admire, then you should use 您 instead of the more casual 你.

In some settings, people would introduce themselves by their surname or last name. You can do the same by saying 我姓… (wǒ xìng…) followed by your last name.

2. Talking about your country of origin

If you’re a tourist or foreigner vising China, chances are, your Chinese friends and counterparts would be curious to know where you’re from.

They may also prompt you to talk a little more about your background and home country with the following questions:

These phrases have similar meanings and can be interchangeably used to ask the other person where they’re from or for their nationality.

You can then reply by saying 我是…人 (wǒ shì … rén).

You’ll insert your country into the phrase. For instance, if you’re from America, you can say 我是美国人 (wǒ shì měiguó rén). This means “I’m American.” or “I’m from America.”

If you’re in a slightly more formal setting, you can use the phrase 我来自… (wǒ lái zì…). If you’re from America, this would then be 我来自美国 (wǒ lái zì měiguó), which means “I am from America.”

Finally, your friends may be curious about where you’re currently based. The question you’ll come upon is 你住在哪里? (nǐ zhù zài nǎli), meaning “Where do you live?”

Of course, they’re not looking for your full address. What you could say is 我住在上海 (wǒ zhù zài shànghǎi), and this means “I live in Shanghai.” Replace the last two characters with your country or city of residence.

The following table lists some countries in Chinese.

3. Talking about what you currently do

You may need to talk a little about your job or career when meeting someone new.

On the flip side, you may also be interested in what the other party currently does for a living.

You may prompt them to talk a little more about their career pursuit by saying 你做什么工作? (nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?), meaning “What is your job?” Alternatively, you may also use the phrase 你的职业是什么? (nǐ de zhíyè shì shénme), which means “What is your occupation?”

You can also ask where they work by using the phrase 你在哪里工作? (nǐ zài nǎlǐ gōngzuò), meaning “Where do you work?”

You could then reply by saying something along the lines of 我是医生 (wǒ shì yī shēng), meaning “I am a doctor.” You’ll replace the last two characters with your profession or occupational identity.

If you’d like to be very proper, you can then say 我是一名医生 (wǒ shì yī míng yīshēng). Perhaps you’re currently studying. In this case, you can use the phrase 我是一名学生 (wǒ shì yī míng xuéshēng), which just means “I’m a student.”

In English, the “a” and “an” are commonly used before a noun. However, this would not be necessary for the Chinese language. The 一名 could be likened to the “a” or “an” in English. It’s best used when talking about occupations or professions.

You can still omit 一名, though, as it is not required to form a complete sentence.

Some native speakers may find that dropping the 一名 does not sound natural, so you may still wish to slot it into your sentence when talking about your profession.

Say the other party has asked you where you work. You can reply by saying 我在…工作 (wǒ zài … gōngzuò), which conveys the meaning “I work at…”

Perhaps you work at a café. In that case, you’ll say 我在咖啡店工作 (wǒ zài kāfēi diàn gōngzuò). Or if you work at a bank, you can then say 我在银行工作 (wǒ zài yínháng gōngzuò). Replace the middle of the phrase with the location of your workplace.

The following table lists some common occupations.

Hopefully, this will help you introduce your profession confidently in Mandarin Chinese!

4. Introducing your hobbies and favorite activities

Having similar interests and hobbies is definitely one way to jumpstart a new friendship. In any conversation, finding common ground would be a huge advantage.

If you’re curious about what the other party enjoys doing during their free time, you can prompt them to share their interests. There are several variations you can use to go about this. These phrases include:

When asked about your hobbies and interests, you can reply with 我的爱好是… (wǒ de àihào shì…), meaning “My hobby is…” You can also say 我喜欢 (wǒ xǐhuān), which means “I like to…”

Insert your favorite pastime and interest at the end of the phrase.

For instance, if you enjoy playing video games, you can say 我喜欢玩电子游戏 (wǒ xǐhuān wán diànzǐ yóuxì).

Here’s a table of some common hobbies and interests.

5. Talking about your family

In China, your conversation might touch a little on the topic of family.

Asking basic questions about someone’s family conveys genuine interest in getting to know the other person. Of course, there’s no need to ask very personal questions.

Just a few simple questions will do the trick.

When meeting a family friend or a relative for the first time, you may expect some questions about family to come your way.

Some questions related to the topic of family include the following:-

When asked about siblings, you can talk about the number of brothers or sisters you have.

For instance, you can say 我有一个哥哥 (wǒ yǒu yīgè gēgē), meaning “I have one older brother.” 一 in that phrase means “one,” while 哥哥 means “older brother.” You can replace those accordingly.

Another example would be 我有两个姐姐 (wǒ yǒu liǎng gè jiějiě), which means “I have two older sisters.”

If asked about how your parents are currently doing, you can say something along the lines of 我的父母还好 (wǒ de fùmǔ hái hǎo). This means, “My parents are doing alright.”

Say you’re asked 你结婚了吗? (Are you married?).

In that case, you can reply with 结婚了 (jiéhūnle), meaning “I’m married.” or 我单身 (wǒ dānshēn), which means “I’m single.” or “I’m not attached.”

Finally, you may be met with questions about your children, for example, the number of children you have.

You can reply with something along the lines of 我有一个女儿 (wǒ yǒu yīgè nǚ’ér), meaning “I have one daughter.”

If you have a son, you can say 我有一个儿子 (wǒ yǒu yīgè er zi).

Introducing yourself to someone new goes beyond a simple name exchange

By broadening your vocabulary and knowledge of Mandarin Chinese, you can introduce yourself to another person with more confidence.

Plus, one way to convey a genuine interest in getting to know the other party is to prompt them with relevant questions.

Without a doubt, the best conversations are a two-way street.

By learning a mix of questions and replies to use in such introductory discussions, you’ll definitely leave a positive and lasting impression!

Where to from here?

Follow this up with some awesome Chinese courses we’ve reviewed, as well as apps and books .

Or jump on italki and start introducing yourself to Chinese speakers now.

Which phrases do you typically use to introduce yourself?

Let me know in the comments below - especially if they haven’t been mentioned in this list.

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How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese in 10 Lines

Want to speak Chinese? Yes? Good – keep reading. This is for those that truly want to learn the language. Here’s how you introduce yourself in Chinese in 10 easy lines … and this might take you 2 to 3 minutes or less. With this lesson…

• You get the Chinese, translations and romanizations.
• Read out loud to practice your speaking.
• Feel free to print this sheet out for extra review.

Here’s how you introduce yourself in Chinese. Let’s go.

And if you REALLY want to learn to Chinese with effective audio & video lessons by real teachers – Sign up at ChineseClass101 (click here) and start learning!

1) Hello, It’s nice to meet you.

Hello and Nice to meet you in Chinese are a must-know phrases. And any introduction will probably will start with these words.

• Hello, it’s nice to meet you.
• nínhǎo , hěn gāoxìng jiàn dào nǐ.

2) My name is _____.

This is simple. To say “my name is” in Chinese, you just need the phrase “Wǒ de míngzi shì.” Then say your name. For example, if the name is Lian, it would be like this…

• My name is Lian.
• Wǒ de míngzi shì lián.

3) I am from ______.

So, where are you from? America? Europe? Africa? Asia? Just stick the name of your country inside this phrase. We’ll use China as an example.

• I’m from China.
• Wǒ láizì Zhōngguó.
• 我来自中国。 我来自中国。

4) I live in ______.

What about now – where do you live? Just fill in the blank with the country or city (if famous) into this phrase. I’ll use Beijing as an example. You can use your own.

• I live in Beijing.
• Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng.

5) I’ve been learning Chinese for _____.

How long have you been learning Chinese for? A month? A year?

• I’ve been learning Chinese for a year.
• Wǒ xuéxí Zhōngwén yǐjīng yī nián le.
• 我学习中文已经1年了。 我学习中文已经1年了。

6) I’m learning Chinese at _____.

Where are you learning Chinese? At school? At home? This would be a great line to know and use when you’re introducing yourself. Here’s my example:

• I’m learning Chinese at ChineseClass101.com.
• Wǒ zài ChineseClassyīlíng yī .com wǎngzhàn xuéxí Zhōngwén.
• 我在ChineseClass101.com网站学习中文。

7) I am ____ years old.

Here’s how to say how old you are in Chinese.

• I’m 27 years old.
• Wǒ èrshíqī suì.

8) I am ______.

What about your position? Are you a student? Yoga teacher? Lawyer for the potato industry? Potato salesman? Super important question that people like to ask (and judge you about – Hey, I’m just a blogger! ). Just use “ani” meaning “I” and add your position.

• I’m a teacher.
• Wǒ shì yī míng jiàoshī.

9) One of my hobbies is _____.

Now, let’s move onto personal interests – hobbies! My hobbies are languages, linguajunkieing and such. How about you? You’ll definitely need this line when introducing yourself in Chinese.

Here’s an example to use:

• One of my hobbies is reading.
• Dúshū shì Wǒ de àihào zhīyī.

10) I enjoy listening to music.

Now, this is just another example line about your hobbies . You can use something else where.

• I enjoy listening to music.
• Wǒ xǐhuān tīng yīnyuè.

So now you know how to introduce yourself in Chinese in 10 lines. I’m sure there’s a ton more you can say – but this is an easy, simple start that any beginner can put to use. It’s all about starting easy.

See if you can introduce yourself below. Leave me a comment.

I read all comments!

Hope you enjoyed this!

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for Chinese learners. If you REALLY want to learn to Chinese with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at ChineseClass101 (click here) and start learning!

30+ Ways To Know How To Introduce Yourself In Chinese For Any Occasion

The ability to present yourself effectively forms the bedrock of successful communication, making it an indispensable tool in your linguistic arsenal.

If the question, 'How to introduce yourself in Chinese,' has been on your mind, you have arrived at the right place.

This comprehensive guide is designed to help you grasp the basics and understand the subtle nuances that make self-introduction in Chinese a fascinating skill to learn and master.

Whether you're starting with ' nǐ hǎo ' (你好) or are an advanced learner, this guide will provide invaluable insights that will have you impress your new Chinese friends. With consistent practice, patience, and this guide, you will soon be able to introduce yourself in Chinese easily and confidently.

Without further ado, let's get started!

Build up your Chinese vocabulary 📈 Level up your Chinese skills with Pandanese's SRS and mnemonic-powered flashcards Let’s get started

The script: how to introduce yourself in Chinese

Step 1. Say a Chinese greeting

Start any conversation with a friendly greeting. A common and versatile way to say "hello" in Chinese is 你好 ( Nǐ hǎo ), which translates to "you're good." It's equivalent to the English "hi" or "hello."

We actually have a whole article about greetings in Chinese, so take a look for a more in-depth conversation: Chinese Greetings—The Complete Guide to Greeting Anyone at Any Time in Chinese .

Here’s a common Chinese introduction script to say hi, your name, and where you’re from

Step 2. Say your name in Chinese

When asked, "What's your name?" in Chinese, you can reply with "我叫..." ( Wǒ jiào ... ) followed by your name. For example, " 我叫 威廉" ( Wǒ jiào Wēi lián ) means " My name is William."

For a more formal introduction, use "我的名字叫..." ( Wǒ de míngzi jiào ... ) before stating your name.

Alternatively, you can say, "我是..." ( Wǒ shì .. .) followed by your name, which translates to " I am .. ." and is an easier way to introduce yourself.

Then to ask for the other person's name, you can use "你呢？" ( nǐ ne ) for informal situations or “您呢？” ( nín ne ) for formal situations, both meaning "and you?"

Step 3. Express pleasure to meet them

After exchanging names, express your delight in meeting the person by saying "很高兴认识你" ( Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ ), which means "Nice to meet you." 

For a more formal setting, use "很高兴认识您" ( Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nín ).

Remember to smile, maintain eye contact, and offer a firm handshake to show your friendliness and respect.

10 unique phrases to introduce yourself in Chinese

Mastering the art of 'how to introduce yourself in Chinese' is more than merely uttering your name or age. It's an integral step in Chinese culture as it's your first step to fostering relationships and earning mutual respect.

Next, let's move on to more complete ways that will help you complete a self-introduction.

In a general context, let's dive into 10 handy sentences that can equip you to introduce yourself in Chinese with finesse:

1. " Nǐ hǎo, wǒ de míngzi shì ..." (你好，我的名字是...)

Start with the basic greeting " nǐ hǎo " (你好), which means "hello." Then follow it up with " wǒ de míngzi shì " (我的名字是), meaning "my name is."

For example, " Nǐ hǎo, wǒ de míngzi shì Tom " translates to "Hello, my name is Tom."

2. " Wǒ lái zì... " (我来自...)

When you want to share where you're from, use " wǒ lái zì " (我来自) followed by your hometown or country.

If you are from America, you can say, " Wǒ lái zì Měiguó " (我来自美国).

3. " Wǒ shì yì míng ..." (我是一名...)

This phrase is perfect for stating your profession.

For instance, " Wǒ shì yì míng yīshēng " (我是一名医生) translates to "I am a doctor."

4. " Wǒ zài...xuéxí " (我在...学习)

To express where you're studying, use the phrase " wǒ zài...xuéxí " (我在...学习).

So if you're studying at Beijing University, you'd say, " Wǒ zài Běijīng dàxué xuéxí " (我在北京大学学习).

5. " Wǒ de àihào shì ..." (我的爱好是...)

This phrase is to share your hobbies. Say, " wǒ de àihào shì " (我的爱好是), followed by your hobby.

For example, " Wǒ de àihào shì tīng yīnyuè " (我的爱好是听音乐) means "My hobby is listening to music."

6. " Wǒ xìng ..." (我姓...)

In Chinese, the family name or surname comes first, which is why the phrase " wǒ xìng " (我姓), followed by your surname, is a crucial part of introductions.

For instance, " Wǒ xìng Li " (我姓李) translates to "My surname is Li."

7. " Wǒ zài...gōngzuò " (我在...工作)

This phrase allows you to share your work location. It can also be used to express the company that you are working at.

For example, " Wǒ zài Yīngguó gōngzuò " (我在英国工作) means "I work in England."

8. " Wǒ shì...suì " (我是...岁)

To share your age, use " Wǒ shì...suì " (我是...岁) and any Chinese numbers .

So if you're 25, you'd say, " Wǒ shì 25 suì " (我是25岁).

9. " Wǒ shì ..." (我是...)

" Wǒ shì " (我是) can also be used to specify your gender. " Wǒ shì nǚshēng " (我是女生) means "I am a female."

10. " Wǒ shì...rén " (我是...人)

Indicate your nationality using this phrase.

For example, " Wǒ shì zhōngguó rén " (我是中国人) means "I am a Chinese person."

General notes on Chinese introductions

Now that you have the basic information on how to introduce yourself in Chinese, it's crucial to understand cultural contexts.

a. Age plays an information rule.

In contrast to many Western cultures, it's not uncommon for someone to ask about your age early in a conversation. 

In Chinese society, age plays a pivotal role in defining the hierarchical structure of relationships, influencing the respect one should show to another. Consequently, such questions are optional but necessary for establishing rapport and respect.

b. Be patient and polite.

Patience and politeness are integral aspects of introducing yourself in Chinese.

Building a conversation requires time, so it's essential to exercise patience when trying to make a good impression. On the other hand, politeness can be reflected in how you listen attentively, show respect towards the other person's opinions, and express gratitude for their time and attention.

c. Be aware of any cultural sensitivity and insights.

Developing a basic understanding of Chinese culture will significantly improve your communication with Chinese friends. 

This understanding can range from knowing when to bow or shake hands, understanding how to address someone by their correct title, to showing appreciation for Chinese traditions and history.

d. Know the non-verbal cues.

Body language is another crucial factor to consider. Maintaining eye contact while speaking, giving affirmative nods to show that you are listening, and having a relaxed yet respectful posture can positively influence your interactions.

13 phrases to introduce yourself for a Chinese date

If you are preparing for a date and you want to introduce yourself in Chinese, here are 13 sentences to help you impress:

1. " Nǐ hǎo, hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ " (你好，很高兴认识你)

When introducing yourself on a date, this phrase adds a bit of charm to your greeting.

For example, " Nǐ hǎo, hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ " (你好，很高兴认识你) translates to "Hello, nice to meet you."

2. " Wǒ ài..., nǐ ne ?" (我爱...，你呢？)

This phrase is useful when you want to share your likes and ask your date about their preferences.

" Wǒ ài pǔtáojiǔ, nǐ ne? " (我爱葡萄酒，你呢？) translates to "I love wine, and you?"

3. " Wǒ lái zì..., nǐ ne? " (我来自...，你呢？)

Talking about where you come from can be a great conversation starter. " Wǒ lái zì Fǎguó, nǐ ne? " (我来自法国，你呢？) means "I come from France, and you?"

4. " Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ yìqǐ cānguān zhège bówùguǎn " (我想跟你一起参观这个博物馆)

If you're planning to visit a museum with your date, you can say, " Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ yìqǐ cānguān zhège bówùguǎn " (我想跟你一起参观这个博物馆), which means "I would like to visit this museum with you."

5. " Nǐ xǐhuān kàn diànyǐng ma? " (你喜欢看电影吗?)

This phrase is great for asking your date if they enjoy watching movies.

" Nǐ xǐhuān kàn diànyǐng ma? " (你喜欢看电影吗?) means "Do you like watching movies?"

6. " Nǐ xǐhuān tīng shénme yīnyuè? " (你喜欢听什么音乐?)

Music can be a great conversation starter. Use this phrase to ask your date what kind of music they like. It means, "What kind of music do you like?"

7. " Wǒ kěyǐ qǐng nǐ hē yì bēi kāfēi ma? " (我可以请你喝一杯咖啡吗?)

This phrase is perfect for inviting your date for a cup of coffee.

" Wǒ kěyǐ qǐng nǐ hē yì bēi kāfēi ma? " (我可以请你喝一杯咖啡吗?) translates to "May I invite you for a cup of coffee?"

8. " Wǒ kěyǐ qǐng nǐ wǎncān ma? " (我可以请你晚餐吗?)

This phrase is ideal for asking your date to dinner. It translates to "May I invite you for dinner?"

9. " Nǐ yǒu shénme tèbié de àihào? " (你有什么特别的爱好?)

Hobbies can tell a lot about a person. Use this phrase to ask about your date's unique hobbies. It means, "What special hobbies do you have?"

10. "Nǐ xǐhuān kàn shénme shū?" (你喜欢看什么书?)

This phrase can be useful if you are interested in your date's reading preferences. It translates to "What kind of books do you like?"

11. " Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? " (你叫什么名字?)

After introducing your name, you can also ask the other party for their name.

This phrase translates to "What is your name?"

12. " Nǐ zhù zài nǎli? " (你住在哪里?)

To know where someone is staying, you can ask them this phrase: "Nǐ zhù zài nǎli?" (你住在哪里?) which roughly translates to "Where do you stay?" 

If you ask this question through online dating platforms, the other person will likely reply with the city they stay in.

13. " Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò? " (你做什么工作?)

Asking a potential partner's profession is also common during the first date.

This sentence "你做什么工作?" translates to "What is your profession?"

Notes on Chinese dating etiquette

In the context of a date, understanding Chinese dating etiquette is vital. Men are often expected to take the lead in asking questions, planning the date, and paying the bill.

However, these expectations can vary based on personal preferences and modern dating norms. Politeness, honesty, and modesty are universally valued in the Chinese dating scene .

Avoid controversial topics, respect their customs and family, and show genuine interest in getting to know them.

a. Taking initiative

Men are often expected to take the lead in various aspects of the date. This action could involve asking questions to keep the conversation flowing, planning the date, and even paying the bill. However, these traditional expectations are not hard and fast rules and can vary based on personal preferences and modern dating norms.

b. Respect their customs and family:

Chinese culture holds family values in high regard. Therefore, it's essential to be respectful of their customs and family. This action could mean showing interest when they speak about their family or understanding their participation in traditional family gatherings and celebrations.

c. Show genuine interest:

Finally, show genuine interest in getting to know them. This action could involve asking about their hobbies using phrases like " Nǐ xǐhuān zuò shénme " (你喜欢做什么?), meaning "What do you like to do?" or expressing curiosity about their preferences in music, food, or books.

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9 professional phrases to introduce yourself in Chinese in a business setting

Understanding how to introduce yourself in Chinese in a business environment is crucial. Here are 10 business phrases to help introduce yourself and network:

1. " Nǐn hǎo, wǒ de míngzi shì... " (您好，我的名字是...)

Politeness is paramount in a professional setting. Use the formal " nǐn hǎo " (您好), meaning "hello," instead of the more casual " nǐ hǎo ."

For example, " Nǐn hǎo, wǒ de míngzi shì James " (您好，我的名字是James) translates to "Hello, my name is James."

2. " Wǒ shì...gōngsī de... " (我是...公司的...)

It's often important to mention your company affiliation and role within it.

So, " Wǒ shì Apple gōngsī de CEO " (我是Apple公司的CEO) translates to "I am the CEO of Apple."

3. " Wǒ zài...fēn gōngsī gōngzuò " (我在...分公司工作)

To specify your work location, use " Wǒ zài...fēn gōngsī gōngzuò " (我在...分公司工作).

For example, " Wǒ zài Zhōngguó fēn gōngsī gōngzuò " (我在中国分公司工作) means "I work in the China branch."

4. " Wǒ de gōngsī wèiyú... " (我的公司位于...)

To express the location of your company, use " Wǒ de gōngsī wèiyú... " (我的公司位于...).

For example, " Wǒ de gōngsī wèiyú Shànghǎi " (我的公司位于上海) means "My company is located in Shanghai."

5. " Wǒmén gōngsī zhuānyè yú... " (我们公司专业于...)

To express your company's area of expertise, use " Wǒmén gōngsī zhuānyè yú... " (我们公司专业于...).

For example, " Wǒmén gōngsī zhuānyè yú jìsuànjī kēxué " (我们公司专业于计算机科学) means "Our company specializes in computer science."

6. " Wǒmén gōngsī de zhǔyào chǎnpǐn shì... " (我们公司的主要产品是...)

When talking about your company's main product, use " Wǒmén gōngsī de zhǔyào chǎnpǐn shì... " (我们公司的主要产品是...).

For instance, " Wǒmen gōngsī de zhǔyào chǎnpǐn shì diànnǎo " (我们公司的主要产品是电脑) translates to "Our company's main product is computers."

7. " Wǒ de zhuānyè shì... " (我的专业是...)

When discussing your field of expertise, use " Wǒ de zhuānyè shì... " (我的专业是...).

For instance, " Wǒ de zhuānyè shì jìsuànjī kēxué " (我的专业是计算机科学) means "My specialty is computer science."

8. " Wǒ de yèwù fànchóu bāokuò... " (我的业务范畴包括...)

This phrase allows you to detail the scope of your work.

" Wǒ de yèwù fànchóu bāokuò... " (我的业务范畴包括...) translates to "My business scope includes..."

9. " Wǒ yǐqián gōngzuò zài... " (我以前工作在...)

This phrase allows you to discuss your past work experience.

It translates to "I used to work at..."

5 Chinese business etiquette notes

Navigating Chinese business introductions requires a blend of cultural knowledge, linguistic ability, and an understanding of professional etiquette .

Here are some critical points to consider while making business introductions:

a. Use formal language:

In Chinese business culture, formal language is often used to show respect. This action includes using formal versions of sentences, professional titles, and polite expressions.

Remember, the phrase " wǒ shì " (我是), meaning "I am," is usually followed by your professional title and full name.

b. Exchange of business cards:

Business cards are highly valued in China, and their exchange is a significant part of the introduction process. When receiving a business card, use both hands to show respect. Please take a moment to read it carefully before placing it in a cardholder or a safe place.

c. Respect the hierarchy:

Like the general cultural norm, age, and hierarchical position significantly influence interactions in Chinese business culture. Make sure to greet the senior-most person first and always show due respect to individuals with higher positions.

d. Achieve brevity and clarity:

While making self-introductions in business contexts, be concise and clear. Chinese business professionals appreciate brevity and directness. Hence, your introduction could include your name, your role, and the organization you represent, followed by a brief overview of your business goals.

e. Remember the importance of titles:

Chinese people often prefer being addressed by their titles instead of their first names, particularly in professional settings. Therefore, remember to use their correct titles, such as " lǎoshī " (老师) for a teacher or " zhǔrèn " (主任) for a director.

BONUS: Chinese vocabulary list related to introductions

General chinese introductions etiquette for first impressions.

Understanding Chinese culture can help when you introduce yourself in Chinese. Chinese people heavily value respect and formality during first-time introductions, which are usually accompanied by a handshake or, occasionally, a slight bow.

So, refrain from making prolonged eye contact as it might be perceived as challenging or disrespectful.

a. Emphasize respect

Expressing respect toward the other person is vital when introducing yourself in Chinese. This action can be done using polite phrases such as " qǐngwèn " (请问), which translates to "May I ask."

b. Practice humility

I n Chinese culture, humility is a prized trait. When introducing yourself, remember to downplay your achievements. Use phrases such as " wǒ hái zài xuéxí " (我还在学习), meaning "I am still learning," to express modesty.

c. Give compliments

Chinese culture encourages giving compliments during introductions. However, make sure your compliments are sincere and appropriately timed.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What is the common response after a self-introduction.

Typically, after someone introduces themselves, the other person responds with " hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ " (很高兴认识你), which translates to "nice to meet you."

Is it common to mention your age during introductions in China?

In casual settings, it might be common, especially among young people. However, mentioning age is only typical if relevant in a professional or formal business setting.

Should I bow when introducing myself in China?

In China, a slight nod or bow is common when greeting someone, especially in a formal setting. However, a handshake is also acceptable, especially in business settings.

How should I introduce myself to a group in China?

When introducing yourself to a group in China, start by greeting everyone and then introduce yourself. Remember to maintain eye contact with everyone as you speak.

For example, " Dàjiā hǎo, wǒ de míngzi shì... " (大家好，我的名字是...), which translates to "Hello everyone, my name is..."

Should I use my English name or Chinese name when introducing myself?

That depends on the situation. If you introduce yourself to Chinese individuals who may have difficulty pronouncing foreign names, you should use a Chinese name.

However, using your English name with Chinese pronunciation is also acceptable.

Wrapping it up

Congratulations ! Whether it's to meet new friends, go on a date, or for professional networking, knowing how to introduce yourself in Chinese is an important step to making connections and building up how to speak Chinese with confidence.

Practice these phrases to impress your colleagues and impress them with your Chinese language skills.

Each step in learning Chinese brings you closer to understanding a fascinating culture, making new Chinese friends, and gaining a valuable skill that opens up a world of opportunities.

Jing You is a Chinese native who grew up in the Fujian province and soaked in the Chinese culture while living with her grandparents. She later moved to Singapore to pursue further education. However, she has always been passionate about the Mandarin language despite being in an environment that speaks English predominantly. She was involved in multiple Mandarin and Chinese culture programmes in schools, and brought this passion forward by tutoring elementary school students Mandarin in her adulthood.

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The Guide to Writing Your First Mandarin Essay

When you want to be able to make writing your first Mandarin essay nice and easy, it pays to put plenty of thought and effort into the preparation. As the old saying goes ‘fail to prepare, prepare to fail.’ To give you plenty of food for thought we’ve put together everything you need to know to get things moving. All you need to do is work through the following steps, and you’ll be submitting your essay in no time at all.

Check you understand the basics

There are so many things you have to think about when writing an essay, particularly when it’s not in your native language. But as with any cognitively demanding task, the process for getting started is always the same. Check you understand the following basics and you’ll be heading in the right direction:

• Do you know what the question means?
• Have you made a note of the final submission date?
• Make sure you read some past examples to get a feel for what’s expected of you
• Do you understand the question that has been set?
• Do you know who you can talk to if you need advice along the way?
• Are there any restrictions on the dialect you should be aware of?

Once you can write the answers to the above down on a single side of the paper, you are ready to tackle the main part of the problem: putting pen to paper.

Set aside time to write

The chances are that you’re not going to be able to pen the entire essay in a single sitting, and that’s okay. It’s nothing to be ashamed of or to worry about, and it’s natural that you need to work across multiple days when writing your first essay.

If you want to be able to make great progress, the most important thing is sticking to a routine. You need to have consistency in your application, and you need to be able to know when you are at your most productive. It’s no good staying up late one night and then carrying on early the next morning. You’d be far better off writing for the same amount of time but on two successive afternoons. Think about how your studies fit in with the rest of your daily life, and then choose the time that seems most appropriate. If you box it off and decide it’s only for writing, you’ll be in a great routine before you even know it.

Clear space so you can focus

As well as having time to write each day, you need a place to write too. The world is full of distractions (most of them are digital and social) so that means you’re going to want to keep yourself to yourself, and your phone in a different room. It might seem a little boring or uncomfortable at first, but you need to practice the habit of deep work. It’s what will allow you to create the most in the shortest time — ideal if you want to have plenty of time leftover to spend doing the other things that matter to you.

Have a daily word count in mind

Telling yourself that you want to write an essay today is one thing, but if you’re really going to push yourself to stick to your goal then you need to get quantitative. If you have a word count in mind that you need to hit, then it will prevent you from giving up and throwing in the towel the minute you start having to think and concentrate more than feels normal. Just like working out in the gym, it’s the temporary moments of extra effort that really drive the big differences. It’s when you’ll see the biggest improvement in your writing ability, and the lessons you teach yourself will stay with you for years to come. Ideal if you want to become a fluent Mandarin writer, as well as an engaging face-to-face speaker.

Read widely to provide context

When you’re immersed in an essay it can be all too easy to become blinkered and fail to pay attention to everything else that’s going on around you. Of course, you want to be focused on the task at hand, but you don’t want to be single-minded to the point of ignoring other great learning resources that are just a click away.

Reading widely is one of the best ways to improve your essay writing because it exposes you to techniques and approaches used by the best of the best. You’re not expected to be able to instantly write like a native speaker after an hour of reading. But what you will be able to do with consistent application is build up confidence and familiarity with written Mandarin. Over time this will reflect on the quality and depth of your writing as you gradually improve and take onboard lessons you’ve learned.

Take a break before you proofread

Last but not least, you need to remember that essay writing is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s all about taking the time to get things written before you hand them in, not racing through to try and finish on time. If you want to get the most out of your writing you need to take a day off between finishing your draft and proofing it. That way your brain will have had plenty of time to reflect on the work you’ve produced, and you’ll be able to spot many more little mistakes and places for improvement than you would if you proofed right away.

Final Thoughts

Writing Mandarin is a challenging task that will test your language skills and make you think hard about how to apply what you’ve learned so far. It might be slow going to begin with, but that’s great as it means you’re pushing your limits and building on your existing skills. If you want to be able to master Mandarin, you need to persevere and stay the course. Once you do, you’ll start to improve a lot faster than you expect.

By Diana Adjadj | A Super Chineasian

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Simple Self-introduction in Chinese

In this Chinese lesson, we’re going to go through a self-introduction template, which will cover the most common expressions you’ll need to introduce yourself.

Greetings & Opening remarks

(Lit. You good.)

One to a group

Hello everyone.

(Lit. Everyone good.)

Lead-in before your self-introduction

下面我来介绍一下我自己。

Xiàmiàn wǒ lái jièshào yíxià wǒ zìjǐ.

Next let me introduce (a little bit) myself.

Name or nickname

我 叫 + name。

Wǒ jiào + name.

My name is ___.

(Lit. I to be called__.)

Wǒ jiào Joyce.

My name is Joyce.

你/你们可以叫我 + nickname。

Nǐ/ Nǐmen kěyǐ jiào wǒ + nickname.

You can call me ___.

(Lit. You/ You(plural) can call me.)

Nǐmen kěyǐ jiào wǒ Jiājiā.

You can call me Jiajia.

大家都叫我 + nickname。

Dàjiā dōu jiào wǒ + nickname.

Everyone calls me ___.

(Lit. Everyone all calls me___.)

Dàjiā dōu jiào wǒ Jiā jiā.

Everyone calls me Jiajia.

我是 ___ + nationality ___ 。

Wǒ shì + nationality ___.

I am______.

Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.

I am Chinese.

Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.

I'm American.

我来自+ place。

Wǒ láizì + place.

I come from_____.

Wǒ láizì Shǎnxī Xī'ān.

I am from Xi'an, Shaanxi.

Wǒ láizì Měiguó Niǔyuē.

I am from New York, USA.

我在 + place + 出生，但是我在 + place + 长大。

Wǒ zài + place + chūshēng, dànshì wǒ zài + place + zhǎngdà.

I was born in ____, but I grew up in___.

(Lit. I in ___to be born, but I in _____grow up.)

我在美国出生，但是我在澳大利亚长大。

Wǒ zài Měiguó chūshēng, dànshì wǒ zài Àodàlìyà zhǎngdà.

I was born in the United States, but I grew up in Australia.

(Lit. I in the United States to be born, but I in Australia to grow up.)

我在 + place + 住了+ time period +了。

Wǒ zài + place + zhùle + time period + le.

I’ve been living in___for___.

(Lit. I in___have lived____.)

Wǒ zài Xiānggǎng zhùle shí nián le.

I’ve lived in Hong Kong for 10 years.

Education Background

我 在+ place + 读 + degree。

Wǒ zài + place + dú + degree.

I’m studying___in____.

(Lit. I in/at____to read___.)

Wǒ zài Zhōngguó dú dàxué.

I’m studying for a bachelor degree in China.

(Lit. I in China read university.)

Wǒ zài Měiguó dú yánjiūshēng.

I’m studying for a master’s degree in the United States.

(Lit. I in the United States read master degree.)

Wǒ xuéxí ___ zhuānyè.

I major in___.

(Lit. I study____major.)

Wǒ xuéxí jiàoyù zhuānyè.

I major in Education.

(Lit. I study Education major.)

Wǒ xuéxí jīnróng zhuānyè.

I major in Finance.

(Lit. I study Finance major.)

Current Job

我在 + place + 做 + occupation。

Wǒ zài + place + zuò + occupation.

I work as___in___.

(Lit. I at___to do___.)

Wǒ zài lǚxíngshè zuò dǎoyóu.

I work as a tour guide in a travel agency.

(Lit. I at travel agency do tour guide.)

Wǒ zài cāntīng zuò fúwùyuán.

I work as a waiter in a restaurant.

(Lit. I at restaurant do waiter.)

我是做 + sth. + 的。

Wǒ shì zuò + sth. + de.

I work as___.

(Lit. I do___.)

Wǒ shì zu xiāoshòu de.

I work in sales.

(Lit. I do sales.)

Wǒ shì zu jīnróng de.

I’m in the finance industry.

(Lit. I do finance.)

我是一名 + occupation。

Wǒ shì yì míng + occupation.

I’m a_____.

E.g. 我是一名汉语老师。

Wǒ shì yì míng Hànyǔ lǎoshī.

I’m a Chinese teacher.

Wǒ shì yì míng gōngchéngshī.

I’m an engineer.

Interests and Hobbies

我（超级/特别/最）喜欢_noun / verb_。

Wǒ (chāojí/tèbié/zuì) xǐhuan ___.

I like___very much.

Lit. I (super/particularly/ the most) like ___.

Wǒ chāojí xǐhuan xuéxí wàiyǔ.

I like learning foreign languages very much.

Wǒ tèbié xǐhuan jiāo péngyou.

I particularly like to make friends.

Wǒ zuì xǐhuan zuò fàn.

I like cooking the most.

我对__sth._很感兴趣。

Wǒ duì ___ hěn gǎn xìngqù.

I’m interested in__.

Lit. I towards ___ very interested.

Wǒ duì yìshù hěn gǎn xìngqù.

I’m very interested in art.

(Lit. I towards art very interested.)

我对中国历史很感兴趣。

Wǒ duì Zhōngguó lìshǐ hěn gǎn xìngqù.

I’m very interested in history.

(Lit. I towards Chinese history very interested.)

Self-evaluation

我是一个 _description_ 的人。

Wǒ shì yíge _description_ de rén.

Lit. I am a ______ person.

Wǒ shì yíge hěn kāilǎng de rén.

I’m an extroverted person.

Wǒ shì yí ge hěn hàixiū de rén.

I’m a shy person.

我的朋友们都说______。

Wǒ de péngyoumen dōu shuō ______。

My friends all say that_____.

我的朋友们都说我是一个很害羞的人。

Wǒ de péngyoumen dōu shuō wǒ shì yí ge hěn hàixiū de rén.

My friends all say that I’m a shy person.

Concluding words

很高兴认识你/你们/大家。

Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ/nǐmen/dàjiā.

Nice to meet you/you(plural)/everyone.

Qǐng duōduō zhǐjiào.

Please do give me some guidance.

One possible self-introduction template, creat your own from now on!

大家好。我叫 + name。我的朋友们都叫我 + nickname。我来自+ place。

Dàjiā hǎo. Wǒ jiào___. Wǒ de péngyoumen dōu jiào wǒ__.  Wǒ láizì ____.

Hello everyone. My name is__. My friends call me__. I come from______.

我在+place+ 住了+ time period + 了。我是一名+ occupation。我特别喜欢+ interests。

Dàjiā hǎo. Wǒ jiào___. Wǒ de péngyoumen dōu jiào wǒ____. Wǒ láizì ____.

I’ve been living in____for____. I’m a_____. I particularly like______.

我的朋友们都说 + description by your friends。很高兴认识你们。请多多指教。

Wǒ de péngyǒumen dōu shuō_______. Hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐmen. Qǐng duōduō zhǐjiào.

My friends all say that______. Nice to meet you all. I'd highly appreciate your kind guidance.

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Introduce Myself (自我介绍) Posted by sasha on Jan 6, 2012 in Uncategorized , Vocabulary

When learning a language, one of the first things you need to learn how to do is how to introduce yourself (自我介绍 – zì wǒ jiè shào). Whether you are making friends, chatting with co-workers, or looking for love, you’ll obviously have to be comfortable talking about yourself and sharing basic personal information. As a way to help you in your Chinese studies, here’s a short personal introduction about myself:

大家好，我叫Sasha。我姓Savinov。今年我二十六岁。我来自美国。我的老家是底特律。我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我。我们也有一只狗。现在我住在北京。我在这儿工作。我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师。我有漂亮的女朋友。她也是美国人。我们在一起住。我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的。周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿。比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒。我很高兴认识你！

明白了吗? (míng bái le ma?) – Got it?

OK, I know that’s a lot to digest, so let’s break down my introduction a little bit:

大家好 – dà jiā hǎo – Hello everyone!

我叫Sasha – wǒ jiào Sasha – My (first) name is Sasha.

我姓Savinov – wǒ xìng Savinov – My (last) name is Savinov.

今年我二十六岁 – jīn nián wǒ èr shí liù suì – This year I’m 26 years old.

美国! F*** yeah!

我来自美国 – wǒ lái zì měi guó – I’m from the United States.

老虎加油！(Go Tigers!)

我的老家是底特律 – wǒ de lǎo jiā shì dǐ tè lǜ – My hometown is Detroit.

我家很大 (My family is really big.)

我家有九个人：爸爸，妈妈，四个弟弟，两个妹妹，和我 – wǒ jiā yǒu jiǔ gè rén: bà ba, mā mā, sì gè dì dì, liǎng gè mèi mei, hé wǒ – My family has nine members: dad, mom, four little brothers, two little sisters, and me.

我的狗有点胖 (My dog is a little fat.)

我们也有一只狗 – wǒ men yě yǒu yī zhǐ gǒu – We also have a dog.

现在我住在北京 – xiàn zài wǒ zhù zài běijīng – Now, I live in Beijing.

我在这儿工作 – wǒ zài zhè’er gōng zuò – I work here.

我是英语老师。我也是视频制作老师 – wǒ shì yīng yǔ lǎo shī. wǒ yě shì shì pín zhì zuò lǎo shī – I’m an English teacher. I’m also a video production teacher.

我们在景山公园 (We're at Jingshan Park.)

我有漂亮的女朋友. 她也是美国人 – wǒ yǒu piào liang de nǚ péng yǒu. tā yě shì měi guó rén – I have a beautiful girlfriend. She’s also American.

我们在一起住 – wǒ men zài yī qǐ zhù – We live together.

我的爱好是：旅行，看书，听音乐，做运动，什么的 – wǒ de ài hào shì: lǚ xíng, kàn shū, tīng yīn yuè, zuò yùn dòng, shén me de – My hobbies are: traveling, reading books, listening to music, playing sports, and so on.

周末的时候我们喜欢去玩儿 – zhōu mò de shí hou wǒ men xǐ huan qù wán er – On the weekend, we like to go out and play.

延庆县 (Yanqing County - outside of Beijing city.)

比如：爬山，看音乐会，去饭馆吃饭，去酒吧喝啤酒 – bǐ rú: pá shān, kàn yīn yuè huì, qù fàn guǎn chī fàn, qù jiǔ bā hē pí jiǔ – For example: climb a mountain, see a concert, eat out in a restaurant, or go to a bar to drink beer.

我很高兴认识你 – wǒ hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ! – I’m pleased to meet you!

Well there you go. Now you know how to introduce yourself in Chinese, so find a new 朋友 and get practicing!

Build vocabulary, practice pronunciation, and more with Transparent Language Online. Available anytime, anywhere, on any device.

About the Author: sasha

Sasha is an English teacher, writer, photographer, and videographer from the great state of Michigan. Upon graduating from Michigan State University, he moved to China and spent 5+ years living, working, studying, and traveling there. He also studied Indonesian Language & Culture in Bali for a year. He and his wife run the travel blog Grateful Gypsies, and they're currently trying the digital nomad lifestyle across Latin America.

Hello ! I’m very happy to see these things above in a both chinese mandarin and english. May i ask you a question 😀 how long have you learned chinese mandarin ? As i can see, it was for long time…I hope we’ll get along well to sharing knowledges and experiences in many aspects not just learning a language.

Hope to see you response !

P/S: contact me : https://www.facebook.com/hunglee0

@Hung Lee Thanks Hung! It’s a hard question for me to answer, because I’ve only really studied Chinese for about 6 months or so in a classroom. I lived in Beijing for over 4 years, though, so I just went out and practiced every day. You don’t really need a classroom when you live in China!

Hello sasha am hearting this。am learning Chinese too am in my 2nd month of learning and I hope I will get to be as fluent as a mandarin speaker

@jane Hi! I have an interest in learning foreign language, right now I’m still learning chinese and spanish. This blog just help me for my homework 🙂 Thankyou (im suprised that you learned Bahasa too 😆) Terima Kasih, salam dari Indonesia!

Woow I like this Sasha.At least I can now introduce myself fluently.Thanks a lot….Then I have a problem in memorising Chinese words and writing the characters. please help.

Mr.Sasha what you have done it is really helpful to the beginners. I m Learning Chinese from 6 months . But I feel it’s very difficult to memorize as well as write characters. I don’t have any friend and atmosphere here to Improve Chinese. What are the remedies for it. {from India}

@Poornima Thanks for the comment! To be honest I never got very good at reading/writing the characters. Make flash cards, try to read Chinese, type it whenever you can. You can do our word of the day, read the blog, sign up to YouTube channels – anything that will get you exposed to more Chinese, more of the time! Oh and of course you should visit China!

Hi. I have learnt Chinese for six months. I think I work too hard because I could read all of that and comprehend it easily. I think anyone can achieve fluency in any language in under a year if you try. Even if you have lots of other stuff. Also being a language teacher is amazing you can make everyone say they love each other on the first day and no one will know what they are saying. Nice work though! Good luck Teaching!

Thanks Sasha. You’ve been of help to me this evening.I am from Ghana and this is my second semester studying Chinese and your introduction has been of help to Me in my assignment. Thanks alot . But the language gets tough each day and I always feel like giving up. What should I do?

@Elle Thanks for the comment! Learning Chinese can definitely be tough. You just have to keep going! Try to use it a little every day, even if it gets frustrating. Have you traveled to China yet? The best way to really use your Chinese is to put yourself in a place where you have to use it all the time. English isn’t very widespread in China so you have no choice but to speak Chinese!

Terima kasih atas tulisan nya, it help for my homework. Very suprised that you learned Bahasa too 😆 I have an interest in learning foreign language, right now im still learning chinese and spanish. Thankyou, greetings from ID 🇮🇩

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Learn Mandarin Chinese In Five Minutes

A new word a day. it is as simple as that., how to introduce yourself in mandarin chinese.

Self introduction is unavoidable unless you are anti-social, private or have the fear of meeting people. As we meet new people every day, we will somehow need to introduce ourselves whether we like it or not. We can be meeting people in school, at work or during formal and informal gatherings. As such, making a good first impression is very crucial, especially for business. It is a make or break kind of situation. If your first impression is bad, the business relationship will not even happen. Thus, we need to make an effort in self introduction to make the first impression last.

Formal and informal introduction

Self introduction to friends and business introduction are two completely different things. This is especially so when you are doing introducing yourself in Mandarin Chinese. For business, you need to use formal Chinese as oppose to colloquial Chinese when you are introducing yourself. For example, during a formal introduction setting, you cannot use 你 but should use 您. You also need to know the order of introduction in a formal setting. Who should make the introduction first? Senior or Junior? Higher ranking person or lower ranking person? Men or women? Should you shake hands or should you bow? We will dealt with all of these issues at the later part of this post.

Introducing yourself to a new friend (informal) in Mandarin Chinese

In an informal setting, you can use colloquial Chinese which we use in our daily conversation with friends and family.

Breaking the ice

When introducing yourself in an informal setting, the most commonly used sentence is   我叫 … . (Wǒ jiào….My name is….), or you can also say   我 是 … (Wǒ shì ….I am …) or   我的名字叫 … ( Wǒ de míngzì jiào … My name is …).

Short introduction of yourself

你好 ，我叫彼得。很高兴认识你！ Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào bǐ dé. Hěn gāo xìng rèn shì nǐ! Hello, my name is Peter. Nice to meet you!

Long introduction of yourself

If you want to provide more information about yourself to your new friends, you can include some information about your family, your hobbies, your occupation, where you are from etc.

Telling people where you are from

我是美国人。 Wǒ shì měi guó rén I am American

Telling people about your family

我家有四口人，爸爸，妈妈，一个妹妹和我。 Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén, bàba, māmā, yī gè mèimei hé wǒ. There are four people in my family. My father, mother, one younger sister and I.

Telling people about your occupation

我是北京大学的留学生。 Wǒ shì běijīng dà xué de liú xué shēng. I am a foreign student at Beijing University.

Telling people about your hobbies

我有很多爱好。我最大的爱好是踢足球。 Wǒ yǒu hěn duō ài hào.  wǒ zuì dà de ài hào shì tī zú qiú. I have many hobbies.  My greatest passion is to play football.

Self introduction in an informal setting

你好。我是大卫(偉)。我今年二十二岁(歲)。我是英国(國)人。我家有五口人，爸爸，妈妈(媽媽)，两个(個)哥哥和我。我是留学(學)生。我有很多爱(愛)好，我最喜欢(歡)的是旅游。很高兴(興)认识(認識)你们(們)。

Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ shì dà wěi. Wǒ jīn nián èr shí’èr suì. Wǒ shì yīng guó rén. Wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén, bàba, māmā, liǎng gè gēgē hé wǒ. Wǒ shì liú xué shēng. Wǒ yǒu hěn duō ài hào, wǒ zuì xǐ huān de shì lǚ yóu. Hěn gāo xìng rèn shì nǐ men.

Hello. My name is David. I am 22 years old this year. I am British. There are 5 people in my family. My father, mother, 2 older brothers and I. I am a foreign exchange student. I have many hobbies, and my favourite is travel. Very happy to meet all of you. s

Introduction in a formal setting

Introducing yourself or introducing others in a formal setting will require you to use formal form of Chinese words and or Chinese phrases. You will need to be more conscious of the way you speak and act, unlike in an informal setting.

您好。我是ABC公司的陈凯(凱)，很荣(榮)幸见到您。这(這)是我的名片。 Nín hǎo. Wǒ shì ABC gōng sī de chén kǎi, hěn róng xìng jiàn dào nín. Zhè shì wǒ de míng piàn. Hello. I am Chen Kai from ABC company. It is my pleasure to meet you. This is my name card.

How to introduce yourself in a formal setting

When doing an introduction in a formal setting, you can start by saying the company name followed by your full name and vice versa. Normally, you will need to mention the department you are working in and your title. Take for example,

您好，我叫陈凯(凱)，是ABC贸(貿)易公司电脑(電腦)部的业务经(業務經)理. Nín hǎo, wǒ jiào chén kǎi, shì ABC mào yì gōng sī de yè wù jīng lǐ. Hello, my name is Chen Kai. I am the business manager of the computer department of ABC Trading Company.

Order or sequence in formal setting

In China, the host will first introduce themselves to the guest. During introduction, the sequence and order is according to what we have shown below:

• To introduce the younger or lower rank person to the higher rank or senior person.
• To introduce the men to the ladies if they are of the same age. If there is a senior in the midst, you will need to introduce the ladies to the senior first to show respect to the senior person.
• If you choose to shake hands, the lower rank / younger person will have to wait for the higher rank / senior person to reach out first before you can reach out to shake the hand. And, men should wait for the ladies to reach out their hands first before they can shake the hand. If the senior chose to bow rather than shake hands, you should do the same.
• Always use both hands when passing your name card to the other party. Using only one hand is considered to be rude in the Chinese culture.

Whether you are introducing yourself in Mandarin Chinese formally or informally, so long as you are polite and in your best behaviour, you should be fine.  Just remember to smile and reduce unnecessary talk, you will definitely leave a good impression. Practice using the above sentence structure and you will have no problem introducing yourself to new friends or business acquaintances.

Visit our youtube channel for a video teaching you how to introduce yourself in Chinese.

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How to introduce yourself in Chinese

One of the first things you need to learn in Chinese is how to introduce yourself and let people know a little bit about you. In this post I’ll cover all this and more.

Table of Contents

Hello / 你好 / nǐ hǎo

你 nǐ 好 hǎo (nǐ hǎo) is the most straightforward way to introduce yourself in Chinese, and is the equivalent of saying “hello” in English. You will also see this written as 你 nǐ 好 hǎo 吗 ma (nǐ hǎo ma) , not the difference here is that the 吗 ma (ma) character has been added to the end. The difference here is that 你 nǐ 好 hǎo (nǐ hǎo) means “hello” and 你 nǐ 好 hǎo 吗 ma (nǐ hǎo ma) is the equivalent of “how are you?”

你 nǐ 好 hǎo nǐ hǎo Hello

You can use 你 nǐ 好 hǎo (nǐ hǎo) in almost any situation, however you should be aware of a slight variation which is 您 nín 好 hǎo (nín hǎo) . Here 您 nín (nín) means “you” but is the polite equivalent 你 nǐ (nǐ) . Examples of when to use 你 nǐ 好 hǎo (nǐ hǎo) include

• Greeting someone who is older such as an elder or teacher
• Greeting someone who is of a senior rank, for example meeting the company CEO
• Meeting someone in a formal situation, for example greeting a guest from another company
• Meeting someone you don’t know where it is apparent they are older or more senior to yourself

Be careful when using 您 nín 好 hǎo (nín hǎo) as it is formal and definitely makes the situation less casual.

Children might use 您 nín 好 hǎo (nín hǎo) more than adults, however for children it is more common to greet people by their title, so for example:

• Hello elder brother 姐姐好 (jiějiě hǎo)
• Hello elder sister 哥哥好 (gēgē hǎo)
• Hello auntie 阿姨好 (āyí hǎo)
• Hello uncle 叔叔好 (shūshu hǎo)
• Hello grandfather 爷爷好 (yéyé hǎo)
• Hello grandmother 奶奶好 (nǎinai hǎo)

My name is / 我叫 / wǒ jiào

我 wǒ 叫 jiào (wǒ jiào) The most simple way to tell someone your name. The way to use this is to say something like:

e e m m > > 我 wǒ 叫 jiào M M i i k k e e wǒ jiào Mike My name is Mike

As Chinese may have some difficulty pronouncing your English name, I suggest you look up it’s Chinese equivalent on my posts here:

• How to say male names in Chinese
• How to say female names in Chinese

Be sure to also check out my post on how to address people in Chinese .

Here is a break down of 我 wǒ 叫 jiào (wǒ jiào )

What is your name? / 你叫什么名字？ / nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

你 nǐ 叫 jiào 什 shén 么 me 名 míng 字 zi (nǐ jiào shénme míngzì) is a reasonably casual way of asking someone their name and literally means “What are you called?” You can use 你 nǐ 叫 jiào 什 shén 么 me 名 míng 字 zi (nǐ jiào shénme míngzì) in combination with saying hello and telling the other person your name, for example:so for example:

你 nǐ 好 hǎo ， , 我 wǒ 叫 jiào M M i i k k e e 。 . 你 nǐ 叫 jiào 什 shén 么 me 名 míng 字 zi ？ ? nǐ hǎo，wǒ jiào Mike. nǐ jiào shénme míngzì Hi, my name is Mike. What is your name?

Here is word-by-word break down of 你 nǐ 叫 jiào 什 shén 么 me 名 míng 字 zi (nǐ jiào shénme míngzì) :

As you can see from the break down, this is equivalent to English, albeit with a slight change in word order.

How do I address you? / 怎么称呼你？ / zěnme chēnghu nǐ?

怎 zěn 么 me 称 chēng 呼 hu 你 nǐ (zěnme chēnghu nǐ) is best used when you are unsure of how to address someone. Broken down this literally means “how (do I) address you?”:

Here are some sample answer could expect to asking someone 怎么称呼你 (zěnme chēnghu nǐ) :

What nationality are you (which country are you from)? / 你是哪国人？/ nǐ shì nǎ guó rén?

你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén (nǐ shì nǎ guórén) is a very common question people will ask of foreigners and thus is a question you will get good at answering. Equally if you are in China, it is unlikely you will need to ask someone where they are from, as the answer is probably obvious. here is 你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén (nǐ shì nǎ guórén) broken down word-for-word:

As you can see, broken down 你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén (nǐ shì nǎ guórén) is a straight forward translation.

To answer 你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén (nǐ shì nǎ guórén) , you should say

I am <nationality> / 我是<nationality>人 / wǒ shì <nationality> rén

我 wǒ 是 shì <country>人 ( wǒ shì <country> rén ) is the most appropriate way to tell which country you’re from. To use this phrase you simply insert the Chinese name of the country you are from, for example:

In Chinese, to turn a country into a nationality, you simply add 人 (rén) after the Chinese name of the country, thus:

• China 中 Zhōng 国 guó (zhōngguó rén)”] becomes Chinese 中 Zhōng 国 guó 人 rén (zhōngguó rén)
• America 美 Měi 国 guó (měiguó) becomes American 美 Měi 国 guó 人 rén (měiguó rén)
• Canada 加 Jiā 拿 ná 大 dà (jiānádà) becomes Canadian 加 Jiā 拿 ná 大 dà 人 rén ( jiānádà rén)
• Australia 澳 Aò 洲 zhōu (àozhōu) becomes Australian 澳 Aò 洲 zhōu 人 rén (àozhōu)
• Indian 印 Yìn 度 dù (yìndù) becomes Indian 印 Yìn 度 dù 人 rén (yìndù rén)
• Britain 英 Yīng 国 guó (yīngguó) becomes British 英 Yīng 国 guó 人 rén yīngguó rén )

If your country isn’t in the short list above, check out my post on Country Names in Chinese .

Note that someone saying they are Chinese 美 Měi 国 guó 人 rén (měiguó rén) refers to their nationality, not ethnicity. Someone who is ethnically Chinese but is not a citizen of China is called a 华 Huá 人 rén (huárén) .

Where are you from? / 你从哪里来？ / nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái?

你 nǐ 从 cóng 哪 nǎ 里 lǐ 来 lái (nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái) is a common question you will hear or may use to ask where someone is from. This is different to 你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén (nǐ shì nǎ guórén) , which was asking someone what their nationality. 你 nǐ 从 cóng 哪 nǎ 里 lǐ 来 lái (nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái) could be answered with:

• the country you are from, but necessarily you nationality
• the state or province you’re from
• the city your from

Here is a break down of 你从哪里来 (nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái) :

Here are some examples:

What do you do? / 你做什么工作?  / nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?

你 nǐ 做 zuò 什 shén 么 me 工 gōng 作 zuò (nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò) is the way you ask someone what they do. Here is a direct translation:

As with English, 你 nǐ 做 zuò 什 shén 么 me 工 gōng 作 zuò (nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò) , is a common part of small talk when getting to know someone.

I’m a ___ / 我是 / wǒ shì

我是 (wǒ shì) is an easy way to say “I am”, which can be used to answer the above question 我 wǒ 是 shì 工 gōng 程 chéng 师 shī 。 .

Note that in some cases you place a classifier, otherwise known as a measure word, in front of the profession, so rather than say “I am student” 我 wǒ 是 shì 学 xué 生 sheng ( wǒ shì xuéshēng) it is more correct to say “I am a student” 我 wǒ 是 shì 个 gè 个 gè 学 xué 生 sheng ( wǒ shì yī gè xuéshēng) , where “一个” means “one”.

Check out my post on how to address people in Chinese for more details on professions and how to address people. If you want to know more about classifiers, please take a look at my post Chinese Classifiers: What are they and how to use them as well as my  complete list of Mandarin Chinese classifiers and measure words .

A sample dialogue for introducing yourself in Chinese

To put this together I thought it would be useful to show you sample dialogue of introductions in Chinese:

你 nǐ 好 hǎo 。 . nǐ hǎo. Hello.

你 nǐ 好 hǎo ， , 我 wǒ 叫 jiào M M i i k k e e 。 . 怎 zěn 么 me 称 chēng 呼 hu 你 nǐ ？ ? nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Mike. Zěnme chēnghu nǐ? Hi, I’m (called) Mike. How should I address you?

我 wǒ 叫 jiào 老 lǎo 王 wáng 。 . 你 nǐ 是 shì 哪 nǎ 国 guó 人 rén ？ ? wǒ jiào lǎo wáng. Nǐ shì nǎ guórén? I’m old Wang. Which country are you from?

我 wǒ 是 shì 美 Měi 国 guó 人 rén 。 . 你 nǐ 从 cóng 哪 nǎ 里 lǐ 来 lái ？ ? wǒ shì měiguó rén. nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái? I’m American. Where are you from?

我 wǒ 是 shì 北 Běi 京 jīng 人 rén 。 . 你 nǐ 做 zuò 什 shén 么 me 工 gōng 作 zuò ？ ? wǒ shì běijīng rén. Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò? I’m from Beijing. What do you do (job)?

我 wǒ 是 shì 一 yī 个 gè 学 xué 生 sheng ， , 你 nǐ 呢 ne ？ ? wǒ shì yīgè xuéshēng， nǐ ne? I’m a student， (how about) you?

我 wǒ 是 shì 工 gōng 程 chéng 师 shī 。 . wǒ shì gōngchéngshī. I’m an engineer.

Wrapping it up

I hope this has been useful, be sure to also check out my post on the Top 25 Chinese phrases for tourists tourists to help build you Chinese vocabulary.

Improve Chinese Essay Writing- A Complete How to Guide

• Last updated: June 6, 2019
• Learn Chinese

Writing can reflect a writer’s power of thought and language organization skills. It is critical to master Chinese writing  if you want to take your Chinese to the next level. How to write good Chinese essays? The following six steps will improve Chinese essay writing:

Before You Learn to Improve Chinese Essay Writing

Before you can write a good essay in Chinese, you must first be accustomed with Chinese characters. Unlike English letters, Chinese characters are hieroglyphs, and the individual strokes are different from each other. It is important to be comfortable with writing Chinese characters in order to write essays well in Chinese. Make sure to use Chinese essay writing format properly. After that, you will be ready to improve Chinese essay writing.

Increase Your Chinese Words Vocabulary

With approximately 100,000 words in the Chinese language, you will need to learn several thousand words just to know the most common words used. It is essential to learn as many Chinese words as possible if you wish to be a good writer. How can you enlarge your vocabulary? Try to accumulate words by reading daily and monthly. Memory is also very necessary for expanding vocabulary. We should form a good habit of exercising and reciting as more as we can so that to enlarge vocabulary. Remember to use what you have learned when you write in Chinese so that you will continually be progressing in your language-learning efforts.

Acquire Grammar,Sentence Patterns and Function Words

In order to hone your Chinese writing skills , you must learn the grammar and sentence patterns. Grammar involves words, phrases, and the structure of the sentences you form. There are two different categories of Chinese words: functional and lexical. Chinese phrases can be categorized as subject-predicate phrases (SP), verb-object phrases (VO), and co-ordinate phrases (CO). Regarding sentence structure, each Chinese sentence includes predicate, object, subject, and adverbial attributes. In addition, function words play an important role in Chinese semantic understanding, so try to master the Chinese conjunction, such as conjunction、Adverbs、Preposition as much as you can. If you wish to become proficient at writing in Chinese, you must study all of the aspects of grammar mentioned in this section.

Keep a Diary Regularly to Note Down Chinese Words,Chinese Letters

Another thing that will aid you in becoming a better writer is keeping a journal in Chinese. Even if you are not interested in expanding your writing skills, you will find that it is beneficial for many day-to-day tasks, such as completing work reports or composing an email. Journaling on a regular basis will help you form the habit of writing, which will make it feel less like a chore. You may enjoy expressing yourself in various ways by writing; for instance, you might write poetry in your journal. On a more practical side of things, you might prefer to simply use your journal as a way to purposely build your vocabulary .

Persistence in Reading Everyday

In addition to expanding your view of the world and yourself, reading can help you improve your writing. Reading allows you to learn by example; if you read Chinese daily, you will find that it is easier to write in Chinese because you have a greater scope of what you can do with the vocabulary that you’ve learned. Choose one favorite Chinese reading , Read it for an hour or 2,000 words or so in length each day.

Whenever you come across words or phrases in your reading that you don’t understand, take the time to check them in your dictionary and solidify your understanding of them. In your notebook, write the new word or phrase and create an example sentence using that new addition to your vocabulary. If you are unsure how to use it in a sentence, you can simply copy the sample sentence in your dictionary.

Reviewing the new vocabulary word is a good way to improve your memory of it; do this often to become familiar with these new words. The content of reading can be very broad. It can be from novels, or newspapers, and it can be about subjects like economics or psychology. Remember you should read about things you are interested in. After a certain period of accumulation by reading, you will greatly improve your Chinese writing.

Do Essay Writing Exercise on a Variety of Subjects

As the saying goes, “practice makes perfect.” In order to improve your China Essay Writing , you should engage in a variety of writing exercises. For beginners, you should start with basic topics such as your favorite hobby, future plans, favorite vacation spot, or any other topic that you can write about without difficulty.

For example :《我的一天》( Wǒ de yì tiān, my whole day’s life  ),《我喜欢的食物》( Wǒ xǐhuan de shíwù, my favorite food  ),《一次难忘的旅行》( yí cì nánwàng de lǚxíng, an unforgettable trip  ) etc.

Generally the writing topics can be classified into these categories: a recount of an incident,a description of something/someone, a letter, formulate your own opinion on an issue based on some quote or picture etc.

Takeaway to Improve Chinese Essay Writing

Keep an excel spreadsheet of 口语(Kǒuyǔ, spoken Chinese) –书面语(Shūmiànyǔ, written Chinese) pairs and quotes of sentences that you like. You should also be marking up books and articles that you read looking for new ways of expressing ideas. Using Chinese-Chinese dictionaries is really good for learning how to describe things in Chinese.

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Qin Chen focuses on teaching Chinese and language acquisition. She is willing to introduce more about Chinese learning ways and skills. Now, she is working as Mandarin teacher at All Mandarin .

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6 Chinese Words and Structures for Self-Introduction

Apr 19, 2022 | Chinese Language

The Most Useful Chinese Words and Structures to Introduce Yourself in Chinese

Imagine such a scenario, you’ve just arrived in China and you want to make some Chinese friends in order to know more about local people’s daily lives. As we all know, in order to make friends with other people, you will first need to introduce yourself. Well, if you would like to make friends with Chinese people, it will be a good idea to learn how to introduce yourself in Chinese so that you could more or less impress your “potential friends”. In this article, we would like to teach you six words and structures you need in order to introduce yourself in Chinese.

Chinese Words and Structures to Introduce Yourself

1. Greetings

你好! Nǐ hǎo Hello!You can start with the word “你好 (nǐ hǎo)” if you would like to learn how to introduce yourself in Chinese. This is the most common word Chinese people use when they start to introduce themselves. In this word, “你 (nǐ)” means “you”, and “好 (hǎo)” means “good”. Hence, the literal meaning of this Chinese word is “you good”. What’s hidden behind this word is probably that when Chinese people say hi to you, they also hope everything is going well with you.

2. I am …

我是 … Wǒ shì … I am + name

This is the key structure that you need in order to introduce yourself in Chinese. The character “是 (shì)” means “am/is/are”, and the meaning of this structure is “I am……”. You can add your name to this structure when you want to introduce yourself in Chinese. Here is an example to help you better understand how to use this structure:

我是Andy。 Wǒ shì Andy. I’m Andy.

What you need to bear in mind is that Chinese people state their full names (surname + given name) instead of just saying their given names when they introduce themselves. In addition, a person’s surname comes before his or her given name. For example:

我是李强。 Wǒ shì Lǐ Qiáng. I’m Li Qiang.

In the name “李强 (Lǐ Qiáng)”, “李 (Lǐ)” is this person’s surname, whereas “强 (Qiáng)” stands for the given name.

3. My name is …

我叫 … Wǒ jiào … My name is + name

This is another way to tell other people your name when you introduce yourself in Chinese. “叫 (jiào)” means “to call”, therefore, the literal meaning of this structure is “I’m called/My name is……”. Again you can directly add your name to this structure when you introduce yourself in Chinese.

你好，我叫Emily。 Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Emily。 Hello, my name is Emily.

4. I’m from …

我是 … Wǒ shì … I’m + nationality.

When you introduce yourself in Chinese, you probably also want to tell other people where you come from. In Chinese, “name of the country + 人 (rén)” represents a person’s nationality, and the character “人 (rén)” means “people”. Let’s take a look at some examples to help you better understand this structure:

我是美国人。 Wǒ shì Měi guó rén. I’m American.

我是英国人。 Wǒ shì Yīng guó rén. I’m British.

我是日本人。 Wǒ shì Rì běn rén. I’m Japanese.

In these three examples, “美国 (Měiguó)”, “英国 (Yīngguó)” and “日本 (Rìběn)” mean “America”, “Britain” and “Japan” respectively.

Chinese Words and Structures to Talk About Your Occupation and Age

1. My occupation

我是 … Wǒ shì … I’m a + profession

Sometimes you might also want to tell other people what you do for a living when you introduce yourself in Chinese. It’s very similar to how you tell others your nationality, and what you need to do is replace your nationality by your profession.

我是老师。 Wǒ shì lǎoshī. I’m a teacher.

我是工程师。 Wǒ shì gōngchéngshī. I’m an engineer. Vocabulary:

老师 lǎoshī teacher

工程师 gōngchéngshī engineer

我 + … + 岁 。 Wǒ + … + suì. I’m … years old.

It’s not acceptable to ask people’s age in most western countries. However, you can use this structure in case you want to mention your age when you introduce yourself in Chinese. The word “岁 (suì)” can be translated as “year(s) old”.

我二十岁。 Wǒ èrshí suì. I’m twenty years old.

I hope you’ve learned a little bit more about self-introduction. To find out more interesting and useful vocabulary, check out one of our blog posts 7 Things About Chinese Culture First-time Travelers Should Know

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Useful Vocabulary to Describe 5 Types of Weather in ChinesePeople from Britain often start a conversation by talking about the weather 天气 (tiānqì). Chinese people are not partial to discussions related to the weather. However, what might surprise you is that the...

7 Common Chinese Phrases to Express Wishes

Useful Common Chinese Phrases to Express Wishes Courtesy plays an important role in Chinese culture. Chinese people express wishes to their friends and relatives during the New Year holiday. Meanwhile, they also do that on different festival-related occasions. As many...

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How to Write a Chinese Essay

by That's Mandarin | Dec 16, 2020

As a Chinese student, learning how to write an essay in this language is very important. After all, how else are you going to express yourself? Writing is one of the ways professors use to teach this language because writing helps with the retention of information.

The more essays you write, the better you get at communicating with Chinese. To write a good essay, you first have to reach a high language mastery level.

Do you admire the students who write seamless Chinese essay? If you do, then you should know that you too can achieve this level of proficiency. In the meantime, don’t be afraid to pay for your essay if you cannot write it on your own. Online academic writers are a resource each student should take advantage of.

Here are tips to help you get better at writing essays in Chinese.

Learn New Chinese Words

The key to communicating in a new language is learning as many words as you can. Take it upon yourself to learn at least one Chinese word a day. Chinese words are to essay writing what bricks are to a building. The more words you have, the better you get at constructing meaningful sentences.

Case in point, if you’re going to write a Chinese sentence that constitutes ten words, but you don’t know the right way to spell three of those words, your sentence might end up not making sense.

During your Chinese learning experience, words are your arsenal and don’t forget to master the meaning of each word you learn.

Read Chinese Literature

Reading is the most effective way of learning a new language. Remember not to read for the sake of it; find out the meaning of each new word you encounter. When you are an avid reader of Chinese literature, nothing can stop you from writing fluent Chinese.

In the beginning, it might seem like you’re not making any progress, but after a while, you will notice how drastically your writing will change. Receiving information in Chinese helps your brain get accustomed to the language’s sentence patterns, and you can translate this to your essays.

Be extensive in your reading to ensure you get as much as possible out of each article. Remember that it’s not about how fast you finish an article, but rather, how much you gain from the exercise.

Translate Articles from your Native Language to Chinese

Have you ever thought about translating your favorite read to Chinese? This exercise might be tedious, but you will learn a lot from it. The art of translation allows you to seamlessly shift from one language’s sentence pattern into the other. The more you do this, the easier it will be for your brain to convert English sentences into Chinese phrases that people can comprehend.

You can always show your Chinese professor your translations for positive criticism. The more you get corrected, the better you will get at translation. Who knows, you might actually like being a translator once you graduate.

Final Thoughts

Writing in Chinese is as foreign as writing in any other language you’re not familiar with. Despite the unfamiliarity, however, it is possible to get better at it with practice. Read as many Chinese articles as you can and make sure you learn at least one new Chinese word each day. In no time, you’ll be at pro at writing Chinese essays.

by Adrian Lomezzo

Adrian  Lomezzo is a freelance writer. Firstly, he has been developing as a content manager and working with different websites, and the main goal of his was to develop the content making it in the first place. Secondly,  Adrian  had a big desire to help students and adults in self-development in this field and teach them to improve their skills. As a lover of traveling, he did not want to be in one place, and became a writer who could be closer to everyone, and share precious information from the corners of the world.

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How to Introduce Yourself in Chinese

Posted by Fifi Yang 15627

It's very important to use proper greeting phrases in Chinese society. To do introduction is the first step when you want to make new friends or just get to know new people. Learning how to introduce yourself will help you improve your interpersonal relationships. Now let's see how to impress your new Chinese friends or the Chinese people you meet on a business occasion by your prefect self-introduction in Chinese.

Part 1. Introduce Basic Information

First of all, we should introduce our basic information such as name, personality and occupation. The introduction structure is very easy and clear in Chinese,"Sb. shì+ name/nationality/occupation".

1. wǒ xìnɡ我姓…

wǒ xìnɡ Perrin 我姓Perrin My last Name is Perrin

2. wǒ jiào 我叫

wǒ jiào James 我叫James My Name is James

3. wǒ shì 我是

wǒ shì James 我是James My Name is James

About nationality

4. wǒ shì 我是

wǒ shì fǎ ɡuó rén 我是法国人 I'm French

5. wǒ lái zì 我来自+Country

wǒ lái zì fǎ ɡuó 我来自法国 I come from France

About family

6. 我家里有5口人，There are 5 members in my Family

7. 我有…(relation)

wǒ yǒu yíɡè jiějie, liǎnɡɡè dìdi 我有一个姐姐，两个弟弟 I have one sister, two younger brothers.

Learn more family members and relatives in Chinese.

About occupation

8. wǒ shì yì mínɡ 我是一名….(zhíyè 职业) I am a ….(occupation)

wǒ shì yì mínɡ wǎnɡ zhàn biān jí 我是一名网站编辑 I'm a web editor

A complete sentence to do self-introduction in Chinese.

nǐ hǎo ,wǒ shì/jiào David， wǒ shì fǎ ɡuó rén ， wǒ shì ɡōnɡ chénɡ shī 。 你好，我 是/叫David ， 我 是 法 国 人 ， 我 是 工 程 师 。 Hello, My name is David, I come from France. I currently work as an enginner.

hěn ɡāo xìnɡ rèn shí nǐ. 很 高 兴 认 识 你. I'm glad to meet you

There are many nationalities and occupations, such as

Common Occupations in Chinese

Part 2. Additional Information Like Hobby

Besides the basic information, trying to introduce your hobby will help you attract attentions of others.

xǐ huɑn 喜 欢 like

So you may introduce your hobby like this:

wǒ xǐ huɑn chànɡ ɡē / xià qí / kàn diàn yǐnɡ / dǎ qiú / jiàn shēn / wán yóu xì

我 喜 欢 唱 歌 /下棋 / 看 电 影 / 打 球 /健 身 / 玩 游 戏

You're encouraged to post an introduction of yourself in Chinese in comment section below.

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A Guide for Chinese ESL Students Personal Statements for College Applications

Personal Statements as a Genre

Most higher education institutes require a personal statement from their applicants. Most students like you have some experience in writing something that expresses your thoughts and experiences. However, a personal statement can be very different from a typical essay or paper you turn in to your teachers and professors.

First, we should talk about why colleges and universities want to see your personal statement. Even though Chinese students are known for their high grades and test scores, these numbers cannot really tell the administrator about who you really are. Yes, you are interested in Medicine. Okay, you’ve had a great internship. Oh, you also took a hundred AP classes. But, so what? There are also millions of other students who have similar numbers. All these numbers are simply a way to classify students into different score levels, but they do not highlight how you are different from others. Bekins, Huckin, and Kijak (yeah, I don’t know too much about them neither) are three scholars who studied administration processes for students applying for medical school said in their research paper: “We’re pretty certain from grade and test scores of an applicant’s abilities to succeed in med school. What we can’t tell from grades and scores, though, is whether the applicant will thrive in a medical career. That’s where the [personal statement] comes in.” (p. 58) Ideally, you should participate in an interview, where you can really showcase yourself, as a unique individual.

But, wait! Don’t forget you are very likely to be in China, attending those AP classes and laughing at math skills of American students. So, forcing the admissions staff to hear your story in person is a big no no. But what if you are in luck, and just happen to be in the States? Well, administrators would probably see your essays and personal statements before they ever meet you. So now, we have established why we should care about personal statements. They are the foundations from which others can learn about you and your values.

Hopefully, by now, I have sold you the idea that “personal statements are important”. But even if I have failed you, you may want to read a bit further until the mailman comes and picks up this book for return. Next, we are going to talk about what a personal statement is.

Technically, a personal statement “is classified as a type of ‘occluded’ promotional genre”, (p. 137), as defined by Yuan-li Tiffany Chiu. In layman’s, or normal people’s, terms, it basically means you are writing something to sell yourself as a desirable talent. Chiu also claims there is a relationship between the students and administrators, where students are outsiders of the academic community, while academics are the insiders. Under this premise, administrators will hold some expectations in evaluating students. However, students, being the outsiders, can be completely unaware of such expectations. The difficulties raised by this unawareness is even more significant for forting students.

One opinion presented by Lucie Shuker is the view that:

The personal statement, while not ‘untrue’, is nevertheless a fabricated account of the self – selected from many possible identity projections. The constant recording and evidencing of productivity therefore result in the individual producing behaviours for the very purpose of being recorded and judged (p. 227).

Put it in an easier sentence, personal statements are not lies, but truth told in a decorated way, in order to make oneself more marketable. In the next four sections, I will take you step by step in exploring your most marketable stories and how to tell them properly.

Common Problems Experienced by Chinese Students

Since most Chinese students, like you, have studied English from an early age, mostly from first or third grade in elementary school, I do not need to explain basic grammar rules or lead you step-by-step in writing correct sentences. In fact, you may have a bigger vocabulary base than I do (considering all the words you were forced to remember for the TOEFL and the SAT). However, there are three main problems involving accuracy that I need to cover for you to write better papers and essays in general as a Chinese ESL student.

• Word Choice

Even though China is possibly the largest English-learning nation in the world, only 7% of Chinese report “that they ‘often’ use the language” (Bolton & Graddol, 2012, p. 7). Most students have never had the chance to use the language in a natural setting. So while Chinese students, aiming to study abroad in an English-speaking country, generally have a large word base, they misuse many words in the wrong setting.

One common mistake is that Chinese students tend to use unnecessarily complicated words, if they can. For example, if one looks up “词汇量“ in the most popular electronic Chinese-English dictionary, Youdao Dictionary , one would typically find a list of three words: vocabulary, word base , and lexical resources . Yes, it is nice to use words that no one understands, and idioms in your writing when you are writing in Chinese, because they simply look fancier. However, if you are trying to tell a very casual story, or even use it in a conversation you are recreating in a paper, no one, and I mean it, uses “lexical resources” in their daily conversations. Moreover, “lexical resources” is a very different term from vocabulary and word base, as it normally entails such database created in combination of multiple dictionaries.

Another mistake regarding word choice is somewhat mentioned above, trying to translate Chinese idioms into English. One of more extreme examples is: “人山人海”, which describes the large amount of people, being translated into people mountain people sea . Although many would be able to understand what it means, in formal writing, this type of misuse of language is not encouraged.

• Grammar Mistakes

Conjunctions are difficult for Chinese students because they entail a relationship between two ideas or objects. Due to the difference between two cultures, it can be incredibly difficult for students to use the correct conjunction. Some most notable mistakes are: “because” and “so”, and “although” and “but”. In the Chinese mindset, in order to transition from one idea to another, one would need logical connection words between the two. For example, “Because I wanted to apply for American colleges, so I studied English”. However, because conjunctions function not as mere transitions but also limited by its part of speech, there cannot be conjunctions in front of all independent clauses in a sentence.

The biggest mistake that Chinese students make with verbs is not changing the case according to its declension, especially in third-person present tense. It is extremely common to see an error in writing, such as:

*He become the new leader for his group .

It is important for Chinese students to understand that, even though there is no tense-related declension in Chinese, it is extremely important to never forget that -s and -es when using third-person present tense.

• Structural Mistakes

Chinese students tend to use such structure in wiring where they would always start with something extremely broad that tends to scheme through the entire history of the human race. For example:

People have been trying to discover the true meaning of life since the beginning of humanities. Aristotle once said… 

This is a typical opening of a piece of writing from a Chinese student. The cause might be their former education, as teachers instruct them to write and present the issue discussed more important and significant than they are. Or, it might just be students trying to follow whatever templet they have learned from language test training. After-all, I have remembered numerous quotes from famous philosophers, writers and scientists, just so I can use them when I’m writing in language tests.

A personal statement is a very unique style of writing as it is trying to sell you as a unique individual to the school and program that you desire. With that said, the best way to structure one’s writing is to choose the one that best reflects one’s personality, as well as to stand out from over thousands of personal statements. If you don’t feel as confident in writing in a free form, I would recommend you write in a similar style of lab reports. You should:

• Provide background information on your topic.
• Provide a description of what you did.
• Showcase your accomplishment.
• Discuss your takeaway and conclude.

Brainstorming

Coming up with initial ideas is the most significant step in the process of writing a personal statement. There are mainly two types of writers when writing personal statements, the ones who think they have nothing to write about, and the ones who think they have too much to write about. In this section, I instruct you on how to choose the right experience to write about and how to write about that experience.

Types of Experiences

In writing a personal statement, the best way to tell administrator who you are is to discuss it in terms of your own experience and use that story to entail your personality.

There are three main categories of stories one can tell:

• Personal Experiences: This type of experience involves anything that you have experienced in your daily life. Significant changes, sudden realization, hard times, good times, family issues and so on.
• Academic Experiences: This type of experience involves anything that you have experienced in your academic life. Deciding on your intended field of study, attending conferences, getting through a tough class, dealing with busy student life and such.
• Professional Experiences: This type of experience involves anything that you have experienced in your professional life. Discovering your career goal, starting your business, internship experience, volunteer experience and so on.

What Is a Good Story to Tell?

After you choose an experience that you think is worthy of telling following the framework above, you can then evaluate if it will benefit you in terms of marketing yourself.

The number one thing that you should consider is to try to focus on one key value or personality that you are trying to give impression to your school. Sometimes, students try to show schools with their full capacities in what is normally a 500-word essay. It is definitely not the most ideal way of writing a personal statement. With only about 500 words, one can barely talk about one event in detail, let alone covering others. You should try to only find one thing you can most reflect on from your story and that would most show your capacity as a student and a good fit for the program.

In her paper, Chiu showcased two criteria that administrators look for in a personal statement. One is “match” (p.141), meaning if you have shown your ability and capacity as a student to successfully engage and be part of the program. The other one is “fit” (p.142), which entails if the student is suitable for the program and that his or her values align with that of the program and school. For example, if you are trying to apply for Wake Forest University’s undergraduate degree, it might give you some extra boost if you write about your volunteer experience, since the school believes in the concept of “pro-humanitate”.

To be more specific, I want to introduce you to some of the suggestions made by Shuker in her research paper. In the article, she presents us with four types of orientations: “Engagement, Focus, Time, and Classification”. (Shuker, 2014) And she also introduces two takes on each orientation. Passive and active engagements, meaning if a person is taking an active role in the story, if one is following the crowd then he/she is categorized as passive. An internal focus paper reflects on self-reflection, while external gains comments from others. Retrospective vs Prospective just means if a person is actively marketing him/herself. In other words, if the outcome of your story is expected and planned, you are telling it in a prospective sense. Lastly, segregated and integrated classifications classify how dedicated a student is in turning his/her life in favor of future career or academic goals.

Here is a table I’ve made for you to look at in case if you find Shuker’s suggestions valuable and which orientations she seemed to like the most:

Table 1. Shuker’s Preference of Orientations

You should use her suggestions of how and what to include in a personal statement as a guideline of how you should tell your story and how to shape your story in such a way that will help you market yourself as a desirable student for institutions.

The most important exercise for preparation for writing a personal statement is to write short stories. These short stories should serve as experiments to find your own way of telling stories and engaging with the audience. You should take your time and write several different versions of one story, then compare which way fits best with your designated value that you want to show to administrators.

In this exercise, you should write at least one story from all three categories I have introduced to you above. From these three stories, you should try to write at least 3 versions of each in under 200 words.

Portfolio and Finalization of Your Personal Statement

You should be able to construct your own portfolio of three essays, each around or under 500 words. Choose from the best story from each of the three categories. Use these three essays in your future personal statement writing, and, if you are confident enough, use them as your personal statements. Here is a final checklist you should look at before you submit your personal statements to your dream school:

• Grammar Check
• Structure Check
• Story Check
• Orientation Check
• Proofreading
• Reading the statement out loud

Now, you are fully prepared for submitting your personal statement to your dream school and go get that offer!

Bolton, K., & Graddol, D. (2012). English in China today. English Today , 28 (3), 3–9.

Chiu, Y. T. (2019) ‘It’s a match, but is it a good fit?’: admissions tutors’ evaluation of personal statements for PhD study. Oxford Review of Education, 45(1), 136-150.

Ding, H. (2007). Genre analysis of personal statements: Analysis of moves in application essays to medical and dental schools. English for Specific Purposes , 26 (3), 368–392.

Jones, S. (2013). “Ensure That You Stand Out from the Crowd”: A Corpus-Based Analysis of Personal Statements according to Applicants’ School Type. Comparative Education Review , 57 (3), 397–423.

Khan, Q. (2019, April 18). China’s Education Industry On The Rise, And This Is Just The

Beginning. Retrieved December 5, 2019, from ttps://equalocean.com/education/20190418-chinas-education-industry-on-the-rise-and-this-is-just-the-beginning.

Li, Y., & Deng, L. (2019). I am what I have written: A case study of identity construction in and through personal statement writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes , 37 , 70–87.

Shuker, L. (2014) ‘It’ll look good on your personal statement’: self-marketing amongst university applicants in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Sociology of Education , 35:2, 224-243.

Trends in the Chinese Education Industry: Deloitte China: Global Chinese Services Group. (2016, May 5). Retrieved December 5, 2019, from https://www2.deloitte.com/cn/en/pages/international-business-support/articles/trends-in-the-chinese-education-industry.html

Writing Guides for (Almost) Every Occasion Copyright © 2020 by Arthur Li is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Essay Papers Writing Online

Tips for crafting a compelling and authentic personal essay.

Writing an essay about yourself can be a daunting task, but when done right, it can be a powerful tool to showcase who you are and what makes you unique. Whether you’re applying for college, a scholarship, or a job, a well-crafted essay can help you stand out from the crowd and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

When writing a personal essay, it’s important to strike a balance between being informative and engaging. You want to provide the reader with insight into your background, experiences, and goals, while also keeping them interested and invested in your story. In this guide, we’ll walk you through the process of writing a compelling essay about yourself, from brainstorming ideas to polishing your final draft.

Essential Tips for Crafting

When crafting a compelling essay about yourself, it is important to think about your audience and what message you want to convey. Here are some essential tips to help you create an engaging and authentic essay:

A Powerful Personal Essay

Writing a powerful personal essay is a way to express your unique voice and share your personal experiences with the world. By weaving together your thoughts, emotions, and reflections, you can create a compelling narrative that resonates with your audience. To craft a powerful personal essay, start by reflecting on your own experiences and exploring the themes that matter to you. Pay attention to the details and emotions that make your story come alive. Be honest and vulnerable in your writing, as authenticity is key to connecting with your readers. Additionally, consider the structure of your essay and how you can effectively organize your thoughts to engage your audience from beginning to end. By following these tips and staying true to your voice, you can create a powerful personal essay that leaves a lasting impact on your readers.

Choose a Unique Aspect

When writing an essay about yourself, it’s important to focus on a unique aspect of your personality or experiences that sets you apart from others. This could be a specific skill, talent, or life experience that has had a significant impact on your life. By choosing a unique aspect to highlight, you can make your essay more compelling and memorable to the reader. It’s important to showcase what makes you different and showcase your individuality in a way that will capture the reader’s attention.

of Your Personality

When writing about your personality, it’s important to showcase your unique traits and qualities. Describe what sets you apart from others, whether it’s your creativity, resilience, sense of humor, or compassion. Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate these characteristics and provide insight into who you are as a person.

Highlight your strengths and acknowledge your weaknesses – this shows self-awareness and honesty. Discuss how your personality has evolved over time and mention any experiences that have had a significant impact on shaping who you are today. Remember to be authentic and genuine in your portrayal of yourself as this will make your essay more compelling and engaging to the reader.

Reflect Deeply on

When writing an essay about yourself, it is crucial to take the time to reflect deeply on your life experiences, values, beliefs, and goals. Consider the events that have shaped you into the person you are today, both positive and negative. Think about your strengths and weaknesses, your passions and interests, and how they have influenced your decisions and actions. Reflecting on your personal journey will help you uncover meaningful insights that can make your essay more compelling and authentic.

Your Life Experiences

When it comes to writing an essay about yourself, one of the most compelling aspects to focus on is your life experiences. These experiences shape who you are and provide unique insights into your character. Reflect on significant moments, challenges you’ve overcome, or memorable events that have had a lasting impact on your life.

• Consider discussing pivotal moments that have influenced your beliefs and values.
• Share personal anecdotes that highlight your strengths and resilience.
• Explore how your life experiences have shaped your goals, aspirations, and ambitions.

By sharing your life experiences in your essay, you can showcase your individuality and demonstrate what sets you apart from others. Be genuine, reflective, and honest in recounting the events that have shaped your journey and contributed to the person you are today.

Create a Compelling

When crafting an essay about yourself, it is essential to create a compelling narrative that captures the attention of the reader from the very beginning. Start by brainstorming unique and engaging personal experiences or qualities that you want to highlight in your essay. Consider including vivid anecdotes, insightful reflections, and impactful moments that showcase your character and achievements. Remember to be authentic and sincere in your writing, as this will resonate with your audience and make your essay more relatable. By creating a compelling narrative, you can effectively communicate your story and leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Narrative Structure

The narrative structure is crucial when writing an essay about yourself. It helps to create a compelling and engaging story that showcases your unique qualities and experiences. Start by introducing the main theme or message you want to convey in your essay. Then, build a coherent storyline that highlights significant events or moments in your life. Use descriptive language and vivid details to bring your story to life and make it more relatable to the readers. Include a clear beginning, middle, and end to ensure that your essay follows a logical progression and captivates the audience throughout.

Emphasize the lessons you’ve learned from your experiences and how they have shaped your character and outlook on life. Connect these insights to your personal growth and development, demonstrating your resilience, determination, and self-awareness. End your essay on a reflective note, highlighting the impact of your journey on who you are today and what you aspire to achieve in the future. By following a strong narrative structure, you can craft a captivating essay that showcases your authenticity and leaves a lasting impression on the readers.

Highlight Your

When writing an essay about yourself, it is essential to highlight your unique qualities and experiences that set you apart from others. Consider including personal anecdotes, achievements, strengths, and challenges that have shaped your identity. Focus on showcasing your authenticity and individuality to make your essay compelling and engaging.

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How to Become a Rockstar Chinese Writer

The importance of learning Chinese writing

Nowadays more and more people are beginning to   learn Chinese. For the most part, they are only focusing on learning how to speak Chinese. But concerning using this language, they also need to learn Chinese writing. Writing can reflect a writer’s power of thought and language organization skills. It is critical to master Chinese writing if you want to take your Chinese to the next level.

How to write good Chinese essays? The following five steps will improve your Chinese writing.

Become familiar with the Chinese Character Writing

In order to write a good Chinese essay, a fundamental step is to be familiar with Chinese characters. Chinese characters are different when you compare them to English letters. Chinese characters are hieroglyphs and   each stroke of a Chinese character is different from the next stroke. Familiarity of Chinese character writing is indispensable for anyone who wants to write nice Chinese essays.

Increase Your Vocabulary

The Chinese language includes 100,000 vocabulary words. If you want to just know the most used words you still need to learn several thousand words. A good writer needs to acquire as many words as possible. How can you enlarge your vocabulary? The best method is to listen, read and learn as much Chinese as possible. Don’t forget to apply what you have learned to your Chinese writing so that you can make continual progress.

Acquire Grammar and Sentence Patterns

Chinese grammar and   sentence patterns need to be acquired in order to improve your Chinese writing. Generally speaking, grammar consists of words, phrases and sentence structure. In terms of single words, Chinese words can be classified as lexical and functional words. In terms of phrases, Chinese phrases can be divided into CO (co-ordinate phrases), SP (subject-predicate phrases), and VO (verb-object phrases). In terms of sentence patterns, a Chinese sentence includes subject, predicate, object, adverbial, attribute and complementary. All of the above grammar points are necessary to study if you want to learn how to write in Chinese.

Persistence in Reading Everyday

Reading can broaden one’s horizon, and it can aid their writing. Reading everyday is a great way to help people learn how to have good Chinese writing ability. The content of reading can be very broad. It can be from novels, or newspapers, and it can be about subjects like economics or psychology. Remember you should read about things you are interested in. After a certain period of accumulation by reading, you will greatly improve your Chinese writing.

Do Writing Exercise on a Variety of Subjects

Practice makes perfect. Apply this proverb in Chinese writing. You need to do a lot of writing exercises to make your Chinese writing excellent. It has been suggested to begin with simple subjects, like personal hobbies, future dreams or anything else that can be understood easily. Students with more experience can write about more complicated topics like economics, politics and society. You should consider all these aspects, because doing writing exercise on a variety of subjects can help improve a person’s writing ability.

General Chinese (Beginner Level) General Chinese (Intermediate Level)

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should add some pictures to make it interesting!

Hi Deynika. Thanks for your advice, we will try to add some interesting pictures in our posts.

I love chinese writing and it is a lot interesting. Can you send a list of chinese words to improve vocabulary? Thanks

You can check out our blog, it introduces many interesting words, slang and useful expressions. In addition, we offer many video lessons to help you improve vocabulary. Hope it will help.

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Drunk, Porsche-driving teen ordered to write essay after killing 2 in India

• The male teen, whose name is being withheld, is accused of driving the Porsche that struck the victims in Pune, Maharashta state, on Sunday.
• The victims, identified as Aneesh Awadhia and Ashwini Koshta, both 24 years old and software engineers, died at the scene .
• The teen, who was allegedly drunk, was arrested and taken to the local Juvenile Justice Board following the incident.
• Surveillance video caught the Porsche Taycan supercar being allegedly driven by the teen moments before the tragic collision . The car was reportedly traveling 160 kilometers (99.4 miles) per hour.
• The teen reportedly came from a bar with his friends to celebrate finishing their exams. Following the incident, the business was sealed and three people were arrested for serving alcohol to an underage individual.
• A video filmed in the aftermath shows an angry mob attacking the teen on the street. He was arrested shortly after.
• Authorities initially charged him with causing death by negligence. Later, he was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, as well as drunk driving offenses.
• Within 15 hours of his detention, the Juvenile Justice Board granted him bail under several conditions, including writing a 300-word essay on road safety, performing a 15-day community service and undergoing psychiatric consultation.
• The teen’s father, reportedly a wealthy businessman, was also arrested for allegedly allowing his son to drive. India’s legal driving age is 18.
• Many X users criticized the Indian justice system for its alleged leniency. One wrote , “Indian judiciary system is the biggest joke of the decade.”
• “As per rules, action should be taken (against the accused) so that people learn a lesson from this,” Suresh Koshta, Ashwini’s father, said in a video .
• The board retracted its decision on Wednesday amid the public outrage . The teen was sent to a rehabilitation center, where he will stay until June 5.
• Police are seeking to try him as an adult for the “heinous” crime. India changed its juvenile laws in 2015, allowing for the trial of teens over 16 as adults if the crimes they committed are deemed heinous.

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