Ch 29 · Lesson 24Mandarin · Chapter 29 · Lesson 24 · Themed review
Face at work
(miànzi), face, and how it shapes an office: titles, business cards with both hands, turning down compliments and refusing before you accept.
Practise this lesson
18-word session
A quick mix of exercises - recognise, recall, type and build each word. Miss one and it comes back round until it sticks.
Worth knowing
Face, business cards and Manager Wang
Two words do a lot of work in any Chinese office: 面子 (miànzi), face, and 关系 (guānxi), relationships. Face is your standing in other people's eyes. You can give it, by praising someone in front of others, and you can make someone lose it, by correcting them in public. The everyday word for losing it uses two words you already have: 丢脸 (diūliǎn), literally to lose your 脸 (liǎn), your face.
Names and titles
At work, people are addressed by surname plus title, not by given name.
| Say | Meaning |
|---|---|
| (Wáng jīnglǐ) | Manager Wang |
| (Lǐ lǎoshī) | Teacher Li |
| (lǎobǎn) | the boss, especially of a small business |
Use a colleague's given name only once they have invited you to. The friendlier 小王 (Xiǎo Wáng) and 老王 (Lǎo Wáng) come in the next session.
Cards with both hands
Hand over a business card with 双手 (shuāngshǒu), both hands, and take theirs the same way. Look at it before you put it away: pocketing it at once looks careless.
Turning down a compliment
The traditional reply to praise is 哪里哪里 (nǎli nǎli). It is 哪里 (nǎli), where, said twice: where, where? I do not see it. Younger people in the cities increasingly just say 谢谢 (xièxie), and that is fine, but the modest answer is still the politer one.
Refusing before accepting
Offered a gift, a meal or a second helping, people often 拒绝 (jùjué), refuse, once or twice before they 接受 (jiēshòu), accept. Taking it at once can look greedy. So if a colleague says no to your offer, offer again. The phrase you will hear is 你太客气了 (nǐ tài kèqi le), you are too kind, built from 客气 (kèqi), which you met as 不客气 (bú kèqi), you are welcome.
The toast
At a work dinner, 干杯 (gānbēi) is cheers, and it literally means dry the cup. Toasting your 同事 (tóngshì), colleagues, and the senior people at the table is part of the evening.