Kilo Lingo
Mandarin grammar Part of Chapter 2

CEFR A1-A2

3 min read

Test yourself (27 questions)

Mandarin Imperatives and Polite Requests: 请, 别, 吧

By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 11 October 2026

A Mandarin command is the bare verb, and it is blunt. Politeness goes on deliberately: (qǐng) in front for please, (bié) in front for don't, (ba) at the end to turn an order into a suggestion.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

请 (qǐng) to ask politely, 别 (bié) for don't, 吧 (ba) to soften into a suggestion.

  1. 坐。 (Please sit down.)

    ___ zuò 。 (Please sit down.)

  2. 我们走 。 (Let's go.)

    wǒ men zǒu ___。 (Let's go.)

  3. 走！ (Don't go!)

    ___ zǒu ！ (Don't go!)

The toolkit on one screen

The colours stay the same all page long:

请 qǐng (please)别 bié or 不要 bú yào (don't)吧 ba or 啊 a (softener)What do the colours mean?
JobHanziPinyinEnglish
Bare order！Zuò!Sit!
Polite。Qǐng zuò.Please sit down
Don't！Bié zǒu!Don't go!
Suggestion。Wǒmen zǒu ba.Let's go
Polite don't。Qǐng bú yào shuōhuà.Please don't talk
BluntSoft
  1. 坐 zuò
  2. 你坐吧 nǐ zuò ba
  3. 请坐 qǐng zuò
  4. 请坐吧 qǐng zuò ba

Plain imperatives

The plainest imperative is the verb, with no subject and no marker:

HanziPinyinEnglish
！Zuò!Sit!
！Kàn!Look!
！Zǒu!Go! / Move!
。Tīng wǒ shuō.Listen to me.

Between family and close friends, or in a real hurry, this is fine. Said to a stranger or a colleague, it lands as rude. (nǐ) in front changes little: 。 (Nǐ lái.) - You, come here.

Polite request: 请 (qǐng) + verb

(qǐng) means "to invite". Put it in front of the verb and the order becomes a polite request:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Qǐng zuò.Please sit down
。Qǐng jìn.Please come in
。Qǐng děng yíxià.Please wait a moment
。Qǐng gěi wǒ nà běn shū.Please pass me that book

(qǐng) is the one to use with waiters, strangers and anyone you do not know well. (qǐngwèn), "may I ask", is the standard "excuse me" before a question:

  • ，？ (Qǐngwèn, xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?) - Excuse me, where's the toilet?

Negative imperatives: 别 (bié) and 不要 (bú yào)

For "don't", put (bié) or (bú yào) in front of the verb. They mean the same:

HanziPinyinEnglish
！Bié zǒu!Don't go!
。Bié dānxīn.Don't worry
。Bú yào shuōhuà.Don't talk
。Bú yào wàng le.Don't forget
Four panels: a male teacher with glasses, a moustache and a tie holds his palm out beside a chair with an arrow pointing down (sit down); a closed book, an arrow, then the same book lying open with a hand on its page (open the book); a round no-running sign with a red slash (do not run); a woman with long hair and a bow holds a finger to her lips (be quiet).
  1. 。
  2. 。
  3. ！
  4. ！

A classroom in four orders: 请 qǐng to ask politely, the bare verb to tell, 别 bié in front for don't.

(bié) is the everyday spoken form; (bú yào) is a touch firmer, and (qǐng bú yào) is common on signs. For "please don't", add (qǐng): (qǐng bié shuōhuà), please don't talk.

Softening particles: 吧 (ba) and 啊 (a)

A particle at the end of the sentence changes how the order lands.

吧 (ba): a suggestion, or let's

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Wǒmen zǒu ba.Let's go
。Nǐ zuò ba.Do sit down
。Hǎo ba.All right then (reluctantly)

(ba) turns (nǐ zuò), sit, into (nǐ zuò ba), an invitation. With (wǒmen) it is English "let's".

啊 (a): warmer, or more insistent

HanziPinyinEnglish
！Lái a!Come on!
！Nǐ shuō a!Go on, say it!
。Bié dānxīn a.Don't you worry

(a) is casual. It can make an order friendlier between friends, or push it: "come on, just do it". Tone of voice decides which.

A quick go: 看看 (kànkan) and 一下 (yíxià)

Saying the verb twice, or adding (yíxià), shrinks the action to a quick go, which softens any request:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Nǐ kànkan zhège.Have a look at this
。Děng yíxià.Wait a moment
。Nǐ shìshi ba.Give it a try

The forms and their rules are on the verb reduplication page.

Stacking politeness

The tools combine. (qǐng) + a quick-go verb + (ba) is a very polite request:

  • 。 (Qǐng nǐ kànkan zhège ba.) - Would you have a look at this, please?

Mandarin has no polite verb forms, so these words and your tone of voice carry all of it.

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
！！don't is (bié), not (méi)
。。 (qǐng) goes before the verb
。。 (ba) goes at the end

Requests with (qǐng) are on the AQA GCSE Chinese specification at Foundation and Higher tier; positive and negative imperatives at Higher.

What to do next

  1. Do the drill below.
  2. Read verb reduplication for (kànkan) and (yíxià).
  3. Then sentence-final particles for everything else (ba) and (a) can do.

Practise: test yourself

Pick the right one

0/6

请 (qǐng) to ask politely, 别 (bié) for don't, 吧 (ba) to soften into a suggestion.

  1. 坐。 (Please sit down.)

    ___ zuò 。 (Please sit down.)

  2. 我们走 。 (Let's go.)

    wǒ men zǒu ___。 (Let's go.)

  3. 走！ (Don't go!)

    ___ zǒu ！ (Don't go!)

  4. 进。 (Please come in.)

    ___ jìn 。 (Please come in.)

  5. 担心。 (Don't worry.)

    ___ dān xīn 。 (Don't worry.)

  6. 你试试 。 (Give it a try.)

    nǐ shì shi ___。 (Give it a try.)

Complete the story

0/6

Choose 请, 别 or 吧 for each gap.

A visitor at the door

进，坐！客气。我们喝茶。你吃一点儿。时间还早，走！

Gap 1 of 6

Put the words in order

0/4

Put the words in order.

  1. Let's go.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. Please wait a moment.

    Your sentence is empty.

  3. Please don't talk.

    Your sentence is empty.

  4. Have a look at this.

    Your sentence is empty.

Sort into groups

0/6

Blunt order or softened request?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Matching

0/5

Match each sentence to its English.

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Mandarin · Free printables

Practice worksheets and infographics

Practice worksheets with answer keys built in, plus infographic and listicle formats. Open any one to view, print or save.

Infographics

  1. Key points infographic
  2. The toolkit on one screen
  3. Plain imperatives
  4. Polite request: 请 (qǐng) + verb
  5. Negative imperatives: 别 (bié) and 不要 (bú yào)
  6. 吧 (ba): a suggestion, or let's
  7. 啊 (a): warmer, or more insistent
  8. A quick go: 看看 (kànkan) and 一下 (yíxià)
  9. Mistakes English speakers make

Other formats

  1. Listicle

More grammar on this course

Frequently asked questions

How do you form the imperative in Mandarin?
Use the bare verb, with or without (nǐ): (zuò, sit), (nǐ lái, come here). Nothing changes on the verb. Because a bare command is blunt, most requests add (qǐng), (ba) or a softening verb form.
How do you say 'please' in a Mandarin request?
Put (qǐng) before the verb: (qǐng zuò, please sit down), (qǐng jìn, please come in). (qǐngwèn), literally 'please may I ask', is the standard 'excuse me' before a question to a stranger.
How do you say 'don't' in Mandarin?
(bié) or (bú yào) before the verb: (bié zǒu, don't go), (bú yào shuōhuà, don't talk). is the everyday spoken form; is a touch firmer, and (qǐng bú yào) is what signs say. Careful: (wǒ bú yào) with no verb after it means 'I don't want it'.
What does (ba) do at the end of a sentence?
It softens an order into a suggestion or an invitation. (nǐ zuò) is 'sit'; (nǐ zuò ba) is 'do sit down'. With (wǒmen, we) it means 'let's': (wǒmen zǒu ba), let's go.
Why do Mandarin speakers say or ?
Doubling the verb or adding (yíxià) makes a request sound light, 'have a quick look': (nǐ kànkan), (děng yíxià, wait a moment). It is one of the main ways Mandarin softens a command, covered in full on the verb reduplication page.