social
Making Friends
Turning a classmate into a friend: introducing yourself, saying where you are from, swapping WeChat, finding out what someone likes, making a plan for the weekend, declining a drink gracefully and offering a language exchange.
Essential phrases
In the order you are likely to need them. Play each one, repeat it, and read the note underneath — knowing when to say a sentence matters as much as saying it correctly.
你好，我叫阿米娜，很高兴认识你。你好，我叫阿米娜，很高興認識你。
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) hǎo, (third tone, dipping) wǒ (third tone, dipping) jiào (fourth tone, falling) Āmǐnà, (third tone, dipping) hěn (third tone, dipping) gāoxìng (first tone, high and level) rènshi (fourth tone, falling) nǐ. (third tone, dipping)
Hello, my name is Amina — pleased to meet you.
When to use it
The standard opening between two people meeting for the first time. Arabic and French names are usually transcribed into characters by sound — Amina becomes 阿米娜 — and giving that version makes your name repeatable for the person in front of you.
我是摩洛哥人，来这儿学中文。我是摩洛哥人，來這兒學中文。
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) shì (fourth tone, falling) Móluògē (second tone, rising) rén, (second tone, rising) lái (second tone, rising) zhèr (fourth tone, falling) xué (second tone, rising) Zhōngwén. (first tone, high and level)
I am Moroccan — I came here to study Chinese.
When to use it
The question 你是哪国人 comes early in almost every first conversation. 摩洛哥 (Móluògē) is Morocco; giving your country and your reason for being here in one sentence saves the exchange from stalling.
你是哪里人？你是哪裡人？
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) shì (fourth tone, falling) nǎlǐ (third tone, dipping) rén? (second tone, rising)
Where are you from?
When to use it
Ask it back straight away. To a Chinese classmate this means which province or city, not which country, and the answer usually opens a whole subject — food, dialect, distance from home.
你学什么专业？你學什麼專業？
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) xué (second tone, rising) shénme (second tone, rising) zhuānyè? (first tone, high and level)
What is your major?
When to use it
The second question of every campus conversation. 专业 (zhuānyè) is a university major; answering 我学汉语 or 我学国际贸易 keeps it simple and invites a follow-up.
我们加个微信吧。我們加個微信吧。
Wǒmen (third tone, dipping) jiā (first tone, high and level) ge (neutral tone) wēixìn (first tone, high and level) ba. (neutral tone)
Let us add each other on WeChat.
When to use it
This, not asking for a phone number, is how contact details are exchanged. The 吧 at the end turns it into a friendly suggestion rather than a request, and saying it first is completely normal.
我扫你还是你扫我？我掃你還是你掃我？
Wǒ (third tone, dipping) sǎo (third tone, dipping) nǐ (third tone, dipping) háishi (second tone, rising) nǐ (third tone, dipping) sǎo (third tone, dipping) wǒ? (third tone, dipping)
Shall I scan you, or will you scan me?
When to use it
What people actually say as two phones come out. One person shows their WeChat QR code and the other scans it; the sentence sounds odd translated but is entirely ordinary in Chinese.
你平时喜欢做什么？你平時喜歡做什麼？
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) píngshí (second tone, rising) xǐhuan (third tone, dipping) zuò (fourth tone, falling) shénme? (second tone, rising)
What do you usually like to do?
When to use it
The question that moves a conversation past names and majors. 平时 (píngshí) means “usually, in ordinary times”, and it gives the other person something easy to answer.
周末有空吗？一起去吃饭吧。週末有空嗎？一起去吃飯吧。
Zhōumò (first tone, high and level) yǒu (third tone, dipping) kòng (fourth tone, falling) ma? (neutral tone) Yìqǐ (fourth tone, falling) qù (fourth tone, falling) chīfàn (first tone, high and level) ba. (neutral tone)
Are you free at the weekend? Let us go and eat together.
When to use it
Check availability first, then propose — asking 有空吗 before naming the plan lets the other person decline without embarrassment. Sharing a meal is the default way to spend time together.
这次我请你，下次你请我。這次我請你，下次你請我。
Zhè (fourth tone, falling) cì (fourth tone, falling) wǒ (third tone, dipping) qǐng (third tone, dipping) nǐ, (third tone, dipping) xià (fourth tone, falling) cì (fourth tone, falling) nǐ (third tone, dipping) qǐng (third tone, dipping) wǒ. (third tone, dipping)
This time it is on me, next time on you.
When to use it
The sentence that settles the small tussle over the bill without anyone losing face. 请 (qǐng) here means to treat someone; promising a next time is what makes the offer easy to accept.
不好意思，我不喝酒，以茶代酒吧。
Bù (fourth tone, falling) hǎoyìsi, (third tone, dipping) wǒ (third tone, dipping) bù (fourth tone, falling) hējiǔ, (first tone, high and level) yǐ (third tone, dipping) chá (second tone, rising) dài (fourth tone, falling) jiǔ (third tone, dipping) ba. (neutral tone)
Sorry, I do not drink alcohol — let me toast you with tea instead.
When to use it
以茶代酒 (yǐ chá dài jiǔ) — “tea in place of wine” — is a recognised, gracious formula that lets you join a toast without drinking. Saying it with a smile ends the subject; no explanation is required, though giving one is fine.
你可以教我中文吗？我教你阿拉伯语。你可以教我中文嗎？我教你阿拉伯語。
Nǐ (third tone, dipping) kěyǐ (third tone, dipping) jiāo (first tone, high and level) wǒ (third tone, dipping) Zhōngwén (first tone, high and level) ma? (neutral tone) Wǒ (third tone, dipping) jiāo (first tone, high and level) nǐ (third tone, dipping) Ālābóyǔ. (first tone, high and level)
Could you teach me Chinese? I will teach you Arabic.
When to use it
How a language exchange starts. Offering something in return makes it a fair arrangement rather than a favour; the partner you find this way is called a 语伴 (yǔbàn).
不好意思，我没听清楚，你能再说一遍吗？不好意思，我沒聽清楚，你能再說一遍嗎？
Bù (fourth tone, falling) hǎoyìsi, (third tone, dipping) wǒ (third tone, dipping) méi (second tone, rising) tīng (first tone, high and level) qīngchu, (first tone, high and level) nǐ (third tone, dipping) néng (second tone, rising) zài (fourth tone, falling) shuō (first tone, high and level) yí (second tone, rising) biàn (fourth tone, falling) ma? (neutral tone)
Sorry, I did not catch that — could you say it again?
When to use it
The sentence that keeps a conversation alive instead of letting it die politely. 没听清楚 says you did not hear it clearly, which is easier for both of you than claiming you did not understand at all.
今天聊得很开心，下次再约。今天聊得很開心，下次再約。
Jīntiān (first tone, high and level) liáo (second tone, rising) de (neutral tone) hěn (third tone, dipping) kāixīn, (first tone, high and level) xià (fourth tone, falling) cì (fourth tone, falling) zài (fourth tone, falling) yuē. (first tone, high and level)
I have really enjoyed talking today — let us arrange something again.
When to use it
How to leave well. 再约 (zài yuē) means arranging to meet again and is the phrase that keeps the door open; following it with a WeChat message the same evening is what turns a first meeting into a friendship.
Cultural notes
WeChat is where friendship happens. People exchange QR codes rather than phone numbers, and the invitation is as ordinary as swapping names; groups () then organise the class, the football game and the trip, so being added to one matters more than any single conversation. Messages are often voice notes rather than typed text, and replies can be short — a sticker or a single character is not coldness. First conversations run through a predictable set of questions: your name, your country, your major, whether you can eat spicy food, whether you can use chopsticks. Questions about your age, your family or whether you have a boyfriend or girlfriend are small talk rather than intrusion, and a light, vague answer is perfectly acceptable if you would rather not say. is everyday shorthand for a foreigner and is generally neutral, though is the more formal word. Many people will ask whether you have a Chinese name and may offer to choose one for you; it is meant as a friendly gesture. Meals are how time is spent together, and someone usually treats rather than splitting the bill — the person who suggested the meal often insists, and is the graceful way to accept without feeling in debt. Splitting (AA) is common among students and nobody minds. Declining alcohol is straightforward: needs no justification, religion is an entirely acceptable reason if you choose to give one, and joining the toast with tea under the formula is understood and appreciated. Language-exchange partners () are found through classmates, campus noticeboards and WeChat groups, and offering Arabic, French or English in exchange for Chinese is a normal, well-understood arrangement.
These notes describe common practice, not rules. Requirements and procedures differ between cities, institutions and years — confirm anything procedural with the office, clinic or company itself.
Vocabulary
No word list has been attached to this scenario yet. Every phrase above is searchable word by word in the dictionary, and tapping a word inside the tutor role-play adds it to your review queue.
Dictionary →Offline phrase card
Everything else on this page is hidden when you print. What comes out is the card below: Chinese, pinyin and your language, in the order you need them — one page that works with no signal.
HSK Guide · Offline phrase card
Making Friends
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你好，我叫阿米娜，很高兴认识你。你好，我叫阿米娜，很高興認識你。
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ jiào Āmǐnà, hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.
Hello, my name is Amina — pleased to meet you.
我是摩洛哥人，来这儿学中文。我是摩洛哥人，來這兒學中文。
Wǒ shì Móluògē rén, lái zhèr xué Zhōngwén.
I am Moroccan — I came here to study Chinese.
你是哪里人？你是哪裡人？
Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?
Where are you from?
你学什么专业？你學什麼專業？
Nǐ xué shénme zhuānyè?
What is your major?
我们加个微信吧。我們加個微信吧。
Wǒmen jiā ge wēixìn ba.
Let us add each other on WeChat.
我扫你还是你扫我？我掃你還是你掃我？
Wǒ sǎo nǐ háishi nǐ sǎo wǒ?
Shall I scan you, or will you scan me?
你平时喜欢做什么？你平時喜歡做什麼？
Nǐ píngshí xǐhuan zuò shénme?
What do you usually like to do?
周末有空吗？一起去吃饭吧。週末有空嗎？一起去吃飯吧。
Zhōumò yǒu kòng ma? Yìqǐ qù chīfàn ba.
Are you free at the weekend? Let us go and eat together.
这次我请你，下次你请我。這次我請你，下次你請我。
Zhè cì wǒ qǐng nǐ, xià cì nǐ qǐng wǒ.
This time it is on me, next time on you.
不好意思，我不喝酒，以茶代酒吧。
Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ bù hējiǔ, yǐ chá dài jiǔ ba.
Sorry, I do not drink alcohol — let me toast you with tea instead.
你可以教我中文吗？我教你阿拉伯语。你可以教我中文嗎？我教你阿拉伯語。
Nǐ kěyǐ jiāo wǒ Zhōngwén ma? Wǒ jiāo nǐ Ālābóyǔ.
Could you teach me Chinese? I will teach you Arabic.
不好意思，我没听清楚，你能再说一遍吗？不好意思，我沒聽清楚，你能再說一遍嗎？
Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ méi tīng qīngchu, nǐ néng zài shuō yí biàn ma?
Sorry, I did not catch that — could you say it again?
今天聊得很开心，下次再约。今天聊得很開心，下次再約。
Jīntiān liáo de hěn kāixīn, xià cì zài yuē.
I have really enjoyed talking today — let us arrange something again.