Thank you in China
 

I've read a couple of ways to say Thank You in China

Dwo je and xie xie...which is it and how does one pronounce xie xie?

You need to be clear on which type of Chinese you are talking about. 'Thank you' in Mandarin, the official national language of mainland China, is 'xiexie'.

http://www.nciku.com/search/all/xiexie

and click 'listen'.

Peter N-H

We are still arguing about that two years later. My daughter insists people were saying "she she" (long e). In Xi'an I definitely heard "shay a, shay a".

Was in HK recently, while this is not the same Chinese language spoken in Beijing I learnt that pronounciation is critical in the Chinese language. Just a slight difference in pronouncation resulted in a huge difference in meaning.

Presumably this is a reference to tones. Although the pronunciations on the nciku site are not as clear as they might be, the fourth or 'falling' tone, particularly important on the first syllable, can clearly be heard. This is perhaps the least of the problems, since without lessons no one is going to get the pronunciation of 'x' correct (nothing at all like 'sh'), let alone the tones.

But this doesn't matter as far as saying 'thank you' goes. Context is going to make it entirely clear what is intended however mangled the efforts are, and those efforts will be appreciated.

There's more listening at:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/sample/newbie/index

The site used to offer lessons free, and then just its introductory lessons free, but now only a fairly random sample at different levels. Still, might be of interest to those who think Mandarin must be too fearsome to tackle.

This might also amuse:

http://www.sinoglot.com/bjs/

Recordings not of stilted textbook conversations, but real one, in the wonderful roll-it-round-the-mouth-and-spit-it-out Beijing accent, complete with the pinyin for you to follow, the Chinese characters, and a translation. Often the topics are of interest to visitors. I have to admit listening to any of these returns me straight to Beijing and makes me smile.

If nothing else, it will demonstrate why, without lessons, it will be important to get things written down to show people, and to use any phrase book bought as a tool for showing people the question to be posed, rather than trying to say it.

Peter N-H

I forgot to add: some readable notes on pronunciation here:

http://www.sinosplice.com/learn-chin...ndarin-chinese

and in particular something on all the bad pronunciation information there is out there (including on 'x'):

http://www.sinosplice.com/learn-chin...arin-chinese/3

Peter N-H

Just say she she.

They will know what you mean.

Duo Je (多謝) is close to what Thank You is said in Cantonese, the dialect spoken in Hong Kong and parts of Guangdong Province, including Guangzhou, in the southern part of the country.

Shar, remember the smile and happy/grateful look and they'll understand you even if you butcher the pronunciation! :)

thanks a bunch xie xie......

Remember, tho, that the Chinese don't say thank you for everything little thing, the way westerners do. You might say "thanks" to a serving person for putting a plate down or taking one away, but the Chinese reserve it for a bit more important things; it's not at all as casual a phrase as in the west.

It's okay still to say it. They will generally reply "Bu Yong Xie" (不用谢, or No need to thank), but they do appreciate that they're recognized by tourists/foreigners. Many locals treat servers at restaurant like sub-humans.