Basic expressions: Greeting someone and apologizing for being late

🇨🇳 Traffic is the go-to excuse for being late in Chinese cities. It's so widely accepted that people rarely question it.

💬 上 (shàng) after a noun often means "on" rather than "up". For example, 桌子上 "on the table" and 路上 "on the road". You'll hear 我在路上 "I'm on my way" constantly when someone is running late.

💬 让 (ràng) means "to make or let someone do something", so this is literally "made you wait long". The 了 (le) at the end marks that the waiting has already happened.

💬 关系 (guān xi) loses its second tone in speech, so 没关系 is said (méi guān xi). Adding 真的 "really" in front is the natural way to insist.

💬 Wrap 是 … 的 around a verb to ask how, when or where something already happened. For example, 你是怎么来的？ "How did you get here?" and 你是坐地铁来的吗？ "Did you come by subway?".

🇨🇳 Today 打车 mostly means calling a ride with an app like DiDi rather than flagging a cab in the street. Locals use the same word for both.

💬 高峰 (gāo fēng) means "peak", so this is literally "evening peak". Swap 晚 for 早 to get 早高峰 "morning rush hour".

💬 Put 太 … 了 around an adjective to say "too" or "so". For example, 太贵了 "too expensive" and 太好了 "great!". Here 堵 (dǔ) "jammed" is the whole description, and no 是 is needed.

💬 个 (ge) is the everyday counting word, and it slots in after 这 "this". For example, 这个人 "this person" and 这个地方 "this place".

💬 Time words like 这个时间 go at the front of the sentence, before the description. Compare 周末经常堵 "it's often jammed on weekends".

💬 下 (xià) "down" also means "next", and 上 (shàng) "up" means "last". So you get 下次 next time, 上次 "last time", 下个月 "next month".

💬 Add 点 (diǎn), short for "a bit", after an adjective to soften it. For example, 快点 "a bit faster" and 慢点 "a bit slower".

🇨🇳 Promising to do better next time is the polite way to close out a late apology. A simple "sorry" can feel incomplete without it.

💬 出门 is literally "exit the door", so it means leaving your home to go somewhere. It isn't used for leaving a room or a meeting.

💬 吧 (ba) at the end turns a statement into a soft suggestion, like "shall we". For example, 我们走吧 "let's go".

🇨🇳 Offering to pay is a common way to make up for being late. Expect a bit of polite back-and-forth, since the other person may wrestle you for the bill.

🇨🇳 In China one person usually pays for the whole group instead of splitting the bill. People keep a loose mental tally of who treats next.

💬 You apologize to someone with 向 (xiàng) "to/toward" in front, as in 向你道歉 "apologize to you". You can't put the person straight after 道歉.

🇨🇳 This is the gracious way to accept a treat after a token refusal. It's warm and a little playful, and it closes the negotiation over who pays.