How to Say ‘Why don't we go sit over there and talk?’ in Simplified Chinese
要不咱们过去坐着聊？
yào bù zán men guò qù zuò zhe liáo
[yàobù zánmen guò-qù dzwo zhe lyaow]
🇨🇳 In China: 咱们 (zán men) is the "we" that includes the listener, so it sounds warm and casual, like you're already a pair. It's especially common in northern China.
Phrase Breakdown
要不咱们过去
yào bù zán men guò qù
how about we go over there
要不 introduces a suggestion ('how about'). 咱们 means 'we', including the listener. Pronounced yàobù zánmen guòqu.
要不咱们走吧。
How about we leave?
Words in this phrase
要不
yào bù
[yàobù]
how about; otherwise
Introduces a suggestion or alternative solution.
要不我们打车吧。
How about we take a taxi?
咱们
zán men
[zánmen]
we; us (including listener)
Inclusive 'we', common in northern speech.
咱们走吧。
Let's go.
过去
guò qù
[guò-qù]
over/to pass over
To move from one place to another.
请你把书递过去。
Please pass the book over.
坐着聊？
zuò zhe liáo
and sit and chat?
Use a rising question intonation. Pronounced zuòzhe liáo.
坐着聊吧。
Let's sit and talk.
Words in this phrase
坐
zuò
[dzwo]
to sit
坐 means to sit, and in restaurant context it often refers to where you want to be seated.
我想坐靠窗的位置。
I want to sit in a window-side seat.
着
zhe
[zhe]
indicating ongoing action
Particle used after a verb to indicate the continuation of an action or state.
她想着那段回忆。
She is thinking about that memory.
聊
liáo
[lyaow]
to chat; to talk
A casual verb for talking, often used for friendly or informal conversation.
有时间我们可以聊一下行业发展。
If we have time, we can chat a bit about industry development.
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