Presenting your work at the office: Explaining results from a chart

💬 Everything describing the chart goes before it and is tied on with 的. So 我们上个月的 comes first, then 销售图表. English puts "for last month" after the noun, but Chinese stacks it in front.

💬 Doubling a verb makes it sound quick and casual, "have a look". It works the same way in 想想 "think it over" and 试试 "give it a try".

💬 Adding 的 after a color turns it into "the ___ one": 红色的 "the red one". The question word 什么 sits where the answer would go, so there's no word-order change.

💬 In 网上涨了, 网上 is "online" and 涨 (zhǎng) is "rise". Don't read it as 上涨 "go up", even though those characters sit next to each other.

💬 门店 (mén diàn) means a physical shop, as opposed to online sales. You'll hear it often in retail reports.

💬 "A 是 B" is a quick way to explain a chart key. Keep the pattern and swap in other labels: 绿色是去年 "green is last year".

💬 涨 is (zhǎng) here, meaning prices or numbers rising. Don't confuse it with the similar-looking 张 (zhāng).

💬 不少 literally means "not few", but it really means "quite a lot". It's an understated way to say something is large.

💬 The 啊 at the end adds a tone of noticing or mild surprise, like "wow, quite a bit!" Without it, the sentence sounds flatter.

💬 Chinese says the whole first, then the part: 百分之二十 is literally "of a hundred, twenty". So 5% is 百分之五.

💬 对 (duì) literally means "correct". It's the natural way to confirm what someone just said, more natural than 是.

💬 In 前一个月, 一 is said (yí) because it comes before 个. 前一个月 means "the month before".

💬 The amount of change goes after 多了. The opposite works the same way: 少了百分之十 "down ten percent".

💬 The pattern is "比 + thing compared + 多了 + amount". Swap in another comparison: 比去年多了百分之五 "five percent more than last year".

💬 下降 (xià jiàng) is the more formal "decline", suited to reports. Its partner is 上升 (shàng shēng) "rise".

💬 Here 怎么 means "how come", with a hint of surprise or concern, rather than "how". The 了 marks that the drop has already happened.

🇨🇳 When a manager asks this, it's a request for an explanation, not necessarily blame. Answer with a clear cause right away, as in the reply about the weather.

💬 客人 literally means "guest person". It's the warm, everyday word for shop customers. In formal reports you'll also see 顾客 (gù kè).

💬 No 是 is needed before an adjective. 不好 is the whole predicate, as in 生意不好 "business is bad".

💬 来的 turns "come" into a description: "the customers who came". Then 少了 means "became fewer", so the 了 shows the change.

💬 Chinese often puts cause and result side by side without "because" or "so". The order alone makes the link clear.

💬 The 了 signals a change: you didn't understand before, and now you do. That's why it's "I see" rather than just "understand".

💬 得 (de) links an action to how well it was done. The same pattern gives 说得很好 "spoken well".

💬 下午 means "afternoon" in general; context makes it "this afternoon". Its opposite is 上午 "morning".

💬 给 (gěi) after a verb shows who receives it. You can reuse the pattern: 打给我 "call me", 寄给他 "mail it to him".

🇨🇳 不错 "not bad" is genuine praise from a Chinese boss. Understatement is the norm, so take it as a real compliment.

💬 Adding 的 to 好 gives 好的, which sounds more settled and agreeable than a bare 好. It's the go-to "OK, will do" at work.

💬 The second 谢 is usually said with a light, neutral tone: (xiè xie).

💬 不 stays (bù) here because 客 is fourth tone… actually it shifts: before a fourth tone 不 becomes (bú), so it's (bú kè qi).

🇨🇳 辛苦了 acknowledges someone's effort. It's said by bosses to staff, or between colleagues after a task. It's warmer than a plain "thanks", and Chinese workplaces use it constantly.