Team meetings at work: Asking someone to repeat or clarify a point

🇨🇳 Saying "I didn't hear clearly" puts the fault on yourself, not the speaker, which is the face-saving way to ask a boss or colleague to repeat.

💬 您 (nín) is the respectful form of 你 "you", used for superiors, clients or anyone senior.

💬 一遍 (yí biàn) counts times through something, so 再说一遍 is "say it one more time"; 一 shifts to (yí) before the falling tone of 遍.

💬 Add 吗 to the end of any statement to make it a yes/no question; the word order stays the same.

💬 Weekdays are just 周 plus a number, with Monday as one: 周一 "Monday", 周三 "Wednesday". Put 下 in front for "next" or 上 for "last".

💬 交 means "hand over, submit" and pairs with lots of things: 交作业 "hand in homework", 交钱 "pay".

💬 Time words come before the verb in Chinese, never at the end: 下周五 sits before 交报告.

💬 还是 (hái shi) "or" is used in questions offering a choice, and needs no 吗. Swap in: 茶还是咖啡？ "tea or coffee?".

💬 Chinese goes from big to small: part of day first, then the hour, so 下午五点 is "afternoon five o'clock".

💬 以前 comes after the time it refers to, the reverse of English: 五点以前 is "before five".

💬 了 here marks a change, "now I understand", which is why 明白了 means "got it" rather than just "understand".

💬 Chinese simply puts the language straight after 写, with no word for "in". Also 说英文 "speak English".

💬 要 here means "need to, should", not "want"; the report isn't the one doing the writing, so it's often understood as "needs to be written".

💬 和 only joins nouns like these, never two sentences or verbs.

💬 都 "both, all" points back to the things already listed and must come before the verb, not after it.

🇨🇳 Saying the manager's title again when you thank them is a normal way to close the conversation. It comes across as respectful without being stiff.

💬 不客气 (bú kèqi) literally means "don't be polite". The 不 is read (bú) because the next syllable, 客, has a falling tone.

💬 Chinese often skips "if": just stating 有问题 first makes it the condition for what follows.

💬 再 here means "then, at that point" rather than "again", setting the action after the condition.

🇨🇳 A manager typically closes a briefing this way; it's a genuine invitation, and following up privately afterwards is normal and welcomed.