How to Say ‘I didn't catch that just now.’ in Simplified Chinese
我刚才没听清楚。
wǒ gāng cái méi tīng qīng chǔ
[wo gāngcái méi tīng qīngchu]
🇨🇳 In China: 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.
Phrase Breakdown
我刚才
wǒ gāng cái
I just now
刚才 (gāngcái) means 'just now' and refers to a moment ago.
我刚才吃饭了。
I was eating just now.
Words in this phrase
我
wǒ
[wo]
I
The speaker referring to themselves.
我明天有空。
I am free tomorrow.
刚才
gāng cái
[gāngcái]
just now; a moment ago
A time word for something that happened a very short time ago.
他刚才去开会了。
He went to a meeting just now.
没听清楚。
méi tīng qīng chǔ
didn't hear clearly.
This politely explains that you missed something.
他的名字我没听清楚。
I didn't catch his name.
Words in this phrase
没
méi
[méi]
not
Negation of a verb.
他没有来上课。
He did not come to class.
听
tīng
[tīng]
to listen; to hear
A verb for perceiving sounds or speech with your ears; often combined with result words like 懂 (understand) or 到 (reach).
请你再说一遍，我没听清楚。
Please say it again, I didn't hear clearly.
清楚
qīng chǔ
[qīngchu]
clearly; clear
Means clear or distinct; after a verb like 听 or 看 it shows the result was clear.
这个问题我没看清楚。
I didn't see this question clearly.
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