Polite language
Conventional phrases for questions, requests, apologies, and thanks.
Contents
Questions and requests
Several set phrases are used to ask questions politely. These are used more or less the same way as their Mandarin equivalents.
cia2(6)mung7 請問 literally means “invite ask”, i.e. “may I ask”, and is used like the Mandarin cognate qǐngwèn.
tsʰia³⁵ muŋ¹¹ siŋ³³ sẽ³³ kui⁵³ sẽ²¹³
Cia2(6)mung7 sing1sên1 gui3(2)sên3?
請問 先生 貴姓？
May-ask mister esteemed-surname?
May I ask what is your name?
In the example above, the prefix gui3 貴 “precious” or “esteemed” is used in a formal or polite context as a synonym for the second person possessive pronoun.
mua7huêng5-le7 麻煩汝 is used to ask someone to do something, literally meaning “bother you”, like the English phrase “could I trouble you to …”.
mua¹¹hueŋ⁵⁵ lɯ¹¹ seŋ³³ tʰɯŋ⁵³ oi⁵⁵ tsĩã⁵³ zip⁵lai¹¹
Mua7huêng5-le7 sêng1 teng3(2)oi5 zian2 rib4(8)lai7.
麻煩 汝 先 褪鞋 正 入來。
Bother you first take-off-shoes then enter.
Could you please take off your shoes before entering?
lui6-le7 累汝 is similar to mua7huêng5-le7 and is also used to make polite requests.
lui¹¹ lɯ¹¹ kʰioʔ² hɯ²⁵ saŋ³³ tua¹¹ tiʔ² kĩã²¹³ kai¹¹ kʰɯk² ua¹¹
lui6-le7 kioh8(4) he2(6)-sang1 dua7-dih8(4)gian3-gai5(7) keg4 ua2(7)
累汝 挈 許雙 大滴囝 個 乞 我
Trouble you take that-pair(CL) big-a-bit-GAI PASS me
Could I trouble you to give me that slightly bigger pair (of shoes)?
(《潮州話口語入門》20)
To ask for someone’s name, address them by a suitable title, such as sing1sên1 先生 (“sir”) (see “Terms of address”), followed by gui3(2)sên3 貴姓 (“honored surname”), as in the example above under cian2(6)mung7.
Other questions about a person can also be prefixed with gui3 (examples from Fielde, pg. 280):
tsuŋ³³ ke²¹³ kui⁵² sẽ²¹³
zung1gê3 gui3(2)sên3?
尊駕 貴姓？
respected-sir honorable-name?
How should I address you, sir?
kui⁵² hu⁵² ti¹¹ ko²¹³
gui3(2)hu2 di7go3?
貴府 底塊？
honorable-residence where?
Where is your residence?
to¹¹ niŋ⁵² kui⁵² kok² lai¹¹ kau⁵² uŋ⁵² tsi²⁵ko²¹³ dzieʔ² hɯŋ²⁵
do6(7) ning2 gui3(2)gog4 lai5(7)-gao3(2) ung2 zi2(6)go3 riêh4 heng6?
在 恁 貴國 來到 阮 只塊 若 遠？
from you-pl. honorable-country come-to we-excl. here how far?
How far is it from your home country to ours?
Apologies
mo2(6)i3(2)se3 孬意思, literally meaning “embarrassment”, is similar to Mandarin 不好意思 bùhǎoyìsì, to ask to be excused for a small fault or error.
mo²⁵ i⁵² sɯ²¹³ / ua⁵² bo¹¹ pik² ho²⁵ tsieʔ⁵ lɯ²¹³
mo2(6)i3(2)se3, ua2 bho5(7) big4 ho2(6) ziêh4(8) le3
孬意思，我 無 筆 好 借 汝
embarrassment, I NEG pen able lend you
I’m sorry, I don’t have a pen to lend you
dui3(2)m6(7)zu6 對唔住 is similar to Mandarin 對不起 dùibùqǐ, and is used for more substantial apologies.
tui⁵² m¹¹ tsu²⁵ / si¹¹ ua⁵² tʰau³³ kʰiek² lɯ⁵² kai¹¹ pik²
dui3(2)m6(7)zu6, si6(7) ua2 tao1kiêg4 le2-gai7 big4
對唔住，是 我 偷挈 汝個 筆
apology, is I stole you-CL pen
I’m sorry, I was the one who stole your pen.
In addition, diaspora Teochews may also use pai2(6)sê3 歹勢 to mean “excuse me”, which is a borrowing from Hokkien.
Giving and receiving thanks
sia7sia7 謝謝 “thanks”, zoi7sia7 濟謝 (also written 㩼謝) “many thanks”, and gam2(6)sia7 感謝 “heartfelt thanks” can all be used to thank somebody for something.
An appropriate response is miang2(6)kêh4(8)ki3 免客氣 or mai3(2)kêh4(8)ki3 勿客氣, meaning “there’s no need to be polite”.
References and further reading
- Koons & Koons 2016 [1967] Spoken Swatow vol. 1, lesson 4