posted by sdfarq.sf on April 11, 2013 | 7 comments
I've just got a quick question that could help me (and a lot of foreigners) out a lot..If I don't fully understand what a person says, is there a polite, quick, simple thing i can say to ask them to repeat what they just said? I'm currently using "什么!？", "不好意思-什么说吗" or "请说一点儿慢了“？ But I'm worried they are probably quite rude, like saying "What?"， "Sorry..Say whaaaat?!?" or "You speak way too fast!"In Baotou people say ”不清楚“ to me if I'm not pronouncing properly, but I can't really say that to them.If there isn't a way to say it easily, I'm pretty sure my blank, confused stare does the same job.
@sdfarq.sf
请你说慢一点儿 = please speak more slowly.
请你再说一遍 = please say that again.
The second quotation you used is grammaticaly incorrect. It appears that you are using English grammar in Chinese: "sorry, what did you say?" Not to worry, we all do it. Also, you don't need to add the partical "吗" when using "什么" in a question.
Also, in case it's not a problem of how fast they speak, but rather a case of the content being way over your head, you can say 我沒听懂，or if you only partially understood what said you can say 我沒完全听懂. It's never a bad idea to throw 不好意思 in there too!
@sdfarq.sf,尼古拉斯桑 and 华金 have answered your question. Don't worry. It's not impolite to say 什么 or 请说慢一点儿. You can also say 您说什么.--Echoecho@popupchinese.com
murrayjames on April 14, 2013 | reply
You might also try 说标准普通话，做文明中国人>:-)
谢谢大家, “我沒完全听懂” 是特别有用呢。 Thanks everyone, "我沒完全听懂" is especially useful! ：） (translation provided because my grammar/writing is very bad)