Here’s a language lesson for you: In most situations in Mandarin when someone asks you a question your response should include the same verb they used. In some ways this makes speaking Mandarin a little easier because if you don’t fully understand, but can pick out the verb then all you have to do is repeat that verb and it will sound like you somewhat know what’s going on. Of course, as with everything in life, there are exceptions to the rule, but we’re not getting into that right now. Let’s focus on one thing at a time.

So, here’s a real-world example from the other day when i was on the bus. This real-world example is also what sparked the idea for writing this post. It happened exactly by the textbook, it was amazing. Here it is:

I was on an extremely crowded bus. I mean EXTREMELY crowded. I was standing up, face-to-face with the seven other people who were all in my very personal space. The aisle of the bus was slam packed and i couldn’t move. The proper analogy is that we were crammed in like sardines. Ok, so now that you have a picture of the situation in your head i can finish my story. The bus begins to come to a stop and i notice a girl trying to inch her way through the madness of this crowded bus. She makes her way to me and i’m standing between her and the exit door. I look at her and i say, “Xia che ma?” Are you getting off the bus? Her reply was straight out of a Mandarin textbook. She looked at me and politely said, “Xia che.” Which is literally (in this situation), “Getting off the bus.” So, here’s how that conversation took place:

Me: “Are you getting off the bus?”
Girl: “Getting off the bus.”

If this happened in English the response would have simply been, “Yes.” But not in Mandarin. In Mandarin, she not only repeated the verb (Xia), but she also repeated the noun (Che). Even though this is difficult for me because i want to just say yes or no, this is really something about Mandarin that i enjoy.