🎙️1️⃣0️⃣4️⃣ What If…? A Casual Conversation with Three Useful Chinese Expressions

A casual phone call turns into a funny conversation about plans, “what if” questions, and decisions we’d rather make later. In today’s episode, you’ll hear three super natural expressions: 干嘛 (what for / why – casual tone) 万一 (what if) 再说吧 (let’s talk about it later)

Hello，大家好，我是Janine。Hello, dàjiā hǎo, wǒ shì Janine.Hello everyone, I’m Janine.

昨天晚上我准备关电脑的时候，Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ zhǔnbèi guān diànnǎo de shíhou,Last night, when I was about to turn off my computer,

我朋友突然给我打电话。wǒ péngyou tūrán gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà.my friend suddenly called me.

他一接通就问我：Tā yí jiētōng jiù wèn wǒ:As soon as I picked up, he asked:

“你明天干嘛？”“Nǐ míngtiān gànmá?”“What are you doing tomorrow?” (casual tone: what for / why)

我说：“还没想好。”Wǒ shuō: “Hái méi xiǎng hǎo.”I said, “I haven’t decided yet.”

他马上说：Tā mǎshàng shuō:He immediately said:

“万一明天下雨，你就别出门了，跟我视频聊天吧！”“Wànyī míngtiān xià yǔ, nǐ jiù bié chūmén le, gēn wǒ shìpín liáotiān ba!”“What if it rains tomorrow? Don’t go out, just video chat with me!”

我笑着回答：Wǒ xiàozhe huídá:I laughed and said:

“现在说太早了，再说吧。”“Xiànzài shuō tài zǎo le, zàishuō ba.”“It’s too early to say. Let’s talk about it later.”

他一听，叹了口气说：Tā yí tīng, tàn le kǒuqì shuō:He heard that and sighed:

“好吧，我等你消息。”“Hǎo ba, wǒ děng nǐ xiāoxi.”“Alright, I’ll wait for your message.”