HSK 1 · Greetings

没关系 méi guānxi “it’s okay” in Chinese

Traditional 沒關係

What 没关系 means

  1. it’s okay, no problem
  2. it doesn’t matter

How to say 没关系

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale没méi2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the first tone: stays high and level, 5 to 5 on the five-level scale关guān1st tone, high and level
  • Pitch chart of the neutral tone: short and light, with no contour of its own系xineutral tone, light and short

Grey pinyin is a neutral tone: say it short and light. More on the neutral tone

没关系 in a sentence

  1. 没关系，我可以等。

    Méi guānxi, wǒ kěyǐ děng.

    That’s OK, I can wait.

    Sentence #2303393 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 没关系！我来做！

    Méi guānxi! Wǒ lái zuò!

    Don’t worry. I’ll do it.

    Sentence #347570 from Tatoeba

  3. 稍微冷一点没关系。

    Shāowēi lěng yìdiǎn méi guānxi.

    I don’t mind if it’s a little cold.

    Sentence #1438331 from Tatoeba

How 没关系 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 没 (méi) with each of its parts in a different colour
没méihave not; not
  • 氵water form of 水 · shuǐMeaning part
  • 殳weapon · shūSound part

氵 hints at the meaning (water); 殳 (shū) hints at the sound. Compare it with méi.

Memory aidWater 氵 gives the meaning: it first meant “to sink under water”. Now it is mostly “not have”.

The character 关 (guān) with each of its parts in a different colour
关guānmountain pass
  • 丷eight form of 八 · bā
  • 天sky · tiān

Memory aidSimplified from 關, a bar fastened across a gate 門: to close, to shut.

The character 系 (xì) with each of its parts in a different colour
系xìto connectlight in 没关系
  • 丿slash · piě
  • 糸silk · mìMeaning part

Memory aidPicture silk threads 糸 hanging from a hand 丿: to tie, a link, a system.

How to write 没关系

没 7 strokes · 关 6 strokes · 系 7 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

没关系 (méi guānxi) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 没关系 (méi guānxi). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 没关系

Words with 没

没méi · no没有méiyǒu · not to have没事méishì · it’s nothing没意思méiyìsi · boring埋没máimò · to bury淹没yānmò · to submerge

Words with 关

关guān · to close关心guānxīn · concerned about/with关系guānxi · relation关于guānyú · about关注guānzhù · to pay close attention to有关yǒuguān · to be related to关机guānjī · to turn off (a device)关键guānjiàn · crucial point关闭guānbì · to close海关hǎiguān · customs (i.e. border crossing inspection)

Words with 系

关系guānxi · relation联系liánxì · to contact系xì · (university) department系统xìtǒng · system系领带jì lǐngdài · to tie a tie体系tǐxì · system系列xìliè · series

More words: Greetings & Phrases

谢谢xièxie · thank you不客气bú kèqi · you’re welcome再见zàijiàn · goodbye对不起duìbuqǐ · sorry喂wéi · hello (on phone)

FAQs

没关系 (méi guānxi) means “it’s okay, no problem” or “it doesn’t matter”. It is an HSK 1 word, so it is one of the words learners meet early.
Say it méi guānxi: méi with a 2nd tone, then guān with a 1st tone, then xi with a neutral tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 没关系 is written 沒關係. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type meiguanxi with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 没关系 from the suggestions. Typing meiguanxi into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
没关系 is an HSK 1 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.