HSK 3.0 Level 1 · Greetings

请问 qǐngwèn “Excuse me” in Chinese

Traditional 請問

What 请问 means

  1. Excuse me, may I ask…?

How to say 请问

  • Pitch chart of the third tone: dips low then rises, 2 to 1 to 4 on the five-level scale请qǐng3rd tone, dipping
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale问wèn4th tone, falling

请问 in a sentence

  1. 请问，图书馆在哪儿？

    Qǐngwèn, túshūguǎn zài nǎr?

    Excuse me, where is the library?

    Sentence #3377985 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  2. 请问火车站怎么走？

    Qǐngwèn huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu?

    Excuse me, how do I get to the train station?

    Sentence #406467 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

  3. 请问能给我一杯牛奶吗？

    Qǐngwèn néng gěi wǒ yì bēi niúnǎi ma?

    Could I have a glass of milk, please?

    Sentence #5911681 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

How 请问 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 请 (qǐng) with each of its parts in a different colour
请qǐngto ask
  • 讠speech form of 言 · yánMeaning part
  • 青blue-green · qīngSound part

讠 hints at the meaning (speech); 青 (qīng) hints at the sound. Compare it with qǐng.

The character 问 (wèn) with each of its parts in a different colour
问wènto ask; to inquire
  • 门gate · ménSound part
  • 口mouth · kǒuMeaning part

口 hints at the meaning (mouth); 门 (mén) hints at the sound. Compare it with wèn.

Memory aidA mouth 口 at the gate 门, with 门 (mén) giving the sound: to ask.

How to write 请问

请 10 strokes · 问 6 strokes

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

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

Words related to 请问

Words with 请

请qǐng · please请假qǐngjià · to ask for time off请客qǐngkè · to treat someone (to a meal)邀请yāoqǐng · to invite申请shēnqǐng · to apply (for)请求qǐngqiú · to request请教qǐngjiào · to ask for advice请示qǐngshì · to ask for instructions请柬qǐngjiǎn · invitation card请帖qǐngtiě · invitation card

Words with 问

问wèn · to ask问题wèntí · question提问tíwèn · to question问候wènhòu · to give one’s respects询问xúnwèn · to inquire疑问yíwèn · question学问xuéwèn · learning反问fǎnwèn · to ask a rhetorical question过问guòwèn · to concern oneself with慰问wèiwèn · to express sympathy

More words: Greetings & Politeness

没事méishì · it’s nothing不好意思bùhǎoyìsi · to feel embarrassed

FAQs

请问 (qǐngwèn) means “Excuse me, may I ask…?”. It is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word.
Say it qǐngwèn: qǐng with a 3rd tone, then wèn with a 4th 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, 请问 is written 請問. The pronunciation is the same.
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type qingwen with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 请问 from the suggestions. Typing qingwen into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
请问 is an HSK 3.0 Level 1 word in the official 2021 syllabus, and it is on our HSK 3.0 Band 1 word list. It is not on the older 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.