70 Phrases That Make Speaking Chinese Easy

Main ideas / lessons

• Chinese “connecting phrases” boost spoken fluency by:

  • Buying thinking time (reducing awkward silence).
  • Sounding natural and thoughtful.
  • Making your speech feel less like memorized fragments and more like real conversation.

• The video organizes phrases into multiple conversation functions:

  1. Filler/stalling connectors (while thinking).
  2. Opinion framing openers (“I feel/think/to be honest…”).
  3. Listener micro-responses (react while others talk).
  4. Linking/building arguments (more/also/on the other hand/but…).
  5. Cause & effect / explanation / rephrasing (because/therefore/in other words…).
  6. Conversation navigation (change topic gracefully).
  7. Active agreement (short, engaged responses).
  8. Disagreeing softly (face-saving alternatives).
  9. Highlighting your main point (key/taking-away structure).
  10. Closing conversations gracefully (wrap up politely).

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Detailed instruction-style lists (phrases by category)

1) Stalling / filler phrases (buy time + sound natural)

• neiga / neiga (“that one” / Chinese “um” filler)

  • Also interchangeable with zheiga (“this one”).

• tsunmo shuo na (literally “how to say…?”)

  • Signals you’re choosing words, sounds thoughtful.

• (ma) + filler vibe

  • Used conversationally to mirror “you know / right?”

• (jiu) shuo / shuo (“in other words / that is to say”)

  • For clarifying or restating.

• deiga / neiga / ma / jiu shuo

  • Can be combined freely as natural fillers.

• wo xiang xiang (ah) (“let me think for a second…”)

• deng yi xia (ah) (“wait a moment…”)

  • Softer/polite when you soften tone and add ah; avoid sounding like a harsh command.

• Tone/intonation guidance (critical distinction)

  • nèi ge / zhèi ge and jiù shì depend heavily on intonation:
    • Strong emphatic intonation can mean strong agreement (“yes exactly”).
    • Thoughtful elongated/soft intonation can mean “um… / I mean…”

• Ránhòu (“and then / um…”)

  • Used to connect story events; can also mean “waiting for next thought.”

• Combinability example idea

  • You can chain like: ránhòu + jiù shì + nèi ge (to smoothly continue thinking/talking).

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2) “Opinion openers” (sound like a thinking human)

• wo juede (“I feel / I think”)
• wo ganjue (“I feel”)
  • More emotional/subjective than purely logical.
• wo renwei (“I think”)
  • More logic/weighing-options framing.
• shuo shi hua (“to be honest / speaking real speech”)
  • Signals honesty; may be direct or self-disclosing.
• qi shi (“actually / the thing is…”)
  • Introduces contrast with expectations.
• tan bai shuo (“to lay it out / basically: honestly let me say…”)
  • Stronger and more “laying cards on the table.”
• yao wo shuo (“if you ask me / want me to say?”)
  • Casual, confident opinion opener.
• wo kan (“from my perspective / I see…”)
  • Short form; “in my opinion” vibe.

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3) Listener micro-responses (keep conversation flowing while they talk)

• gender ma (“really?” + question marker for yes/no)
• gender ja da (“real/fake?” structure; also “really?” vibe)
• bu way ba / bù shuō ba style (surprise “no way / you kidding”)
  • Longer ba = stronger/emphatic surprise.
• you yuanlai rucai (“how it is / I see”)
  • More formal-sounding but still used.
• mei xiang dao (“I didn’t think of that / didn’t expect that”)
• you yi si (“interesting / that makes sense”)
  • Can be extended, e.g., “this idea is quite interesting.”
• ran hou na? (“and then? / and what?”)
  • Powerful “I’m following you” phrase; can be rude depending on tone/facial expression.
• queshi (“indeed / indeed…; more formal”)
• jiang ah (“this way / that’s how it is”; acknowledgement)
• nan guai (“no wonder / that makes sense now”)

These are framed as essential to avoid the “quiet = lost” signal.

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4) Linking / building thoughts (stack ideas, pivot smoothly)

• ér qiè (“moreover / also”)
• líng wài (“additionally / in addition”)
• (…)+ hái yě type structure (“not only… but also… / as well”)
• dànshì / dànshì… (contrast; described as “on the other hand” context using paired structures later)
• gèng (“even / on top of that” emphasis escalation; described as “even more so”)

• zé yǒu… / jù tǐ… (especially/emphasis: “especially…”)

• But/however system (multiple “but” words with different weight)

  • bù guò = softer “but/however”
  • suī rán dànshì = “although… but…” (must pair both halves)
  • fā’ér = “on the contrary / instead” (unexpected opposite outcome)

• Two-side contrast structures

  • yí fāngmiàn… / líng yí fāngmiàn… (“on one hand… on the other hand…”)
  • xiāng fǎn (“conversely / on the contrary”)
• bù guǎn zēng yàng (“no matter what / anyway”)

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5) Explaining why + rephrasing (cause/effect, restating meaning)

• yīn wèi… suǒ yǐ… (“because… therefore…”)

  • The video emphasizes Mandarin often uses both halves.

• fǎndùn (“anyway / regardless” in spoken usage)

• jī rán… (“since… / given that… then…”)
• jiéguǒ shì… (“the result is…” introducing outcome, often unexpected)

• jiùshì / yī cì rèn… (4-character pattern mentioned): “in other words”

  • Described as a 4-character pattern meaning “in other words and that is” / restatement (exact characters are garbled in subtitles, but function is clear).

• What you mean / reclarification phrasing

  • (“what I’m saying is… / that is…” type) for “what I meant was…”

• Jǎn dǎo lái shuō (“to put it simply / to boil it down”)

• yī suǒ… / suǒ yǐ… (summarizing “therefore”)

  • Video references “therefore/summarize” style phrase yǐ suǒ… / yī suǒ (suǒ yǐ).

• yàobú… (“otherwise / if not…”)

  • Used to express negative consequence if condition isn’t met.

• Navigation prompt: shifting conversations without awkwardness

  • duì le (“correct” / also “oh, by the way… / I just remembered…” depending on context)
  • ō shuō dào zhège (“speaking of this / oh, when I say that, I remembered…”)
  • dǒng chū (“in short / anyway / let’s move forward”)
  • by the way / right? / another related phrase described as “deliberate ‘hey I thought this through’” (subtitles are garbled, but function: introducing related topic).

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6) Closing / wrapping up conversations gracefully (exit without awkwardness)

• nà jiù zhèyàng ba (playful “all right, I’ll head out” / “family guy dusty trail” style phrasing)
• hǎo de, nà jiù zhèyàng ba, huí tóu zài liánxì
  • huí tóu = “turn your head” → idiomatically “we’ll connect again later”
• xiànzài ér (“now then / okay, I’ll wrap up” casual phone/chat ending)
• wǒ xiān zǒu le
  • “I’ll leave first / excuse me, I’m going to go”
  • Framed as polite because it lets the other person not feel like they need to end first
• nà xià cì zài jiàn / zài jiàn-style goodbye options (subtitles include “Na, xia ci zai jian.”)
• huí tóu zài shuō
  • “Let’s talk about it later” (topic not finished; keep door open)
• gāi tiān zài liáo
  • Friendly “let’s chat again some other time”
  • Example phrase includes happiness line like: “Jīn nián liáo de hěn kāixīn.”

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Speaker / sources featured

• The video instructor / narrator (unnamed in subtitles; the primary speaker teaching the phrase list).
• Mandarin Blueprint Lite community / course creators (mentioned as a source of audio/phrases, accessed via links/QR code).
• “AI” (mentioned as an optional tool) for self-talk practice.