你今天忙吗？

Learning Chinese: How to Ask "Are You Busy Today?" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 你今天忙吗？
Pinyin: Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?
Pronunciation: ni3 jin1 tian1 mang2 ma5
English Translation: Are you busy today?

Usage:

"你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" is a common way to ask someone if they are busy on a particular day. It can be used in both formal and informal settings.

Example:

Chinese: 你今天忙吗？我想约你一起吃饭。
Pinyin: Nǐ jīntiān máng ma? Wǒ xiǎng yuē nǐ yīqǐ chīfàn.
English: Are you busy today? I'd like to invite you to dinner.
Variations:

There are a few variations of "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" that you may hear:

你最近忙不忙？(Nǐ zuìjìn máng bù máng?) - Are you busy recently?
你最近有没有时间？(Nǐ zuìjìn yǒu méiyǒu shíjiān?) - Do you have time recently?
Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers asking "Are you busy today?" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.
Additional Notes:

"你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" is a polite way to ask someone if they are busy.
If you want to be more direct, you can say "你忙吗？(Nǐ máng ma?)", but this is less polite.
To respond to the question "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)", you can say "忙 (máng)" for "yes" or "不忙 (bù máng)" for "no".