你会说中文吗？

Learning Chinese: How to Ask "Can You Speak Chinese?"

Chinese Characters: 会说中文吗？
Pinyin: Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?
Pronunciation: hwei4 shuo1 zhong1wen2 ma5
English Translation: Can you speak Chinese?

Usage:

"你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)" is a polite way to ask someone if they can speak Chinese. It is commonly used when meeting someone for the first time or when you are unsure if they speak Chinese.

Example:

Chinese: 你会说中文吗？
Pinyin: Nǐ huì shuō zhōngwén ma?
English: Can you speak Chinese?

Variations:

There are a few variations of "你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)" that you may hear:

你会讲中文吗？(Huì jiǎng zhōngwén ma?): This variation is also commonly used and has the same meaning as "你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)".
说中文可以吗？(Shuō zhōngwén kěyǐ ma?): This variation is more informal and literally means "Is it okay to speak Chinese?"

Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers asking "Can you speak Chinese?" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.

Additional Notes:

"你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)" is typically used in formal settings.
To ask "Can you speak Chinese?" in a more informal setting, you can say "你会讲中文吗？(Huì jiǎng zhōngwén ma?)" or "说中文可以吗？(Shuō zhōngwén kěyǐ ma?)".
If you are unsure how to respond to "你会说中文吗？(Huì shuō zhōngwén ma?)", you can simply say "一点儿 (yīdiǎnr)" which means "a little bit".