HSK Exam - How to Draw Attention -

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How to Draw Attention
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FireEater -

Hi,

In English we might say 'Excuse me', if we are polite, or 'Hey you' or, even 'Hoy' if we are not.
In French, en francais nous pouvons dire 'tiens' etc, in German, which is rather more polite, you
might say 'Entschuldigen mir' or words to that effect. In Serbo-Croat we could say_ slushaj!

Hoping that I have made myself reasonably clear, here is my question: what do we say in Chinese to
signal that NOW is a good time to pay a lot of attention?


Tataa!



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RicoRico -

i would try "lao jia". i think this is what you'd say to get attention in those situations. I'm
pretty sure this isn't very rude too.










Yuchi -

喂 (wèi) and 诶 (èi) comes to mind, use it as you would "hey!".










FireEater -

Thanks,

So in effect,

If I say 'Hey', more or less in English, I will have said as much in Chinese?


It's good to know.

PS When you study a language you may want to use it for tricks. Me and about
Chinese, I want to use it, come what may, for real


Tataa!










Long Zhiren -

En français, on peut dire aussi: "Choque!" [spelling?]

"Hey!" works just fine in Chinese too. I hear it often but am not sure if there's a character that
corresponds to it. In some circumstances, like "Choque," Mandarin can use also: "小心!"










Yuchi -



Quote:

If I say 'Hey', more or less in English, I will have said as much in Chinese?

They do sound the similar (wei, ei, hey). I've never tried "hey!", sounds like an interesting
experiment.










Roee -

Haven't heard anyone in Shanghai say "劳驾“

Taxi drivers: 师傅!
Older ladies at Laosen/Family mart etc.: 阿姨!
Asking a question: "你好请问一下“ at times this is mandatory in order to prepare them
mentaly that I can speak Chinese.
Random Male persona: 先生 !(or sisan. hehe)
Woman: 你好 etc.
Service: 服务员!
Taiwan: the all omnipotent: 不好意思！

Just to add: this is the way that /I personally/ use to attract people's attention -- it does not
mean it's correct and for sure different people will use different "greetings" in different
locations.










Sashawang -

different people have different ways to draw attention, but one thing is important: be polite.
you can say: ni hao (hello) first,

if you want him or her to show you the way, you can say: 您能告诉我去...怎么走吗（could
you show me the way to ... please?)

i also want to point out that in north China, we say "nin" instead of "ni" to the senior, but in
south China, people say "ni" rather than "nin" even to the elderly, 'cause it is difficult for
southern people to pronounce "nin".

what draws my attention is Tataa you use, it's typical British English, right? i first heard of it
in my English class, and it reminds me of my teacher...










againstwind -

“劳驾”(Láo jià) is usually used in North China, especially in Beijing. It's a local
expression, but you can use it securely.

“不好意思”(Bù hăo yìsi) is another good expression, not only used in Taiwan.


In my opinion, "嘿"(Hèi) and "喂"(Wèi) are unmeet ,especially when you want to ask a stranger
something. It's not polite enough. The two ways are very informal.










Roee -

againstwind,

Where have you heard 不好意思 in Mainland China and in what context?












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