Spoken Chinese · 实战口语第 1 册
Greetings & Adding WeChat
Matt has just arrived in China. He saw Min's name in the class WeChat group, and today they meet at the campus café.
马特刚来中国。他在班级微信群里看到过珉的名字，今天两个人在校园咖啡馆见面了。
Use 是 to link two nouns: “A is B”. To say “not”, use 不是 (bú shì — 不 changes to bú before 4th-tone 是). Add 吗 at the end to ask a yes/no question.
With adjectives, Chinese does not use 是. Put 很 (or 真, 也) before the adjective. 很 here is often just a soft link, not a strong “very”.
In China, exchanging WeChat contacts is common among classmates and new acquaintances. “I'll scan you” means scanning the other person's personal QR code, then sending a friend request. Ask first; the other person can decide whether to accept.
在中国，同学和新认识的朋友常常会交换微信。“我扫你”是指扫描对方的个人二维码，再发送好友申请。先询问，对方可以决定是否接受。
“哪里哪里” is a modest response to praise—not a question about a place. It can sound traditional or playful. “谢谢，我还在学习” is also a natural, friendly reply; you don't have to reject a compliment.
“哪里哪里”是谦虚回应夸奖的说法，不是在问地点。有时听起来比较传统，也可以带点轻松的语气。“谢谢，我还在学习”也很自然、友好，不必一定否认对方的夸奖。
Chinese names usually put the family name first: in 李珉, 李 is the family name and 珉 is the given name. A common way to address a teacher is family name + 老师, such as 李老师. Min is a student, so Matt's greeting in the short dialogue is a joke.
中文姓名通常姓在前、名在后：李珉的姓是李，名是珉。称呼老师时，常用“姓＋老师”，比如“李老师”。珉是学生，所以短对话里马特的称呼是在开玩笑。