# I can just speak some basic Chinese



## yuechu

大家好！

Someone (一个中国人） was asking me today if I spoke Chinese and I wanted to say "I can just speak some basic Chinese". Does anyone know how I could say this in Chinese? (It doesn't have to be a literal translation)
For example, could I say "我只会简单一些的中文"? or something like "I don't speak Chinese at a native level" 我没有母语是中文的人那么好的水平“？ (Some people think I look 100% Chinese, so I often want to say something like this)
Thanks!


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## Skatinginbc

yuechu said:


> "我只会简单一些的中文"...我没有母语是中文的人那么好的水平“


我只會一些簡單的中文...  我中文沒母語人士那樣的水平.


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## sesame_fr11

yuechu said:


> Someone (一个中国人） was asking me today if I spoke Chinese and I wanted to say "I can just speak some basic Chinese". Does anyone know how I could say this in Chinese? (It doesn't have to be a literal translation)
> For example, could I say "我只会简单一些的中文"? or something like "I don't speak Chinese at a native level" 我没有母语是中文的人那么好的水平“？ (Some people think I look 100% Chinese, so I often want to say something like this)
> Thanks!


comme tu parles aussi le français, je t'explique en français au lieu d'en anglais.
à l'oral, on dit plutôt “我只会一点汉语。”“我只会一些（少量）简单的汉语。”
je pense qu'on utilise souvent 汉语、英语、法语 dans la vie quotidienne à l'oral, d'après moi, 中文、英文、法文est plus littéraire.
bien sûr tu peux dire: “我的汉语仅限于基本交流。” “我的汉语没有汉语母语者讲得好。”, mais tu vois 仅限于; 者 est très littéraire.


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## SuperXW

I think all the above suggestions are too formal and difficult for someone who "can just speak some basic Chinese". How can such a person responds with perfect long sentences like yours? Words like 母语人士, 母语者, 少量的, 仅限于基本交流 are not even used in colloquial language.

If you can only speak some basic Chinese, the most natural answers you'd probably say are: “我中文不好。” "只会一点。"


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## Skatinginbc

SuperXW said:


> Words like 母语人士, 母语者, 少量的, 仅限于基本交流 are not even used in colloquial language.


I envision hillbillies whose active vocabulary inventories are limited.  How about educated people in China?  How do they express such ideas to their friends in informal conversation as "My English tutor can't speak English at a native level"?  英文不道地？ Is 道地 considered colloquial?


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## ZJ626

Skatinginbc said:


> 英文不道地？ Is 道地 considered colloquial?



In Mainland, we say 地道。


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## bbqqlove3676

我只能说一些简单的中文


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## yuechu

Thanks, everyone, for your help! Your answers help me a lot.  Merci aussi pour ta réponse en français, sesame_fr11 !



SuperXW said:


> I think all the above suggestions are too formal and difficult for someone who "can just speak some basic Chinese". *How can such a person responds with perfect long sentences like yours? *Words like 母语人士, 母语者, 少量的, 仅限于基本交流 are not even used in colloquial language.
> 
> *If you can only speak some basic Chinese, the most natural answers you'd probably say are: “我中文不好。” "只会一点。"*


Perhaps my Chinese might be a little better than beginners', but there are many things I don't know how to say in Chinese. Also, I think that I probably make mistakes fairly often in Chinese, which is like other 外国人，老外 but unlike other Chinese people who grew up speaking Chinese. In any case, my Chinese is far from perfect and I want to be humble... perhaps my choice in wording was not the best! (instead of "I can only speak some basic Chinese", maybe I should say something like "My Chinese is not very advanced" or "Chinese is not my first language")

再次感谢大家！


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## Raymond Yang

You can say:
会一点点。[I can speak some basic words or sentences.]
or
我只会几句简单的中文。[I can only speak several basic sentences.]


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## Skatinginbc

Hi, Yuechu
Your Chinese proficiency is obviously more than 一點點 or 簡單幾句.

你可以謙虛地對別人說：
我中文不好
我中文程度不高
我中文說得不地道 (or 道地 in Taiwan).


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## yuechu

Hi, Skatinginbc!


Skatinginbc said:


> 我中文不好
> 我中文程度不高
> 我中文說得不地道 (or 道地 in Taiwan).


Thanks for giving me these options!  I think they are better for my situation than the others.
謝謝！


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## Skatinginbc

當然，「中文不好」是謙虛，你的中文其實不賴.


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## SuperXW

Skatinginbc said:


> I envision hillbillies whose active vocabulary inventories are limited.  How about educated people in China?  How do they express such ideas to their friends in informal conversation as "My English tutor can't speak English at a native level"?  英文不道地？ Is 道地 considered colloquial?


In an informal conversation with a friend, perhaps: 英文不地道, 英文不怎么样. 英文不如英国本地人... 也可能有人用到“母语人士, 母语者, 少量的, 仅限于基本交流”这样的词汇，但这是因为本身"My English tutor can't speak English at a native level"这句话已经是一个近学术环境的讨论了。


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