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Feelings & opinions 100
100
phrases
Feeling good
10
开心 and 高兴 both mean happy and differ mainly in flavour: 开心 is the lighter, more everyday word, 高兴 is a shade more formal and carries a sense of being pleased about something specific. 心情不错 - "in a good mood" - describes a state rather than a reaction, which makes it the most useful of the three.
Feeling low
10
会过去的 - "it will pass" - is the standard Chinese consolation and matches the practical bent you meet everywhere in this language: it points at time rather than at feeling. 我需要静一静 asks for quiet, and asking for it directly is more acceptable than an English speaker might expect.
Annoyance
10
太过分了 - "that's going too far" - is the most useful complaint here because it judges the act rather than the person. 别惹我 is a warning with real edge; 冷静一点 tells someone else to calm down and will rarely have that effect. 算了吧 abandons the argument, which in practice is how most of them end.
Worrying
10
怎么办 - "what do we do" - is the sound of Chinese worry and is said aloud far more often than an English speaker would say "what shall we do". It invites the listener in rather than asking for an answer. 别想太多 - don't overthink it - is the reply you will get and the reply you should give.
Surprise
10
真的假的 - literally "true or false" - is the standard exclamation of disbelief and is one of the first pieces of real spoken Chinese a learner picks up. 不会吧 is its milder cousin, closer to "surely not". Both are reactions rather than questions and need no answer.
Likes and dislikes
10
一般般 - "so-so" - is the answer that keeps you out of trouble when you did not like something. It is mild, non-committal and universally understood. 我讨厌这样 is genuinely strong - 讨厌 is closer to "detest" than to "dislike" - so save it for things and situations rather than people.
Giving an opinion
10
我觉得 is the workhorse - "I feel that", used where English would say "I think" - and it softens whatever follows. 在我看来 is a shade more formal, 说实话 signals that candour is coming. 各有各的道理 - "each side has its reasons" - closes a disagreement without anyone losing.
Agreeing
10
有道理 - "that makes sense" - is the most natural way to agree because it credits the reasoning rather than the person. 就是这样 is emphatic agreement, close to "exactly". Note how many of these exist: Chinese conversation expects agreement to be voiced, and silent nodding reads as reservation.
Disagreeing
10
话不能这么说 - "you can't put it that way" - disagrees with the framing rather than the fact, and is the most elegant move here. 我持保留态度 keeps a formal distance. 你误会了 - you've misunderstood - lets you push back by relocating the error to the listening rather than the speaking.
Being noncommittal
10
说不定 and 不好说 both hedge, but in opposite directions: 说不定 leans towards "it might well happen", 不好说 towards "I'd rather not predict". 谁知道呢 - "who knows" - abandons the question altogether. This whole set is worth having because a confident wrong answer costs more than a vague one.
Related categories
Greetings 100
Introductions 100
Numbers & time 100
Places & directions 100
Shopping 100
Eating & drinking 100
Getting around 100
Requests & offers 100
中文