How to Welcome Guests and Offer Food or Drinks in Mandarin Chinese
Learn beginner Mandarin phrases to welcome guests into your home and politely offer them food or drinks, including 请进, 随便坐 and 你想喝点什么.
By LiamCulture & nuance · Yapr Learn
When a guest arrives at your home in China, a few short phrases do most of the work: you invite them in, tell them to relax, and offer something to drink or eat. This lesson teaches exactly that set of moves in Mandarin, using simplified Chinese and pinyin with tone marks. You will learn how to say 'Come in,' 'Make yourself at home,' 'Would you like something to drink?' and how to respond when your guest accepts or declines. All phrases are polite but natural for everyday visits from friends, classmates, neighbors or colleagues. The focus is only on you as the host; being a guest is a separate skill. Pay attention to 请 (qǐng, 'please/invite') and 随便 (suíbiàn, 'as you like'), two small words that carry much of the hospitable tone.
By the end, you can…
- welcome a guest into my home in Mandarin.
- tell a guest to make themselves at home using 随便.
- offer a drink or food politely with 你想...吗 or 要不要....
- respond appropriately when a guest accepts or declines.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
请进。
Please come in.
qǐng jìn
Said at the door as you step aside. 请 (qǐng) makes the invitation polite; 进 (jìn) means 'enter'.
随便坐。
Sit wherever you like. / Make yourself at home.
suíbiàn zuò
Said right after the guest enters. 随便 (suíbiàn) means 'as you please'; 坐 (zuò) means 'sit'. It is warm, not rude.
别客气。
Don't be polite. / Make yourself at home.
bié kèqi
A very common hospitality phrase. 别 (bié) means 'don't'; 客气 (kèqi) means 'stand on ceremony'. Use it when a guest thanks you or hesitates.
你想喝点什么？
What would you like to drink?
nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme
The standard polite drink offer. 想 (xiǎng) means 'would like'; 喝 (hē) is 'drink'; 点 (diǎn) means 'a little'; 什么 (shénme) means 'what'.
要不要吃点水果？
Would you like some fruit?
yào bu yào chī diǎn shuǐguǒ
The 要不要 (yào bu yào) pattern offers a choice: 'want or not want'. 水果 (shuǐguǒ) means 'fruit'; swap it for 点心 (diǎnxin, snacks) or 瓜子 (guāzǐ, sunflower seeds).
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The most useful offer pattern is 你想 + verb + 点什么？ (nǐ xiǎng ... diǎn shénme), literally 'you would-like ... a-little what?'. Put the action word after 想: 你想喝点什么？ (nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme, 'What would you like to drink?') or 你想吃点什么？ (nǐ xiǎng chī diǎn shénme, 'What would you like to eat?'). For a yes-or-no offer, use 要不要 (yào bu yào): 要不要喝茶？ (yào bu yào hē chá, 'Would you like tea?'). Note that Chinese verbs do not change form, so 喝 (hē) stays the same for I, you, he or she. There is no word for 'a/an' here; 点 (diǎn) simply softens the offer to 'a little'.
When to use it
Use 请进 (qǐng jìn) at the doorway, then 随便坐 (suíbiàn zuò) or 别客气 (bié kèqi) as your guest comes in. Offer a drink soon after they sit down: 你想喝点什么？ (nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme). If they say 不用了，谢谢 (bú yòng le, xièxie, 'No need, thanks'), it is normal to offer once more with 喝点水吧 (hē diǎn shuǐ ba, 'Have some water'), because a single refusal is often polite hesitation rather than a firm no. If they accept with 好，谢谢 (hǎo, xièxie, 'OK, thanks'), simply bring the drink and say 给你 (gěi nǐ, 'Here you are'). Keep the tone light; these phrases are for friends, classmates, neighbors and ordinary colleagues, not for very formal official occasions.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
请进，请进！随便坐。
Come in, come in! Sit wherever you like.qǐng jìn, qǐng jìn! suíbiàn zuò.谢谢，你家真漂亮。
Thanks, your home is really nice.xièxie, nǐ jiā zhēn piàoliang.别客气。你想喝点什么？
Don't be polite. What would you like to drink?bié kèqi. nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme?喝茶吧，谢谢。
Tea, please. Thanks.hē chá ba, xièxie.A little context goes a long way
Offering something to drink or eat is a basic part of hosting in Chinese-speaking homes, and guests often decline once out of politeness before accepting. Offering a second time with 喝点水吧 (hē diǎn shuǐ ba) is friendly, not pushy. With close friends, 随便坐 and 别客气 sound warm; with a teacher or a much older guest, add 您 (nín, polite 'you') and keep the tone a little softer, for example 您请进 (nín qǐng jìn).
One thing to watch for
Saying 请坐 (qǐng zuò) to mean 'Make yourself at home'.
Try this instead: 请坐 (qǐng zuò) only means 'Please sit down' and can sound like a formal instruction. To invite a guest to relax, say 随便坐 (suíbiàn zuò, 'sit wherever you like') or 别客气 (bié kèqi, 'don't stand on ceremony'). For example: 请进，随便坐。 (qǐng jìn, suíbiàn zuò, 'Come in, make yourself at home.')
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1Your guest has just come in and is standing. What do you say to invite them to sit anywhere?
Show a sample answer
随便坐。 (suíbiàn zuò)
This means 'sit wherever you like' and is the natural way to put a guest at ease. 请坐 (qǐng zuò) is also correct Chinese but sounds more formal and less relaxed.
2How do you ask a guest what they would like to drink?
Show a sample answer
你想喝点什么？ (nǐ xiǎng hē diǎn shénme)
This uses the pattern 你想 + verb + 点什么. 你想喝什么？ (nǐ xiǎng hē shénme) is also acceptable, though 点 makes the offer sound softer and more casual.
3Your guest says 不用了，谢谢 (bú yòng le, xièxie). What can you say to offer once more?
Show a sample answer
喝点水吧。 (hē diǎn shuǐ ba)
The sentence-final 吧 (ba) turns this into a gentle suggestion. 喝点茶吧 (hē diǎn chá ba, 'Have some tea') works equally well; both are friendly second offers, not demands.
Welcome with 请进, relax your guest with 随便坐 or 别客气, then offer with 你想喝点什么？ or 要不要吃点水果？ If your guest declines once, offer again gently with 喝点水吧.
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