Day 27: Making Plans — Learn Chinese in 30 Days
Learn how to make, change, and cancel plans in Chinese — inviting friends, setting times, and navigating the social dynamics of Chinese scheduling.
Today's Vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 计划 | Plan | |
| 有空 | Available / Have free time | |
| 一起 | Together | |
| 约 | To make a date / appointment | |
| 方便 | Convenient | |
| 取消 | To cancel | |
| 改天 | Another day / Raincheck | |
| 没问题 | No problem | |
| 怎么样 | How about...? / What do you think? | |
| 期待 | To look forward to |
What You’ll Learn Today
Making plans is where social Chinese really comes alive. Today you’ll learn how to invite someone out, suggest times, respond to invitations, and gracefully reschedule — essential skills for building genuine friendships in Chinese.
Inviting Someone
The basic invitation:
你这周末有空吗？— Nǐ zhè zhōu mò yǒu kòng ma? — Are you free this weekend?
我们一起去吃饭怎么样？— Wǒ men yī qǐ qù chī fàn zěn me yàng? — How about we go eat together?
你想来我家吃晚饭吗？— Nǐ xiǎng lái wǒ jiā chī wǎn fàn ma? — Would you like to come to my place for dinner?
Accepting an Invitation
好啊！— Hǎo a! — Sure! / Great! 没问题！— Méi wèn tí! — No problem! 太好了，我很期待！— Tài hǎo le, wǒ hěn qī dài! — Great, I’m looking forward to it!
Declining Politely
Chinese culture values indirect refusals — a flat “no” can feel jarring:
不好意思，这周我比较忙。— Bù hǎo yì si, zhè zhōu wǒ bǐ jiào máng. — Sorry, I’m quite busy this week. 改天吧！— Gǎi tiān ba! — Let’s do it another time! (Polite way to decline without closing the door) 下次一定！— Xià cì yī dìng! — Definitely next time!
Confirming Details
几点见面？— Jǐ diǎn jiàn miàn? — What time shall we meet? 在哪里见？— Zài nǎ lǐ jiàn? — Where shall we meet? 我们在地铁站见吧。— Wǒ men zài dì tiě zhàn jiàn ba. — Let’s meet at the metro station.
Sentence Patterns
Pattern 1: Making a casual plan
明天下午你有没有空？我们去喝咖啡吧。— Míng tiān xià wǔ nǐ yǒu méi yǒu kòng? Wǒ men qù hē kā fēi ba. — Are you free tomorrow afternoon? Let’s go get coffee.
Pattern 2: Canceling
对不起，我今天有事，能不能改一下时间？— Duì bu qǐ, wǒ jīn tiān yǒu shì, néng bu néng gǎi yī xià shí jiān? — Sorry, something came up today — can we change the time?
Pattern 3: Confirming you’re on your way
我快到了！— Wǒ kuài dào le! — I’m almost there!
Cultural Note
Being slightly late is culturally tolerated in casual social settings in China, but punctuality is important for business meetings. However, if you’re going to be more than 5–10 minutes late for any meeting, sending a WeChat message in advance is both polite and expected.
The phrase 改天 (gǎi tiān) — “another day” — is often used as a soft, indefinite decline rather than a genuine plan to reschedule. Read context carefully: if someone says 改天吧 three times, they might be politely saying no.
Practice Exercise
- Invite a friend to go watch a movie this weekend.
- Accept an invitation enthusiastically.
- Decline politely because you’re busy.
- Confirm where and when to meet.
Answers: 1) 你这周末有空吗？我们一起去看电影怎么样？2) 好啊！太好了！ 3) 不好意思，这周我比较忙，改天吧！4) 几点见面？在哪里见？