How do you say "May I ask?" in Chinese?

"May I ask?" in Chinese is 请问 — written in pinyin as Qǐngwèn. It is an everyday phrase you would use in China.

What does 请问 mean in Chinese?

请问 (Qǐngwèn) means "May I ask?". Broken down word by word: 请 (qǐng) means "please"; 问 (wèn) means "to ask".

When would you use "May I ask?" in Chinese?

You put it in front of any question you ask a stranger — shop staff, a station attendant, somebody on the street — and a bare question turns into a polite opener. It also works as the attention-getter on its own: say 请问 and pause, and the person will look up before you have said what you want.

How to say “May I ask?” in Chinese

“May I ask?” in Chinese is 请问, written in pinyin as Qǐngwèn.

请问

Qǐngwèn

May I ask?

Word by word

What each part of 请问 actually means.

请qǐngplease
问wènto ask

When you use it

You put it in front of any question you ask a stranger — shop staff, a station attendant, somebody on the street — and a bare question turns into a polite opener.
It also works as the attention-getter on its own: say 请问 and pause, and the person will look up before you have said what you want.

Use 请问 in everyday situations. Greetings, thanks and the small words you use all day.

Other ways people say it

The same idea, said differently. Roughly in the order you'll hear them.

请问一下。
Qǐngwèn yíxià
May I ask you something?
一下 softens it further and buys you a moment to finish the sentence. Very common when you are about to ask for directions.
麻烦问一下。
Máfan wèn yíxià
Sorry to trouble you, may I ask?
麻烦 (to put somebody to trouble) makes the request more considerate. Good at a service counter where the person is already busy.
问一下。
Wèn yíxià
Quick question.
The no-frills version, used between younger people and in shops where 请问 would sound stiff. 一下 does the softening instead.

What usually trips people up

It goes in front of a full question, not instead of one. 请问 alone means 'may I ask', so the other person stops and waits — have the question ready before you start.
It is polite, not warm. 请问 keeps an exchange businesslike, which is exactly right with staff and wrong with a friend: used on somebody you know it sounds like a call centre.
Tone, not volume, carries it. 请 is a full third tone and 问 is falling, so flattening the two into 'qing-wen' is the tell that you have read the phrase rather than heard it.

What you might hear back

请讲。Qǐng jiǎngGo ahead.
什么事？Shénme shì?What is it?
不好意思，我也不知道。Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ yě bù zhīdàoSorry, I don't know either.

Common questions

How do you say "May I ask?" in Chinese?: "May I ask?" in Chinese is 请问 — written in pinyin as Qǐngwèn. It is an everyday phrase you would use in China.
What does 请问 mean in Chinese?: 请问 (Qǐngwèn) means "May I ask?". Broken down word by word: 请 (qǐng) means "please"; 问 (wèn) means "to ask".
When would you use "May I ask?" in Chinese?: You put it in front of any question you ask a stranger — shop staff, a station attendant, somebody on the street — and a bare question turns into a polite opener. It also works as the attention-getter on its own: say 请问 and pause, and the person will look up before you have said what you want.

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