Thank you, sorry, excuse me
Tests: 4 of 10 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 8 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 3 of the chinese street course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · right ✓
«xiexie is like zee-zee right, sounds like cheese» Which is right?
- 1. Yes, and it means cheese — no support
- 2. Yes, exactly like zee-zee — no support
- 3. No, it is said SHAY-SHAY, both falling — no support
- 4. No, it sounds like SHYEH-shyeh — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 6
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 2: «xièxie (thank you) sounds like «SHYEH-shyeh», not «zee-zee» or «shay-shay». The answer is bú kèqi, «don't be so polite», which is a lovely thing to hear.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sound» (+4); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · wrong ✗
Ming's granny tells you sad news about her cat. Should you say duìbuqǐ?
- 1. Yes, it means «poor cat» — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. No, duìbuqǐ is for something you did wrong — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. No, you should say bú kèqi — no support
- 4. Yes, it is the special sorry for sad news — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗
«oi, ask that lady where the loo is, say qǐng wěn» What happens if you say it with a dip?
- 1. You say good night to her — no support
- 2. Nothing, both tones mean ask — ← Mova's choice · score 2
- 3. You ask «may I kiss» instead of «may I ask» — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. You ask her to sell you something — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 2 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 8: «méi shìr («MAY shr», with a Beijing r curl; southern speakers say méi shì) means no problem, it's nothing, or I'm fine after a small fall.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mean» (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · right ✓
You thank your best mate «xièxie nǐ» for every single crisp. How does it sound?
- 1. Like you are saying goodbye — no support
- 2. Very rude, like an insult — no support
- 3. Funny and a bit distant — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 4. Like you're asking for more — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 3 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 5: «xièxie («SHYEH-shyeh», the first falling, the second light) means thank you; children thank elders for gifts and food, though too many thank-yous between best…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same action «sound» (+4); the same property (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
What would happen if Ming answered your duìbuqǐ with «méi guānxi»?
- 1. He is saying he has connections — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 2. All good: it means never mind — ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 3. He is refusing to forgive you yet — score 2
- 4. He is politely asking you to leave — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 2, line 3: «That is why Ming falls about laughing when you ask for táng (sweets) instead of tāng (soup), or count shǐ (poo) instead of shí (ten).», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «ming» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗
In a game, a polite knight says «qǐng» before every request, like English please. What would a real kid say?
- 1. Shout qǐng even louder every time — no support
- 2. Say duìbuqǐ before each and every word — ← Mova's choice · score 12
- 3. Use ... hǎo ma? or ... ba instead — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Say nothing at all — score 4
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 12, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 3, line 3: «Bump into someone and you say duìbuqǐ (sorry, I did it); they answer méi guānxi (never mind). Arrive late or forget a name and you say the shy bù hǎoyìsi, with…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «duìbuqǐ» (+4); the same action «say» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗
You tell Ming's dad «máfan nǐ» when asking for help. What will he probably say?
- 1. wǎn'ān, good night — no support
- 2. bù máfan, no trouble — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. duìbuqǐ, sorry — ← Mova's choice · score 10
- 4. hǎo máfan, what a pain — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 3 with score 10, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 3: «Bump into someone and you say duìbuqǐ (sorry, I did it); they answer méi guānxi (never mind). Arrive late or forget a name and you say the shy bù hǎoyìsi, with…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same thing acted on «duìbuqǐ» (+4); the same action «say» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗
«she said méi shì not méi shìr, she's saying it wrong» Who is right?
- 1. Only méi shìr is real Chinese, the other is wrong — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Only méi shì is real Chinese — no support
- 3. Neither; it is méi xiè — no support
- 4. Both are right; the r curl is Beijing style — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · right ✓
«sod off, I'm not saying bù hǎoyìsi for being late, it's just 2 min» What does bù hǎoyìsi do?
- 1. It is a big, serious apology for a crime — no support
- 2. It is a thank you — no support
- 3. It is a small, soft sorry for small slips — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 4. It is a goodbye — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 11: «bù hǎoyìsi («boo HOW-ee-sz») is a softer everyday sorry or excuse me for small slips, and also means «oh, I'm embarrassed».», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «bù hǎoyìsi» (+2); the same circumstance (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · right ✓
In a cartoon a boy shoves past everyone on the bus shouting «méi guānxi!». What should he have said?
- 1. bú kèqi — no support
- 2. jiè guò yíxià — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 3. wǎn'ān, see you — no support
- 4. xièxie — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 9, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 3, line 15: «jiè guò yíxià («jyeh GWAW ee-shyah») means excuse me, can I get past; yī is said rising in yíxià because a falling tone follows.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «jiè» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same thing acted on «guò» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the expression customarily employed to apologise for a wrong one has personally committed.
- 1. bú kèqi — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. qǐng wèn — no support
- 3. duìbuqǐ — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. méi guānxi — no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established usage of the word qǐng.
- 1. It is a valediction addressed to elders — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It is appended to every request in the manner of the English «please» — no support
- 3. It conveys an invitation to the hearer to perform an action, as in qǐng zuò — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It denotes gratitude for a gift — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓
Ascertain the customary reply to an expression of gratitude in Mandarin.
- 1. bú kèqi — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. máfan nǐ — no support
- 3. jiè guò yíxià — no support
- 4. duìbuqǐ — no support
Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the expression bù hǎoyìsi?
- 1. It is a request for passage through a crowd — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It is a formal apology reserved for grave offences — no support
- 3. It is a mild apology or expression of embarrassment employed for minor lapses — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. It is an expression of condolence upon bereavement — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/chinese-street/3-thank-you-sorry-excuse-me/