The Chinese are famously pretty vague in giving answers. As most will readily admit, they prefer to offer estimations rather than specifics. In order to help give your own answers an authentic air of enigma, here are four ways to say “roughly speaking”, “about” or “probably” in Mandarin.

中国人有时候在回答问题上非常含糊。很多人也承认，他们宁愿提供一个估计的说法，而不愿提供细节。这里有四种用普通话表达“粗略地说”、“关于”或“可能”的方法。

1. 左右 (zuǒyòu)

左右 literally means “left right”, which is a fun way to express “around about”. Add this word after your response to emphasize it’s an approximation.

左右表示大约，说话的后面加上这个词，强调它是一个近似值的意思。

Tā shí suì zuǒyòu.

她十岁左右。

She’s 10 years old, give or take.

zhè zhī shǒubiǎo jiàzhí bā shí yuán zuǒyòu

这只手表价值80元左右。

The watch is worth about eighty yuan.

2. 大概 (dàgài)

大概 includes the character 概/gài, which means “general” or “approximate”. It’s mostly interchangeable with 左右 and means “around about” and “probably”. Note that you use it before the object of your approximation.

大概里有个概字,意思是“一般”或“近似”。它基本上可以与左右互换，请注意，在近似对象之前使用它。

Nà lǐ lí zhè’er dàgài yǒu èrshí fēnzhōng chēchéng.

那里离这儿大概有二十分钟车程。

It’s probably a 20-minute drive from here.

Tā dàgài yǐjīng wǎnle sānshí fēnzhōng.

她大概已经晚了三十分钟。

She’s already about half an hour late.

Zhè dàgài shì jiàn hǎoshì.

这大概是件好事。

This is probably a good thing.

3. 应该 (yīnggāi)

This is a great word for when you’re really not ready to commit to a yes, no or exact response! 应该 means “ought to be” or “should be about”. Warning: If you hear this word used as reassurance, such as “It’s probably going to be OK”, it might actually be a hint that all is NOT fine…

这是一个很棒的词，当你真的没有准备好做出肯定、否定或确切的回应时！意思是“应该”或“应该是”。提醒：如果你听到这个词用作安慰，比如“它应该没事”，它可能实际上是一个暗示，所有的事情都不好……

Wèntí bù dà. Yīnggāi jiù kuài hǎole.

问题不大。应该就快好了。

It’s not a big problem. It ought to be fixed shortly.

Tā yīnggāi kuài dàole.

他应该快到了。

He’ll probably arrive soon.

4. 前后 (qiánhòu)

This is a word that indicates that the time given is “around about” or during a period of time. For example:

这个词表示给定的时间是“大约”或在一段时间内。例如：

shèngdànjié qiánhòu jùzǔ zhōng yǒu sìgè rén tuìchūle 。

圣诞节前后剧组中有4个人退出了。

Four of the cast jacked it in about Christmas.

Wǒmen yùjì xīndiàn huì zài liù yuè qiánhòu kāiyè.

我们预计新店会在六月前后开业。

We anticipate the new shop will open around June.

Source: Dig Mandarin

责编：王姚冰

来源：China Daily