Chinese Vocabulary for: Making small talk
Making small talk in Mandarin helps you build rapport with colleagues, neighbors, or new friends. This page covers the vocabulary and sentences you need for weather, weekend plans, and 'how have you been'—tuned for A2–B2 and HSK 3–6. You'll learn natural openers and short responses that keep the conversation going without sounding like a textbook. Use example sentences and spaced repetition so these phrases come out naturally when you need them.
When you'd use this
Use this when starting a casual conversation: asking about the weather, weekend, work, or how someone has been. Also for responding briefly and keeping the chat going.
Key vocabulary
- 最近zuì jìn• recently
- 怎么样zěn me yàng• how about / how is it
- 忙máng• busy
- 周末zhōu mò• weekend
- 天气tiān qì• weather
- 热rè• hot
- 冷lěng• cold
- 还行hái xíng• not bad / okay
- 不错bù cuò• pretty good
- 一般yī bān• so-so
- 你呢nǐ ne• and you
- 打算dǎ suàn• plan to
- 有空yǒu kòng• free (have time)
- 改天gǎi tiān• another day
Example sentences
最近怎么样？
Zuì jìn zěn me yàng?
How have you been lately?
还行，你呢？
Hái xíng, nǐ ne?
Not bad, and you?
周末有什么打算？
Zhōu mò yǒu shén me dǎ suàn?
Any plans for the weekend?
今天天气不错。
Jīn tiān tiān qì bù cuò.
The weather's nice today.
改天有空一起吃饭。
Gǎi tiān yǒu kòng yī qǐ chī fàn.
Let's eat together when we're free.
最近比较忙。
Zuì jìn bǐ jiào máng.
I've been pretty busy lately.
Common mistakes / natural phrasing
'怎么样' is versatile: '最近怎么样' = how have you been, '天气怎么样' = how's the weather. '还行' and '不错' are both positive but low-key. '你呢' is 'and you?'—very common. '改天' means 'another day,' not 'change the day.'
Ready to learn this vocabulary with level-tuned sentences and a daily review loop? Start your Topic Island and we'll generate words and examples for you.