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How to tell your landlord something is broken (in Chinese)

The AC died in August, or the toilet won't stop running. Time to message the landlord — and understand the reply.

What you'll say

Tap play to hear it. Everything on this page runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Heads-up: the voice you hear here is your browser’s built-in Mandarin — the app sounds considerably better. On iPhone it uses Apple’s enhanced and premium system voices, plays at real conversational speed, and has a slow mode for practising.

This device has no Chinese voice installed, so audio can’t play here. The app doesn’t have that problem — it uses the Mandarin voices built into iOS.

空调坏了。
kōngtiáo huài le.
The air conditioner is broken.
坏了 (huài le) = broken. Whatever died today, this sentence covers it.
可以找人来修吗?
Kěyǐ zhǎo rén lái xiū ma?
Can you send someone to fix it?
什么时候能来?
Shénme shíhou néng lái?
When can they come?

1 more phrase in this situation — plus the real-speed audio for all 4, the listening drill, and the camera. Six situations are free in the app; this one is part of Pro.

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What they'll say back

This is the part nobody teaches. Real Mandarin comes back fast and blunt, so hear it at natural speed first.

Press play before you read. In the app, anything you miss comes back slower and then again later, until you catch it at full speed.

They say
我让师傅明天上门看看。
Wǒ ràng shīfu míngtiān shàngmén kànkan.
I'll have a repairman come by tomorrow to take a look.
You can answer
好的,我下午在家。
Hǎo de, wǒ xiàwǔ zài jiā.
OK, I'm home in the afternoon.
They say
修理费从押金里扣,可以吗?
Xiūlǐfèi cóng yājīn lǐ kòu, kěyǐ ma?
The repair fee comes out of your deposit, OK?
You can answer
这不是我弄坏的,应该房东出。
Zhè bú shì wǒ nòng huài de, yīnggāi fángdōng chū.
I didn't break it — the landlord should cover it.

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