如果你和别人有一个约会，但是你大概要迟到15分钟，你会怎么办？
打电话告诉对方你可能要迟到15分钟吗？
其实，在这种情况下，你倒不如说："我也许要迟到30分钟。
”假如你老实地说："我要迟到15分钟。
”那么，即使你只是迟到了14分钟，对方也会觉得已经等你很久了。
可是，如果你说的是30分钟，结果只迟到了15分钟，对方会觉得你早到了。
并且你本来要30分钟才赶到，但你在15分钟之内就已经到了，可见你多么重视这个约会。
如果他要责怪你，便是他不近人情了。
你唯一可能遇到的问题是当你说要迟到30分钟时，对方或许会感到不满。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vbGVhcm5jaGluZXNlLzE1X01pbnV0ZXNfTGF0ZS00MDcyLm1wMw&filename=15-Minutes-Late.mp3&signature=8242d952b6be1db6523fb849fcfaacb299e3625c2c5407716dc87be24563a400
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 如果 | rú guǒ | if; in case; in the event that |
| 你 | nǐ | you |
| 和 | hé | and; together with |
| 别人 | bié rén | other people; others; other person |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 一 | yī | one / single / a (article) |
| 个 | gè | classifier for people or objects in general |
| 约会 | yuē huì | appointment / engagement / date |
| 但是 | dàn shì | but; however |
| 大概 | dà gài | roughly / probably / about |
| 要 | yào | will; shall; about to / need to; should / if |
| 迟到 | chí dào | to arrive late |
| 分钟 | fēn zhōng | minute |
| 会 | huì | to be likely to; to be sure to |
| 怎么办 | zěn me bàn | what's to be done |
| 打电话 | dǎ diàn huà | to make a telephone call |
| 告诉 | gào su | to tell; to inform; to let know |
| 对方 | duì fāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
| 可能 | kě néng | might (happen) / maybe / perhaps |
| 吗 | ma | (question particle for "yes-no" questions) |
| 其实 | qí shí | actually; in fact; really |
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 种 | zhǒng | classifier for types, kinds, sorts |
| 情况 | qíng kuàng | circumstances; state of affairs; situation |
| 下 | xià | down / downwards / below |
| 倒不如 | dào bù rú | it would be better to; had better than |
| 说 | shuō | to speak; to talk; to say |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 也许 | yě xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 假如 | jiǎ rú | if |
| 老实 | lǎo shi | honest; sincere / well-behaved / naive; gullible |
| 地 | de | -ly / structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 那么 | nà me | then; in that case |
| 即使 | jí shǐ | even if; even though |
| 只是 | zhǐ shì | merely; only; just; nothing but / simply |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 也 | yě | also; too; as well; (not ...) either |
| 觉得 | jué de | to think that ...; to feel that ... |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 等 | děng | to wait for; to await |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 久 | jiǔ | (of a period of time) long |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 结果 | jié guǒ | in the end; as a result |
| 只 | zhǐ | only; merely; just |
| 早 | zǎo | early |
| 到 | dào | to reach; to arrive / to (a place); until (a time); up to (a point) / (verb complement indicating arriving at a place or reaching a point) |
| 并且 | bìng qiě | and; besides; moreover; furthermore; in addition |
| 本来 | běn lái | originally / at first / of course |
| 才 | cái | then and only then |
| 赶到 | gǎn dào | to hurry (to some place) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still |
| 之内 | zhī nèi | inside; within |
| 就 | jiù | as soon as; immediately after |
| 可见 | kě jiàn | it can clearly be seen (that this is the case) |
| 多么 | duō me | to what extent |
| 重视 | zhòng shì | to attach importance to sth; to value |
| 他 | tā | he; him; his |
| 责怪 | zé guài | to blame / to rebuke |
| 便 | biàn | equivalent to 就[jiu4]: then / in that case |
| 不近人情 | bù jìn rén qíng | (idiom) not amenable to reason; unreasonable |
| 唯一 | wéi yī | only; sole |
| 遇到 | yù dào | to meet; to run into; to come across |
| 问题 | wèn tí | question / problem / issue / topic |
| 当 | dāng | when / during / ought / should / just at (a time or place) / on the spot / just at |
| 时 | shí | when |
| 或许 | huò xǔ | perhaps; maybe |
| 感到 | gǎn dào | to feel; to sense; to perceive |
| 不满 | bù mǎn | dissatisfied; discontented; resentful |