Meeting the in laws again: Family updates and events
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Key Phrases
你最近怎麼樣
nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng
How have you been
新工作
xīn gōng zuò
New job
氣候宜人
qì hòu yí rén
Pleasant climate
Skills You'll Learn
Basic greetings
基本問候語
jī běn wèn hòu yǔ
Discuss job experiences
討論工作經驗
tǎo lùn gōng zuò jīng yàn
Expressing weather conditions
描述天氣狀況
miáo shù tiān qì zhuàng kuàng
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine a conversation between a person and their mom. They catch up on recent events, talking about how the person and their partner, Xiaomei, are doing well. Xiaomei has been thriving at her new job at a tech company, and the couple is planning a vacation to Kenting. The mom shares that everyone at home is busy but healthy, and they all express a desire for a future family gathering.
嗨，媽媽，你最近怎麼樣？
hāi mā mā nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng
Hi, Mom, how have you been lately?
我很好， Emily 。你和小美最近怎麼樣？
wǒ hěn hǎo ^FIRST^ nǐ hé xiǎo měi zuì jìn zěn me yàng
I'm good, Emily. How have you and Xiaomei been lately?
我們都很好。小美最近在新工作上表現得很出色。
wǒ men dōu hěn hǎo xiǎo měi zuì jìn zài xīn gōng zuò shàng biǎo xiàn dé hěn chū sè
We're both doing well. Xiaomei has been doing great at her new job recently.
真的嗎？太好了！她在哪裡工作？
zhēn de ma tài hǎo le tā zài nǎ lǐ gōng zuò
Really? That's great! Where is she working?
她在一家科技公司做設計師。她真的很喜歡那裡的工作環境。
tā zài yī jiā kē jì gōng sī zuò shè jì shī tā zhēn de hěn xǐ huān nà lǐ de gōng zuò huán jìng
She's working as a designer at a tech company. She really likes the work environment there.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
嗨
hāi
Hi
🇹🇼 [嗨] is casual and friendly, fine with family if the relationship is relaxed. With older in-laws, many people would still start with [媽] or [媽媽] instead of just a casual greeting.
See breakdown →媽
mā
Mother
媽媽
mā mā
Mom
🇹🇼 When speaking to your mother or mother-in-law, [媽媽] is a normal direct form of address in Chinese-speaking families. In Taiwan, a spouse may also call their in-laws [媽媽] and [爸爸] once the relationship is established.
See breakdown →最
zuì
Most
近
jìn
Recent/near
最近
zuì jìn
Lately
💬 [最近] often means [lately] or [recently], not just physically [near]. You can reuse it before a topic: [最近工作很忙] or [最近天氣很熱]
See breakdown →你
nǐ
You
怎麼樣
zěn me yàng
How is it
💬 [怎麼樣] is a handy way to ask [how is it/how about it] after a person or thing: [你最近怎麼樣？] [工作怎麼樣？] It's broader than asking for one specific detail.
See breakdown →你最近怎麼樣
nǐ zuì jìn zěn me yàng
How have you been
🇹🇼 This is a warm, natural check-in and works well with family you already know. With in-laws, it sounds caring without being too formal.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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