Speaking Mandarin Chinese
How to describe something in Mandarin when you don't know the word
If you are in the chair right now
我不知道那个怎么说，就是用来拧螺丝的东西。
I don't know how to say it — it's the thing used for tightening screws.
If that gets brushed off
是金属的，大概这么大。
It's metal, about this big.
用来…的东西 — «the thing used for X-ing» — is the master pattern, and it comes with a bonus: 东西 takes the measure word 个, so you never need the real noun's measure word either. One pattern, two vocabulary gaps closed.
Sooner or later you need an object whose name you do not know in any language — the thing for the thing. In Mandarin the missing noun usually holds a missing measure word inside it, so the gap is double. The pattern that rescues you closes both at once.
If you need more than one line
neutral
用来开罐头的。
For opening cans. 用来 + verb — function first, always.
neutral
有点像勺子，但是更平。
A bit like a spoon, but flatter. 有点像 — the comparison hedge.
neutral
就是擦玻璃用的那个东西。
You know, that thing used for wiping glass. 就是…那个东西 — «it's just that thing» — pure spoken Mandarin.
firmest
这个中文怎么说？
How do you say this in Chinese? Ask once they've guessed it — the word you fought for is the one you keep.
Two things worth knowing
This is a skill, not a vocabulary list, which is why almost nobody teaches it.
The description comes before the noun
English says «the thing that opens bottles»; Mandarin says 开瓶子的东西 — «open-bottles thing», with the whole description stacked in front. That reversed order is why learners freeze mid-sentence: you must know you are describing before you start. Drill 用来…的东西 until the frame comes out whole, and any function you can mime fits inside it.
东西 dodges the measure word too
Every Mandarin noun demands its own measure word — 一把螺丝刀 for the screwdriver you can't name, 把 for tools generally — and not knowing it can stall a sentence as badly as the missing noun. 东西 politely takes 个. So 一个用来拧螺丝的东西 is always available, grammatically spotless, and understood in every hardware shop in China.
What Wei actually said
What you have to get done
- Say what the thing does
- Talk about its size and what it's made of
- Check if they're making the right one
Wei
Good morning! What do you need?
You
Good morning — I'm looking for a tool that can tighten or loosen screws; could you show me a suitable one?
Wei
Sure, let me get one to show you.
You
Thanks — this one looks right; do you have different sizes or materials to choose from?
Wei
We do: small and large, in steel or alloy; which would you like?
You
Then a small steel one, please; yes, that's the one — exactly what I need.
Wei
Here's the small steel tool — hope it works well for you, goodbye!
The whole conversation, unedited
A real run in the app, nothing scripted on the shopkeeper's side. The transcript above is taken from this recording, and the objectives tick off on screen as they are met.
Turn sound on to hear it.
Now say it yourself
Reading that is not the same as producing it with someone waiting, which is the entire difficulty. You can have this exact conversation in the app: Wei is a third of the way through, and you have three things to get done.
It is free, it takes about a minute to start, and the first attempt is allowed to be terrible.
Practise this conversation
