你今天忙吗？

Learning Chinese: How to Ask "Are You Busy Today?" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 你今天忙吗？
Pinyin: Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?
Pronunciation: ni3 jin1 tian1 mang2 ma?
English Translation: Are you busy today?

Usage:

"你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" is a common way to ask someone if they are busy on a particular day. It can be used in both formal and informal settings.

Example:

Chinese: 你今天忙吗？我想请你吃晚饭。
Pinyin: Nǐ jīntiān máng ma? Wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ chī wǎnfàn.
English: Are you busy today? I'd like to invite you to dinner.

Variations:

There are a few variations of "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" that you may hear:

你最近忙吗？(Nǐ zuìjìn máng ma?): Are you busy recently?
你最近有时间吗？(Nǐ zuìjìn yǒu shíjiān ma?): Do you have time recently?
你今天下午/晚上有时间吗？(Nǐ jīntiān xiàwǔ/wǎnshàng yǒu shíjiān ma?): Do you have time this afternoon/evening?

Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers asking "Are you busy today?" to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.

Additional Notes:

"你今天忙吗？(Nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)" is typically used when making plans with someone.
To be more polite, you can add "请问 (qǐngwèn)" before the question: "请问，你今天忙吗？(Qǐngwèn, nǐ jīntiān máng ma?)"
If you are asking about someone's schedule in general, you can use "你最近忙吗？(Nǐ zuìjìn máng ma?)" instead.