Breakdown of qǐng nǐ zài mǎlù shàng zǒu de shíhou zhùyì ānquán.
Questions & Answers about qǐng nǐ zài mǎlù shàng zǒu de shíhou zhùyì ānquán.
请 softens the sentence and makes it a polite request, similar to “please” in English.
- 请你注意安全 ≈ “Please pay attention to safety.”
- Without 请, 你在马路上走的时候注意安全 still means “Pay attention to safety when you walk on the road,” but it sounds more direct/command-like.
So 请 is not grammatically required, but it adds politeness.
In this sentence, 请你… is a very common pattern:
- 请你在马路上走的时候注意安全。
Literally: “Please, you, when (you) walk on the road, pay attention to safety.”
Other possible placements:
- 在马路上走的时候，请你注意安全。
→ Still natural; moves 请你 to just before the main verb phrase 注意安全.
But you normally wouldn’t split 请 and 你 or move 你 somewhere strange like:
- ✗ 请在马路上走的时候你注意安全。 (unnatural)
The safest patterns are:
- 请你…
- …，请你…
They have different roles:
- 在 = “at / in / on” (a location marker before a place)
- 上 after a noun (like 马路) = “on (the surface of)” that noun
So:
- 在马路上 = “on the road (at the position on the surface of the road)”
Compare:
- 在学校 = at school (no extra 上, because “school” isn’t a surface)
- 在桌子上 = on the table
- 在地上 = on the ground
- 在马路上 = on the road
You usually need both 在 + [place] + 上 when it’s a surface you’re on.
的时候 is a very common structure:
- [verb / action] + 的时候 = “when (doing that action)”
Here:
- 走的时候 = “when (you) walk / when walking”
The 的 is required; you cannot drop it:
- ✗ 走时候 (incorrect)
- ✓ 走的时候
Mechanically, 的 links the verb phrase 走 to the noun 时候 (time/moment), turning “walk” into “the time of walking.”
Chinese often puts time and place information before the main action:
- 在马路上走的时候 (time clause)
注意安全 (main clause)
Literal order: “When (you) walk on the road, pay attention to safety.”
This is the most natural order in Chinese. You can move the clause to the end:
- 注意安全，在马路上走的时候。
But that feels less natural here and a bit like an afterthought. The standard pattern is:
- [When-clause] + [main instruction / main action].
The understood subject of 走的时候 is also 你, taken from 请你 at the start.
Full “underlying” idea:
- 请你 [在马路上走的时候 (你) 注意安全]。
Chinese often omits repeated subjects when it’s clear from context. You could say:
- 请你在马路上走的时候你要注意安全。
…but that 你 inside feels redundant and slightly clunky in everyday speech. The shorter version is much more natural.
Both can be translated as “be careful,” but they differ slightly:
注意安全
- Literally: “pay attention to safety”
- Feels a bit more formal/serious, often used by adults, signs, announcements.
- Focuses on safety as a concept.
小心
- Literally: “be careful”
- More casual and flexible; used in many situations:
- 小心车！ = Watch out for the car!
- 小心点儿。 = Be careful.
In this sentence, you could say:
- 请你在马路上走的时候小心。
It would sound natural, just a bit more conversational and less “safety-message-like” than 注意安全.
You can say:
- 当你在马路上走的时候，请注意安全。
This is grammatically correct and emphasizes “when you are walking on the road” a bit more clearly. But note:
- In everyday spoken Chinese, [verb]的时候 is more common and neutral.
- 当…的时候 can sound a bit more formal or written, or used when you’re contrasting situations or telling stories.
Your original sentence with 走的时候 is perfectly natural and commonly used.
The words are related but not identical:
马路
- Literally “horse road” historically, but now = a vehicular road, street, roadway.
- Stronger sense of “the road that cars drive on.”
路
- Very general: road, path, route, way.
- Could be a big road, a little lane, or even a metaphorical “way” (道路).
街 / 街道
- “Street,” often with buildings and shops on both sides.
Saying 在马路上走的时候 specifically suggests walking on the road where cars go, which is why safety is emphasized. It fits the “traffic safety” context very well.
Yes. 注意安全。 on its own is a perfectly good command:
- On a sign: 过马路请注意安全。 (“When crossing the road, please pay attention to safety.”)
- Spoken: 路上注意安全！ (“Be safe on the way!”)
It’s a very common phrase by itself. In the full sentence, it’s just combined with a more detailed “when” clause.
Both can be understood and are grammatical, but the emphasis is slightly different:
在马路上走的时候
- Structure: 在 + 马路上 + 走 + 的时候
- Focus: “when (you) are walking on the road.”
- Very straightforward and common.
走在马路上的时候
- Structure: 走在 + 马路上 + 的时候
- Feels a bit more descriptive or literary, as if painting a picture: “when (you) are walking along, being on the road.”
In everyday speech, 在马路上走的时候 is simpler and more typical for a safety warning.
It’s neutral and polite; it works in many situations.
- A parent talking to a child: very natural.
- A teacher or an announcement at school: also fine.
- A sign/poster (with minor adjustments like adding 请大家): also acceptable.
If you wanted it more casual, you might say:
- 在马路上走的时候小心点儿。
If you wanted it more formal (e.g. in a written notice), you might see something like:
- 请大家在马路上行走时注意交通安全。
Your original sentence sits comfortably in everyday polite speech.