qǐng yòng gōngkuài.

Please use the serving chopsticks.

Breakdown of qǐng yòng gōngkuài.

• 请qǐng: to ask (politely)
• 用yòng: to use
• 公筷gōngkuài: serving chopsticks

Questions & Answers about qǐng yòng gōngkuài.

Why is there no subject in 请用公筷? Who is this directed to?

In Chinese, the subject is often left out when it is clear from context. On a sign, menu, or table notice, 请用公筷 is understood as a polite instruction to the reader or diner: please use communal/serving chopsticks.

If you want to say the subject explicitly, you could say:

• 请你用公筷 = Please use communal chopsticks.

But in real life, the shorter version is very natural.

What does 请 mean here?

Here, 请 makes the sentence polite. In this kind of notice or instruction, it works like please in English.

So:

• 用公筷 = use communal chopsticks
• 请用公筷 = please use communal chopsticks

请 can also mean to invite or to ask, depending on the sentence, but here it is simply a polite marker.

What does 用 mean in this sentence?