qǐng guòlái chī huǒguō.

to eat

Breakdown of qǐng guòlái chī huǒguō.

• 请qǐng: to ask (politely)
• 火锅huǒguō: hot pot
• 过来guòlái: to come over

Questions & Answers about qǐng guòlái chī huǒguō.

What does 请 mean in this sentence? Is it just please?

Here 请 makes the sentence polite, but it can do a little more than English please.

In 请过来吃火锅, 请 suggests a polite invitation or request, something like:

• Please come over to eat hot pot
• Come over for hot pot
• I’d like to invite you to come over for hot pot

So it is not only a politeness word. Depending on context, it can also carry the sense of inviting someone.

Why is there no 你 in the sentence?

Chinese often leaves out words that are already obvious from context.

In this case, the listener is the person being spoken to, so 你 can be omitted:

• 请你过来吃火锅
• 请过来吃火锅

Both are grammatical. The second one is more natural when it is already clear who you are talking to.

English usually needs you, but Mandarin often does not.

What exactly does 过来 mean here?