Breakdown of qǐng gàosu wǒ qíngkuàng.
我wǒ
me
请qǐng
to ask (politely)
告诉gàosu
to tell
情况qíngkuàng
situation; circumstances
Questions & Answers about qǐng gàosu wǒ qíngkuàng.
Why is 请 at the beginning? Does it just mean please?
Yes—请 is commonly used to make a request polite, much like please in English.
In this sentence:
- 请 = please
- 告诉我情况 = tell me the situation / let me know the situation
So 请告诉我情况 means something like Please tell me the situation or Please let me know what’s going on.
A small difference from English: in Chinese, 请 is often placed directly before the verb phrase:
- 请坐。 = Please sit.
- 请等一下。 = Please wait a moment.
- 请告诉我。 = Please tell me.
It sounds polite, but it can still sound a little direct depending on context. People often soften it further with words like 一下.
Why is the word order 告诉 我 情况?
Because 告诉 often follows this pattern:
- 告诉 + person + thing/information
So here:
- 告诉 = tell
- 我 = me
- 情况 = the situation / the details
So literally it is:
- tell + me + the situation
This is a very common Chinese pattern with verbs like 告诉. English also allows this pattern:
- Tell me the truth
- Tell me the reason
Chinese works similarly here.
Why isn’t it 请告诉情况我?