What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 你忙吗？ is composed of 你 (you), 忙 (busy) and the question particle 吗, which is used to turn a statement into a yes/no question.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The standard 你忙吗？ is an informal way to ask the question. For a more polite version used to show respect to an elder, a superior or a stranger, you should replace 你 with the polite form 您, resulting in 您忙吗？ Even more formal options include 请问您是否有事？ (May I ask if you have something to do?) or 请问您忙吗？ (May I ask if you're busy?). Informal alternatives include 你有事吗？ (Do you have something to do?) and 最近忙吗？ (Have you been busy lately?).
How does it change in a sentence?
A common alternative to 你忙吗？ is the "A-not-A" question form 你忙不忙？, which translates to "Are you busy or not?" and is constructed by using the adjective twice with 不 (not) placed in between.
How do you pronounce it?
nǐ máng ma?
When do people say it?
When someone asks if you are busy, a standard way to answer "yes" is 我很忙 (I am very busy) and a standard way to answer "no" is 我不忙 (I am not busy).
Did you know?
- In Chinese culture, asking 你忙吗？ can actually be a way to signal that you are about to ask for a significant favor. It is less a question about their schedule and more a polite way to test the waters for a request.
- While 'busy' is often a stressor in English, the Chinese word 忙 can be used in a greeting like 最近忙什么？ to show interest in someone's success and productivity.
- In very traditional settings, asking a superior if they are busy is often skipped entirely in favor of 打扰一下 'sorry to disturb', which assumes the superior is always busy.
Examples in context
- 老师，您有空吗？Teacher, do you have free time?
- 嗨，你忙吗？Hey, are you busy?
- 最近忙吗？很久没有见了。Have you been busy lately? It's been a long time since we last met.
Example conversation
Wei is calling Yuting to see if she is free to talk.
- 伟 Wei雨婷，你忙吗？yǔ tíng, nǐ máng ma?Yuting, are you busy?
- 雨婷 Yuting我不忙，怎么了？wǒ bù máng, zěn me le?I'm not busy, what's up?
- 伟 Wei我想请你喝咖啡。wǒ xiǎng qǐng nǐ hē kā fēi.I want to buy you a coffee.
- 雨婷 Yuting好啊，没问题。hǎo a, méi wèn tí.Sure, no problem.
