How to Say “Accept and Reject” in Chinese? 接受 Jieshou and 拒绝 Jujue in Mandarin
Chinese Verbs – Accept and Reject | 接受 Jieshou and 拒绝 Jujue in Mandarin
Accept in Chinese is 接受 Jiēshòu and Reject in Chinese is 拒绝 Jùjué. Both words are opposite words which go hand in hand. When one receives an invitation to the below circumstances, you can learn to express the status of it.
- From a person
- Application for a job interview
- Course enrolment
- Visa application
- And more…
The friend that I just knew invite me to his house for a meal. Do you say (think) that I should accept or reject his invitation?
我刚认识的朋友请我去他家吃饭。你说我应该接受还是拒绝他的邀请呢？
Wǒ gāng rèn shì de péng yǒu qǐng wǒ qù tā jiā chī fàn. Nǐ shuō wǒ yīng gāi jiē shòu hái shì jùj ué tā de yāo qǐng ne?
So how? Eventually, did you accept your new friend’s invitation to dine at his house? Or, did you reject him?
如何？最终你有接受那位新朋友的邀请，去他家吃饭吗？还是拒绝了他？
Rú hé? Zuì zhōng nǐ yǒu jiē shòu nà wèi xīn péng yǒu de yāo qǐng, qù tā jiā chī fàn ma? Hái shì jù jué le tā?
① Accept in Chinese – 接受 Jieshou
Yǒu a! Wǒ jiē shòu le tā de yāo qǐng.
He professed his love to me. Should I accept him?
他向我示爱。我应该接受他吗？
Tā xiàng wǒ shì’ài. Wǒ yīng gāi jiē shòu tā ma?
You want to invite me to the movie!? Ok, I accept!
你要请我看电影？好，我接受！
Nǐ yào qǐng wǒ kàn diàn yǐng!? Hǎo, wǒ jiē shòu!
Nobody can accept an unreasonable person.
没有人能接受一个蛮不讲理的人。
Méi rén néng jiē shòu yī gè bù jiǎng lǐ de rén.
I accepted her apology.
我接受了她的道歉。
Wǒ jiē shòu le tā de dào qiàn.
Last time, I went to a company for an interview. They have accepted my application.
上回，我去一家公司面试。他们接受了我的申请。
Shàng huí, wǒ qù yī jiā gōng sī miàn shì. Tā men jiē shòu le wǒ de shēn qǐng.
I applied for a Chinese Course at a university in China. They have accepted my registration.
我申请了中国一间大学的汉语课程。他们接受了我的报名。
Wǒ shēn qǐng le zhōng guó yī jiàn dà xué de hànyǔ kè chéng. Tā men jiē shòu le wǒ de bào míng.
② Reject in Chinese – 拒绝 Jieshou
拒绝 Jùjué, other than the meaning of “reject“, it can also mean “refuse” or “decline“.
Eventually, I have rejected his invitation because I am not familiar with him.
我最终拒绝了他的邀请，因为我和他不熟。
Wǒ zuì zhōng jù jué le tā de yāo qǐng, yīn wèi wǒ hé tā bù shú.
I have rejected his (love) confession.
我拒绝了他对我的告白。
Wǒ jù jué le tā duì wǒ de gào bái.
Rejection is not necessarily a bad thing. There are better ones.
拒绝不一定是件坏事，还有更好的。
Jù jué bù yī dìng shì jiàn huài shì, hái yǒu gèng hǎo de.
The job that I applied for rejected my application.
我应征的那份工作拒绝了我的申请。
Wǒ yìng zhēng dì nà fèn gōng zuò jù jué le wǒ de shēn qǐng.
The terms and conditions proposed by the boss were not satisfactory. I rejected his request.
老板提出的条件不理想。我拒绝了他的要求。
Lǎo bǎn tí chū de tiáo jiàn bù lǐ xiǎng. Wǒ jù jué le tā de yāo qiú.
What is the reason for your rejection?
你拒绝的原因是什么？
Nǐ jù jué de yuán yīn shì shén me?
My visa to London was rejected. What to do?
我办理的伦敦签证被拒绝了，怎么办？
Wǒ bàn lǐ de lún dūn qiān zhèng bèi jù jué le, zěn me bàn?
③ Accept Not ≈ Reject
Other than using the Chinese word 拒绝 Jùjué to say “Reject“, you can also express it as a negative form of “accept”, which is “not to accept” as an indirect way of rejection. It may also sound less harsh to say you could not accept something, due to some reasons rather than rejecting it outright.
Here are some Chinese phrases that frequently go with 接受 Jiēshòu to form a negative statement using 不 Bù. 不能 and 不能够 mean “not able to” whereas 不可以 means “cannot“.
Of course, other auxiliary verb combinations on top of 能, 能够 and 可以 are always possible.
I do not accept his explanation.
我不接受他的解释。
Wǒ bù jiē shòu tā de jiě shì.
I am not able to accept your expensive gifts.
我不能接受你贵重的礼物。
Wǒ bù néng jiē shòu nǐ guì zhòng de lǐ wù.
They are unable to accept the truth.
他们不能够接受事实。
Tā men bù néng gòu jiē shòu shì shí.
I cannot accept his reason for being late.
我不可以接受他迟到的理由。
Wǒ bù kě yǐ jiē shòu tā chí dào de lǐ yóu.
④ Reject Not ≈ Accept
Likewise, for the word Reject 拒绝 Jùjué to say “Reject“, you can also do the same with a negative form by using 不 Bù. The word can also represent “refuse” or “decline” in English.
| Do not reject | 不拒绝 | Bù jùjué |
| Not able to reject | 不能拒绝 | Bùnéng jùjué |
| Unable to reject | 不能够拒绝 | Bù nénggòu jùjué |
| Cannot reject | 不可以拒绝 | Bù kěyǐ jùjué |
You do not reject him prove that you like him?
你不拒绝他就是证明你喜欢他？
Nǐ bù jù jué tā jiù shì zhèng míng nǐ xǐ huān tā?
I am not able to reject what my superior wants me to do.
我不能拒绝上司要我做的事。
Wǒ bù néng jù jué shàng si yào wǒ zuò de shì.
I love eating, not able to reject (decline) good food.
我爱吃，不能够拒绝美食。
Wǒ ài chī, bù néng gòu jù jué měi shí.
I cannot reject (refuse) his kind intention.
我不可以拒绝他的好意。
Wǒ bù kě yǐ jù jué tā de hǎo yì.
To learn more, check out the link for 150 Essential Chinese Verbs to Make You Verbal.
