How to Say “Invite” in Chinese? 邀请 Yaoqing in Mandarin
Chinese Verbs – Invite | 邀请 Yaoqing, 请 Qing and 约 Yue in Mandarin
How to say invite in Chinese? Thinking of to inviting somebody out? Then this word is a definite ‘must-know’. Invite in Chinese is 邀请 Yāoqǐng. This term is a more formal and polite way to invite someone, especially if the person is of great importance to you.
The other two informal terms are 请 Qǐng or 约 Yuē. 请 Qǐng is a short form of 邀请 Yāoqǐng. 约 Yuē has a connotation for dating someone out, not necessarily a date between a man and a woman and can be the same gender. 约 Yuē also means asking someone out.
So, what is the difference?
邀请 Yāoqǐng and 请 Qǐng usually suggest that the invitation to a function or dinner is free and the host would be paying for it. 约 Yuē is an invitation for an outing and does not suggest a free meal or event paid by the inviter.
Therefore, when you want to invite someone out, make sure you use the right word. If you are thinking to go Dutch (split the bill), avoid using 邀请 and 请 in your conversation as it may likely mean that you are paying for it. Use the word 约 Yuē instead.
① Formal Invite in Chinese – 邀请 Yaoqing
Although we use 邀请 Yāoqǐng often when writing a formal invitation, it can be used in general conversation to signify politeness as compared to the other two Chinese terms.
Peter invites his good friends to his birthday party.
彼得邀请他的好友去他的生日派对。
Bǐ Dé yāo qǐng tā de hǎo yǒu qù tā de shēng rì pài duì.
Our company invites all clients to take part in the exhibition.
本公司邀请全部客户参展。
Běn gōng sī yāo qǐng quán bù kè hù cān zhǎn.
I was invited to be one of the judges.
我被邀请做其中一个裁判。
Wǒ bèi yāo qǐng zuò qí zhōng yī gè cái pàn.
Who do you want to invite to our opening ceremony？
你要邀请谁来我们的开幕典礼？
Nǐ yàoyāo qǐng shéi lái wǒ men de kāi mù diǎn lǐ?
How to invite friends from Facebook to participate in this event?
如何通过脸书邀请朋友参加这项活动？
Rú hé tōng guò liǎn shū yāo qǐng péng yǒu cān jiā zhè xiàng huó dòng?
Are you free on Saturday evening? I would like to invite you (formal) to my house for dinner.
星期六晚上，你有空吗？我想邀请您去我家吃顿饭。
Xīng qí liù wǎn shàng, nǐ yǒu kòng ma? Wǒ xiǎng yāo qǐng nín qù wǒ jiā chī dùn fàn.
② Invitation in Chinese – 邀请 Yaoqing
邀请 Yāoqǐng is also the same Chinese word for the English noun “invitation“.
Thank you for your invitation. I am free on Saturday evening. I will go to your house.
感谢你的邀请。星期六晚上我有空。我会去你家吃饭。
Gǎn xiè nǐ de yāo qǐng. Xīng qí liù wǎn shàng wǒ yǒu kòng. Wǒ huì qù nǐ jiā chī fàn.
For your wedding invitation, we will surely go.
你们的结婚邀请，我们一定到。
Nǐ men de jié hūn yāo qǐng, wǒ men yī dìng dào.
How do I write a Letter of Invitation in Mandarin?
我要怎么用中文写一封邀请函？
Wǒ yào zěn me yòng zhōng wén xiě yī fēng yāo qǐng hán?
I accepted his invitation. I rejected his invitation.
我接受了他的邀请。我拒绝了他的邀请。
Wǒ jiē shòu le tā de yāo qǐng. Wǒ jù jué le tā de yāo qǐng.
Recommended Reading: How to Say “Accept and Reject” in Chinese?
③ Invite in Chinese – 请 Qing
请 Qǐng also means invite but more associated with giving somebody a treat – 请客 Qǐngkè. It also refers to the polite form of “May I ask“请问 in a separate context.
Thank you for giving me a big help (Thank you for helping me). I must invite (treat) you to eat something good.
谢谢你帮了我一个大忙。我必须请你吃顿好的。
Xiè xiè nǐ bāng le wǒ yī gè dà máng. Wǒ bì xū qǐng nǐ chī dùn hǎo de.
Someone invited me to lunch. Guess who?
有人请我去吃饭。你猜猜是谁？
Yǒu rén qǐng wǒ qù chī fàn. Nǐ cāi cāi shì shéi?
So much food on the table! Who is paying for it?
桌子上有那么多食物！今天谁请客？
Zhuō zi shàng yǒu nà me duō shí wù! Jīn tiān shéi qǐng kè?
He invited me to his sister’s wedding. Should I go?
他请我去他姐姐的婚礼。我该去吗？
Tā qǐng wǒ qù tā jiě jiě de hūn lǐ? Wǒ gāi qù ma?
④ Invite in Chinese – 约 Yue
约 Yuē is a secondary meaning of invite. It is somewhat like a pre-arrangement of an invitation, appointment or date. The word 约 Yuē is less formal and apply mostly in casual situations when asking someone out. Between couples, we also use this word to date each other out.
The boss invited me and some colleagues to go lunch.
老板约了我和几个同事去吃饭。
Xiè xiè nǐ bāng le wǒ yī gè dà máng. Wǒ bì xū qǐng nǐ chī dùn hǎo de.
You can invite him to come here anytime.
你随时都可以约他来这里。
Nǐ suí shí dōu kě yǐ yuē tā lái zhè lǐ.
My girlfriend dates me out tonight to see firework at her place.
我女朋友约我今晚去她那里看烟火。
Wǒ nǚ péng yǒu yuē wǒ jīn wǎn qù tā nà lǐ kàn yān huǒ.
I asked my friend to go shopping with me on Sunday.
星期天，我约了朋友一起去逛街。
Xīng qí tiān, wǒ yuē le péng yǒu yī qǐ qù guàng jiē.
Tomorrow, I made an appointment with two clients to discuss business.
明天，我约了两个顾客谈生意。
Míng tiān, wǒ yuē le liǎng gè gù kè tán shēng yì.
Check out 150 more Chinese verbs.
