Advantages and Disadvantages in Mandarin Chinese

Talking about Pros and Cons in Chinese: 5 Native Speakers Share Their Thoughts on China’s Most Popular Ride-hailing App

In Authentic Street Interviews by Angel Huang

From zero to 400 million users in just a few short years…

The Chinese ride-hailing service 滴滴出行 Dīdī Chūxíng has become a VERY popular alternative to traditional taxis and public transport across China.

But what exactly is it that people like about it? And what are some things they feel could be better..? 

In this video, five 滴滴出行 Dīdī Chūxíng users share their thoughts. Press play to practise your Chinese listening ability and find out what they think!

BONUS: Download MP3 + PDF to Review This Lesson Anytime

6 Useful Patterns for Stating Pros & Cons in Mandarin Chinese

In the video I highlighted 6 sentence patterns that were used to state the pros and cons of using Didi Chuxing — you’ll see more examples of how each pattern can be used below.

lì de huà,wǒ jué de ____________

利的话,我觉得 __________

I think the advantage is that __________.

Example 1 (from the video):

lì de huà,wǒ jué de jiù bǐ jiào fāng biàn ba.

利的话,我觉得就比较方便吧。

I think the advantage is that... it's quite convenient.

Example 2:

lì de huà,wǒ jué de jià gé fēi cháng piàn yí。

利的话,我觉得价格非常便宜。

I think the advantage is that... the price is really low.

lì de huà,__________.

利的话,__________。

The advantage is that ___________.

Example 1 (from the video):

lì de huà,  tā kě néng bù xiàng dī shì nèi yàng. yīn wèi dī shì,  tā zài zhōng guó de huà,dī shì yǒu jiāo bān qī. nèi xiē dī shì huì jù zài.

利的话,它可能不像的士那样。因为的士,它在中国的话,的士有交班期。那些的士会拒载。

The advantage is that it's not like (regular) taxis... Because, in China, taxis have periods where they get handed over to the next workshift. Those taxis will refuse to take passengers.

Example 2:

lì de huà,tā yǒu qī nián de gōng zuò jīng yàn.

利的话,他有七年的工作经验。

The advantage is that he has seven years of work experience. 

__________ lì de huà,yīng gāi jiù shì…

__________利的话,应该就是…

The advantage of __________ is probably that__________.

Example 1 (from the video):

dī dī chū xíng lì de huà,yīng gāi jiù shì…nǐ kě yǐ suí shí tōng guò shǒu jī lái jìn xíng yī gè jiào chē.

滴滴出行利的话,应该就是…你可以随时通过手机来进行一个叫车。

The advantage of Didi Chuxing is probably that... you can always call a car with your mobile phone.

Example 2:

wǎng gòu lì de huà,yīng gāi jiù shì…nǐ kě yǐ jì shěng qián yòu shěng shí jiān.

网购利的话,应该就是…你可以既省钱又省时间。

The advantage of online shopping is probably that... you can both save money and time.

bù hǎo de dì fāng jiù shì __________.

不好的地方就是 __________.

The bad thing  is that __________.

Example 1 (from the video):

bù hǎo de dì fāng jiù shì,qí shí tā de ān quán méi yǒu bèi wán quán de bǎo zhàng.

不好的地方就是,其实它的安全没有被完全地保障。

The bad thing is that... Actually, safety is not fully ensured.

Example 2:

bù hǎo de dì fāng jiù shì,shàng hǎi de kōng qì wū rǎn yán zhòng.

不好的地方就是,上海的空气污染严重。

The bad thing is that the air pollution in Shanghai is serious.

shuō dào bì de huà,nà yīng gāi jiù shì...

说到弊的话,那应该就是...

When it comes to the disadvantage... it's probably that...

Example 1 (from the video):

shuō dào bì de huà,nà yīng gāi jiù shì yǒu yī xiē sī jī, tā de fú wù tài dù bù shì hěn hǎo. kě néng huì yù dào yī xiē pí qì bǐ jiào bào zào de sī jī,nǐ huì jué de... fú wù de gǎn shòu bù shì hěn hǎo.

说到弊的话,那应该就是有一些司机,他/她的服务态度不是很好。可能会遇到一些脾气比较暴躁的司机,你会觉得...服务的感受不是很好。

When it comes to the disadvantage... it 's probably that...... there are some drivers... His/her service attitude is not so good. You may meet some quite hot-tempered drivers. You'll feel... The service experience is not so good.

Example 2:

shuō dào bì de huà,nà yīng gāi jiù shì gōng gòng qì chē tài yōng jǐ le, tè bié shì zài gāo fēng qī de shí hòu, nǐ gēn běn méi yǒu bàn fǎ jǐ shàng chē.

说到弊的话,那应该就是公共汽车太拥挤了,特别是在高峰期的时候,你根本没有办法挤上车。

When it comes to the disadvantage... it 's probably that...... the bus is too crowded. Especially during the rush hour, there's no way you can get on the bus. 

méi shén me tài duō de bì chù ba,hái hǎo.

没什么太多的弊处吧,还好。

There's no major disadvantage. It's allright.

On a computer: Right click on the button and select "Save as" or "Download"

On a phone: Tap and hold your finger on the button for a second (and you'll see the download option in the menu that pops up)

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