As a foreigner, you usually find your host polite and respectful, so you shouldn’t need such skill as refusing drinks.

But if your Chinese boss or host comes to you and asks you to drink some more, it’s no good news -- aren't you not drinking enough?

(Send keyword “putonghua” to get our previous Chinese mandarin lessons.)

The best way to avoid being forced to drink a lot of wine is to propose a toast first. But don’t be too aggressive. Always keep somewater/juice/coke in another glass, so you have something else to drink when you’re by yourself.

English: propose a toast

Pinyin: jìng jiǔ

Chinese characters: 敬酒

Example: James, let me toast to you = James, wǒ jì nǐ.

If you’re going to drink some wine, choose the kind you are good at. Choose from what others have ordered, if you don't want to finish an entire bottle.

English: red wine

Pinyin: hóng jiǔ

Chinese characters: 红酒

English: white wine

Pinyin: bái jiǔ

Chinese characters: 白酒

NB. èr guō tóu 二锅头 (a kind of white wine from Beijing as in the pic below)

gāo liáng jiǔ 高粱酒 (local white wine from Sichuan)

English: beer

Pinyin: pí jiǔ

Chinese characters: 啤酒

English: yellow wine

Pinyin: huáng jiǔ

Chinese characters: 黄酒

NB. Huā diāo 花雕 (local wine from Shaoxing, Zhejiang province)

English: rice wine

Pinyin: mǐ jiǔ

Chinese characters: 米酒

English: plum wine

Pinyin: méi zǐ jiǔ

Chinese characters: 梅子酒

NB. Some fruit wines are really strong. Be careful.

Understand how much you are supposed to drink when your friend/host proposes a toast.

English: glass

Pinyin: bēi

Chinese character: 杯

Example: One glass= yī bēi

English: bowl

Pinyin: wǎn

Chinese character: 碗

Example: Three bowls = sān wǎn

English: bottle

Pinyin: píng

Chinese character: 瓶

English: 50 grams

Pinyin: liǎng

Chinese character: 两

Example: 100 grams = èr liǎng

English: 500 grams

Pinyin: jīn

Chinese character: 斤

Example: 500g while wine = yī jīn bái jiǔ

N.B. White wine is usually measured in liǎng or jīn.

Each glass in the photo holds 15-20 grams of baijiu.

English: drink

Pinyin: hē (pronounced as “her” in the first tone)

Chinese character: 喝

Example: wǒ hē bái jiǔ = I drink white wine.

English: bottom up

Pinyin: gān bēi

Chinese characters: 干杯

English: as you wish

Pinyin: suí yì

Chinese characters: 随意

Example: wǒ gān bēi, nǐ suí yì. (I will bottom up; you drink as much as you wish.)

NB. Suí yì is similar to “cheers” in English. You can just take a sip. Men usually say “wo gan bei, ni sui yi” to show respect, especially to women and distinguished guests.

Don’t fill your friends’ wine glasses if you have no plan to drink with them, because this means you're interested.

English: fill wine glasses

Pinyin: dào jiǔ

Chinese characters: 倒酒

NB. Here “dào” means pouring liquor/water.

Here comes the tough part: tell your friend why you can’t drink any more wine. Stick to only one excuse please.

English: I’m not able to drink.

Pinyin: wǒ bù hùi hē jiǔ.

Chinese characters: 我不会喝酒。

NB. By saying “wo bu hui he jiu,” you either mean you never drink wine, or you are not good at drinking wine. By the way, saying you're allergic is trite.

English: I can’t drink any more wine (or I will get drunk).

Pinyin: wǒ bù néng zài hē le.

Chinese characters: 我不能再喝了。

NB. Say it while rubbing your forehead to imply you’re dizzy.

English: I’m feeling dizzy already.

Pinyin: wǒ tóu yūn le.

Chinese characters: 我头晕了。

Health and safety problems can make perfect excuse.

English: I must drive home today. I can’t drink.

Pinyin: wǒ yào kāi chē húi jiā, bù néng hē jiǔ.

Chinese characters: 我要开车回家，不能喝酒。

NB. Don't just say you drive to the banquet, because your host will offer to drive you home.

English: I’m not feeling comfortable today.

Pinyin: wǒ jīn tiān bù shū fu.

Chinese characters: 我今天不舒服。

Example: shū fu = comfortable

Sorry, I’m not feeling well today= Duì bù qǐ, wǒ jīn tiān bù shū fu.

English: I’m on medication recently.

Pinyin: wǒ zùi jìn zài chī yào.

Chinese characters: 我最近在吃药。

NB. This is a better excuse than “I’m sick,” because it implies that you’re sick enough to have medicine, and most people understand that alcohol can interfere with medication.

Even if you don't want to drink with them, you can still make a toast.

English: Use tea instead of wine.

Pinyin: Yǐ chá dài jiǔ.

Chinese characters: 以茶代酒

Example: I use tea instead of wine to toast to you. = wǒ yǐ chá dài jiǔ jìng nǐ yī bēi.

NB. If you use tea or juice or coke, you’re not supposed to toast to a lot of people. Don't take advantage.

Editor's notes: I haven't covered everything you want to know about turning down alcohol, or I may be wrong about some details. Tap 写评论 at the bottom-right corner to comment or raise questions. Let me know what else you want to learn.