朋友
Are you free today?
Beginner · 5-7 min
Make Plans to Meet约时间见面
After this scene, you can ask if a friend is free, suggest eating together, choose a familiar meeting place, confirm the time, and end with “see you soon.”
Learning
Core dialogue
你
Yes. What's up?
朋友
We haven't seen each other for a long time, right?
你
Yeah. How about having lunch together?
朋友
Sure. What should we eat?
你
Can we go to the usual place?
朋友
Sure. What time should we meet?
你
Twelve o'clock. See you at the usual place.
朋友
Okay, see you soon.
Key phrases
Pick a phrase and see what it means here, and how to reuse it.
Phrase Card
Phrase 1 of 6
yǒu有kòng空
be free / have time
From the dialogue
朋友:你今天有空吗？
Are you free today?
Use it here
Use “有空吗？” to ask whether someone has time.
Say it another way
- nǐ你jīn今tiān天yǒu有kòng空ma吗？
Are you free today?
- nǐ你wǎn晚shang上yǒu有kòng空ma吗？
Are you free tonight?
- wǒ我jīn今tiān天yǒu有kòng空。
I am free today.
Patterns
Pick a pattern and see how it helps you say new things in the same scene.
Pattern Card
Pattern 1 of 3
你 + Time + 有空吗？
Use this pattern to ask whether someone is free at a certain time.
你时间有空吗？
时间 = today, tonight, this weekend, and so on
From dialogue
- nǐ你jīn今tiān天yǒu有kòng空ma吗？
Are you free today?
Try also
- nǐ你wǎn晚shang上yǒu有kòng空ma吗？
Are you free tonight?
- nǐ你zhōu周mò末yǒu有kòng空ma吗？
Are you free this weekend?
Common mistakes
Small fixes that make your Chinese sound natural.
1. Understand 有空 as available
Not natural
你今天是空的吗？
Natural
你今天有空吗？
Why
In this phrase, 空 is not used alone like “empty”; 有空 means you have time or are available.
2. Write 咱俩 correctly
Not natural
咱两好久没见了吧？
Natural
咱俩好久没见了吧？
Why
The natural written form for “the two of us” is 咱俩.
3. Use 老地方 only with shared context
Not natural
第一次见面时说：老地方见。
Natural
第一次见面时说：咖啡馆门口见。
Why
老地方 works only when both people already know the usual place.