不了 学校还有事
“I can't. I've got school things to handle.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
一起吃吧
“Let's eat together.”
不了 学校还有事
“I can't. I've got school things to handle.”
费霓
“Fei Ni,”
“I need to get away from you right now, so I'm using school as an excuse.”
In Chinese social interaction, directly saying 'no' can feel harsh; pairing a brief refusal with a non-specific external duty ('还有事') protects everyone's face.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
no thanks / I'll pass
A very common, concise spoken way to turn down an offer or casual invitation.
still have things to do / have errands
The quintessential polite excuse in Chinese to decline social invitations without causing offense.
Used with '不' to indicate a change of state or a decision not to proceed with the proposed activity.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“that the school didn't say they wanted me to leave?”
“As for school, you don't need to go anymore.”
“I was caught up in something at school today. It's alright.”
“But how can you deny him his schooling over this?”
“Do you not want to go to school anymore?”
“So why bother going to school?”