"请问！"
Translation:Excuse me!
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This is not an appropriate sentence. "请问" is just a part of a question, similar to "I would like to ask". It is possible that someone would say it alone for catching the attention of another person, but that would mean there's a question to finish. By no means an exclamation mark could have been used here to end it like a phrase on its own. Abbreviation mark（……）should be used.
Don't use this as an equivalent of Excuse me. Say rather 不好意思.
Yes I agree, qing3 wen4 means, literally, please ask. In order for it to be correct, a question must be said after this.
Keith-- exactly! There's no context here so there's no way of knowing that this is not appropriate if you bump into someone. I'd probably translate it as "may I ask"
'Please may I ask' would be a more accurate translation. 'Please to ask' would be more literal.
Quite the opposite, I think. "Please ask" is an invitation to ask a question, but "请问" is a request for a permission to ask a question.
You could also use “Pardon”. Tried and it worked... (:P) I just guessed if it meant “Pardon” or not so if you get it wrong you can blame me.
Literally translated it says "please question". The closest translation equivalent in english would be: "May I ask you a question?"
Typically, the person asked will signal something to accept.
Not entirely accurate, "question" is "问题".
"问" alone means "to ask".
But of course you are right by saying that it means "May I ask you a question?"
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Ok so from what i understand, it does not mean "excuse me" in the meaning of "sorry" but in the meaning of "excuse me! Can you tell me where... Right?
"please go on" is more like "继续" while “请问” is more like "allow me to ask" if that makes any sense
I wrote "Excuse me, I have a question." and it was wrong. I don't think I worded my answer well, but it's incorrect to say 请问 means just "Excuse me" because it doesn't! You couldn't use it when moving through a crowd, for example. It indicates that a question will follow and that is important context!
In English, you might say "excuse me" when you're trying to get someone's attention, but also when you want to apologize for something awkward, such as bumping into someone or burping.
I suspect, but am not certain, that 请问 would be used for the former case (getting attention), but not the latter case (apologizing). Can someone confirm or elaborate on this?
请问 is used for when you are politely asking a question, e.g. “Excuse me, may I ask where is the bathroom?" If you had bumped into someone, you would instead say 对不起, I'm sorry/Pardon me.
I input this as Question. More of a statement sentence instead of a question but it was wrong. Probably because this would work in English to ask someone something but not work in chinese?? What do y'all think?