Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, and is one of the official languages of Singapore. In English, it is often just called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In China, it is called Putonghua (普通话), meaning "common speech", while in Taiwan it is referred to as Guoyu (國語), "the national language." It has been the main language of education in China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not quite identical with, the Mandarin dialect of the Beijing area.
Note that while the spoken Mandarin in the above places is more or less the same, the written characters are different. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau all still use traditional characters, whereas Mainland China and Singapore use a simplified derivative. However, an educated person who lives in mainland China or Singapore can still understand traditional characters but not necessarily vice versa (Taiwanese people may have difficulty recognizing some simplified characters)
Understand
Note that "dialect" has a different meaning when applied to Chinese from when it is applied to other languages.
Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as, say, Italian and French, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects" - using a pure linguistic definition they are distinct "languages".
All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing. A Cantonese speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. Even a speaker of Japanese or Korean will recognise many characters.
While formal written Chinese is the same everywhere, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.
One additional complication is that mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, a long-debated change completed by the mainland Chinese government in 1956 to facilitate the standardization of language across China's broad minority groups and sub-dialects of Mandarin and other Chinese languages. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional characters. The Dungan language, which is spoken in some neighbouring countries, is considered to be a variant of Mandarin but uses the Cyrillic alphabet instead of Chinese characters.
About one fifth of the people in the world speak some form of Chinese as their native language. It is a tonal language that is related to Burmese and Tibetan. The Vietnamese language (which uses a distinctive version of the Latin alphabet) has borrowed many words from Chinese and at one time used Chinese characters as well. Korean used to use the Chinese writing system; however in modern times it is not in general use although people can still read the basics and many Korean words are similar to their Chinese counterparts. Japanese also uses the Chinese writing system, although over time the meaning of some characters has diverged significantly from those used in China.
Travellers headed for Guangdong, Guangxi, Hong Kong or Macau may find Cantonese more useful than Mandarin. Those heading for Taiwan or southern Fujian may find the Minnan dialect useful as well.
Chinese, like most other Asian languages such as Arabic, is infamous for being difficult to learn. While English speakers would initially have problems with the tones, acquiring vocabulary (since Chinese has few loan words from European languages) and recognizing the many different characters (Chinese has no alphabet), the grammar is very simple and can be picked up very easily. Most notably, Chinese grammar does not have conjugation, tenses, gender, plurals or other complicated grammatical rules found in other major languages such as English or French.
Pronunciation guide
The pronunciation guide below uses Hanyu pinyin, the official romanization of the People's Republic of China. Until recently, Taiwan used the Wade-Giles system, which is quite different, then switched to Tongyong pinyin, only slightly different from Hanyu pinyin, and now officially uses Hanyu pinyin just like the People's Republic.
Pinyin allows very accurate pronunciation of Chinese for those who understand it, although the way that it uses letters like q, x, c, z and even i is not at all intuitive to the English speaker since some of these sounds do not exist in English or many other languages. Thus, studying the pronunciation guide below carefully is essential. After you master the pronunciation you will need to move on to the next challenge: using accurate tones whilst speaking.
While hanyu pinyin is immensely useful as a pronunciation guide for Mandarin learners, it is much less useful as a form of written communication, as many Chinese cannot read pinyin, and even those that do will often find it awkward. So stick to Chinese characters for written communication.
Some pinyin vowels (especially "e", "i", "ü") can be tricky, so it is best to get a native speaker to demonstrate. Also, beware of the spelling rules listed in the exceptions below.
- a
- as in father; otherwise, pronounced as in "awesome"
- a in an
- as "a" in "cat" or "back" (just the English short "a" sound)
- e
- unrounded back vowel (IPA [ɤ]), similar to duh; in unstressed syllables become a schwa (IPA [ə]), like idea
- i
- as in see or key;
after sh, zh, s, z or r, not really a vowel at all but just a stretched-out consonant sound - o
- as in more
- u
- as in soon; but read ü in ju, qu, yu and xu
- ü
- as in French lune or German grün
Diphthongs
These are the diphthongs in Chinese:
- ai
- as in pie
- ao
- as in pouch
- ei
- as in pay
- ia
- as in ya
- ia in ' ian'
- as in 'yes
- iao
- as in meow
- ie
- as in yes
- iong
- as in Pyongyang
- ou
- as in mow
- ua
- as in want
- uo
- as in war
Consonants
Chinese stops distinguish between aspirated and unaspirated, not voiceless and voiced as in English. Aspirated sounds are pronounced with a distinctive puff of air as they are pronounced in English when at the beginning of a word, while unaspirated sounds are pronounced without the puff, as in English when found in clusters.
Place a hand in front of your mouth and compare pit (aspirated) with spit (unaspirated) to see the difference.
Unaspirated | Aspirated | ||
---|---|---|---|
b | as in spot |
p | as in pit |
d | as in stop |
t | as in tongue |
g | as in skin |
k | as in king |
j | as in jeer |
q | as in cheap |
zh | as in jungle |
ch | as in chore |
z | as in pizza |
c | as in rats |
Here are the other consonants in Chinese:
- m
- as in mow
- f
- as in fun
- n
- as in none or none
- l
- as in lease
- h
- as in her
- x
- as in sheep
- sh
- as in shoot
- r
- as in fair, but can be "zh" as in "pleasure"
- s
- as in sag
- ng
- as in sing
- w
- as in wing but silent in wu. Before a, ai, ang, eng, and/or o, this may sound like the English v/ German w.
- y
- as in yet but silent in yi, yu
If you think that is a fairly intimidating repertoire, rest assured that many Chinese people, particularly those who are not native Mandarin speakers, will merge many of the sounds above (especially c with ch and z with zh).
Exceptions
There are a fairly large number of niggling exceptions to the basic rules above, based on the position of the sound:
- wu-
- as u-, so 五百 wubai is pronounced "ubai"
- yi-
- as i-, so 一个 yige is pronounced "ige"
- yü-
- as ü-, so 豫园 Yuyuan is pronounced "ü-üan"
Tones
How do I put my tone marks? If you are confused by how to put tone marks above the Hanyu Pinyin, follow the steps below: Always insert tone marks above the vowels. If there is more than one vowel letter, follow the steps below: (1) Insert it above the 'a' if that letter is present. For example, it is rǎo and not raǒ (2) If not, insert it above 'o'. For example, guó and not gúo (3) Insert it above the letter 'e' if the letters 'a' and 'o' are not present. For example, jué and not júe (4) If only 'i', 'u' and 'ü' are the only present letters, insert it in the letter that occurs last. For example, jiù and not jìu, chuí and not chúi. Note, if the vowel present is ü, the tone mark is put in addition to the umlaut. For example, lǜ |
There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation. Never underestimate the importance of these tones. Consider a vowel with a different tone as simply a different vowel altogether, and you will realize why Chinese will not understand you if you use the wrong tone — mǎ is to mā as "I want a cake" is to "I want a coke". Be especially wary of questions that have a falling tone, or conversely exclamations that have an "asking" tone (eg jǐngchá, police). In other words, pronounced like does not imply meaning. While Mandarin speakers also vary their tone just like English speakers do to differentiate a statement from a question and convey emotion, this is much more subtle than in English. Do not try it until you have mastered the basic tones.
- 1. first tone ( ā )
- flat, high pitch that is more sung instead of spoken.
- 2. second tone ( á )
- low to middle, rising pitch that is pronounced like the end of a question phrase (Whát?).
- 3. third tone ( ǎ )
- middle to low to high, dipping pitch: for two consecutive syllables in the third tone, the first syllable is pronounced as if it is in the second tone. For example, 打扰 dǎrǎo is pronounced as dárǎo.
- 4. fourth tone ( à )
- high to low, rapidly falling pitch that is pronounced like a command (Stop!).
- 5. fifth tone
- neutral pitch that is rarely used by itself (except for phrase particles) but frequently occurs as the second part of a phrase.
Phrase list
All phrases shown in here use the simplified characters used in mainland China and Singapore. See Chinese phrasebook - Traditional for a version using the traditional characters still used on Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau.
Basics
To be or not to be? Chinese does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Here are common examples:
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- Hello.
- 你好。 Nǐ hǎo.
- How are you?
- 你好吗? Nǐ hǎo ma? 身体好吗? Shēntǐ hǎo ma?
- Fine, thank you.
- 很好, 谢谢。 Hěn hǎo, xièxie.
- May I please ask, what is your name?
- 请问你叫什么名? Qǐngwèn nǐjiào shěnme míng?
- What is your name?
- 你叫什么名字? Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
- My name is ______ .
- 我叫 _____ 。 Wǒ jiào ______ .
- Nice to meet you.
- 很高兴认识你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.
- Please.
- 请。 Qǐng.
- Thank you.
- 谢谢。 Xièxiè.
- You're welcome.
- 不客气。 Bú kèqi.
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- 请问 qǐng wèn
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- 打扰一下。 Dǎrǎo yixià ; 麻烦您了, Máfán nín le.
- Excuse me. (coming through)
- 对不起 Duìbùqǐ * or * 请让一下 Qǐng ràng yixià
- I'm sorry.
- 对不起。 Duìbuqǐ.
- It's okay. (polite response to "I'm sorry")
- 没关系 (méiguānxi).
- Goodbye
- 再见。 Zàijiàn
- Goodbye (informal)
- 拜拜。 Bai-bai (Byebye)
- I can't speak Chinese.
- 我不会说中文。 Wǒ bú huì shuō zhōngwén.
- Do you speak English?
- 你会说英语吗? Nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- 这里有人会说英语吗? Zhèlĭ yǒu rén hùi shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
- Help! (in emergencies)
- 救命! Jiùmìng!
- Good morning.
- 早安。 Zǎo'ān.
- Good evening.
- 晚上好。 Wǎnshàng hǎo.
- Good night.
- 晚安。 Wǎn'ān.
- I don't understand.
- 我听不懂。 Wǒ tīng bu dǒng.
- Where is the toilet?
- 厕所在哪里? Cèsuǒ zài nǎli?
- Where is the bathroom(polite)?
- 洗手间在哪里? Xǐshǒujiān zài nǎli?
- How do you say ____?
- 怎么说 ____ ? Zěnme shuō ____ ?
Problems
Asking a question in Chinese There are many ways to ask a question in Chinese. Here are two easy ones for travelers...
Exception - yŏu méi yŏu? - Do you have? (literally - have not have?)
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- Leave me alone.
- 不要打扰我。 (búyào dǎrǎo wǒ)
- I don't want it! (useful for people who come up trying to sell you something)
- 我不要 (wǒ búyào!)
- Don't touch me!
- 不要碰我! (búyào pèng wǒ!)
- I'll call the police.
- 我要叫警察了。 (wǒ yào jiào jǐngchá le)
- Police!
- 警察! (jǐngchá!)
- Stop! Thief!
- 住手!小偷! (zhùshǒu! xiǎotōu!)
- I need your help.
- 我需要你的帮助。 (wǒ xūyào nǐde bāngzhù)
- It's an emergency.
- 这是紧急情况。 (zhèshì jǐnjí qíngkuàng)
- I'm lost.
- 我迷路了。 (wǒ mílù le)
- I lost my bag.
- 我的手提包丢了。 (wǒ de shǒutíbāo diūle)
- I lost my wallet.
- 我的钱包丢了。 (wǒ de qiánbāo diūle)
- I'm sick.
- 我生病了。 (wǒ shēngbìng le)
- I've been injured.
- 我受伤了。 (wǒ shòushāng le)
- I need a doctor.
- 我需要医生。 (wǒ xūyào yīshēng)
- Can I use your phone?
- 我可以打个电话吗? (wǒ kěyǐ dǎ ge diànhuà ma?)
Going to the doctor
- Doctor
- 医生 (yīshēng)
- Nurse
- 护士 (hùshi)
- Hospital
- 医院 (yīyuàn)
- Chinese medicine
- 中药 (zhōngyào)
- Western medicine
- 西药 (xīyào)
- I am sick.
- 我生病了。 (wǒ shēngbìng le)
- My _____ hurts
- 我 ____ 疼/痛 ("wŏ ____ téng/tòng")
- Painful.
- 疼/痛 (téng/tòng)
- Sick/Uncomfortable.
- 不舒服 (bù shūfú)
- Itchy/ticklish.
- 痒 (yǎng)
- Sore (In muscle strains).
- 酸 (suān)
- Fever.
- 发烧 (fāshāo)
- Cough.
- 咳嗽 (késòu)
- Sneeze.
- 打喷嚏 (dǎ pēntì)
- Diarrhoea.
- 拉肚子/泻肚子 (lā dùzi/xiè dùzi)
- Vomiting
- 呕吐 (ŏu tù)
- Running nose.
- 流鼻涕 (liú bítì)
- Phlegm.
- 痰 (tán)
- Cut/wound
- 割伤/伤口 (gēshāng/shāngkǒu)
- Burn
- 烧伤 (shāoshāng)
- Hands.
- 手 (shǒu)
- Arms.
- 手臂/胳膊 (shǒubì/gēbo)
- Fingers.
- 手指 (shǒuzhǐ)
- Wrist.
- 手腕 (shǒuwàn)
- Shoulder.
- 肩膀 (jiānbǎng)
- Feet.
- 脚 (jiǎo)
- Toes.
- 脚趾 (jiǎozhǐ)
- Legs.
- 腿 (tuǐ)
- Nails.
- 指甲 (zhǐjiǎ)
- Body.
- 身体 (shēntǐ)
- Eyes.
- 眼睛 (yǎnjīng)
- Ears.
- 耳朵 (ěrduo)
- Nose.
- 鼻子 (bízi)
- Face.
- 脸 (liǎn)
- Hair.
- 头发 (tóufa)
- Head.
- 头 (tóu)
- Neck.
- 脖子 (bózi)
- Throat.
- 喉咙 (hóulóng)
- Chest.
- 胸 (xiōng)
- Abdomen.
- 肚子/腹 (dùzi/fù)
- Hip/Waist.
- 腰 (yāo)
- Buttocks.
- 屁股 (pìgu)
- Back.
- 背 (bèi)
- Medical Insurance
- 医疗保险 (yīliáo băoxiăn)
- Doctor's fees
- 医生费 (yīshēng fèi)
- Prescription
- 处方/药方 (chǔfāng/yàofāng)
- Medicine
- 药 (yào)
- Pharmacy
- 药店 (yàodiàn)
Numbers
Chinese numbers are very regular. While Western numerals have become more common, the Chinese numerals shown below are still used, particularly in informal contexts like markets. The characters in parentheses are generally used in financial contexts, such as writing cheques and printing banknotes.
- 0 〇 (零)
- líng
- 1 一 (壹)
- yī
- 2 二 (贰)
- èr (两 liǎng is used when specifying quantities)
- 3 三 (叁)
- sān
- 4 四 (肆)
- sì
- 5 五 (伍)
- wǔ
- 6 六 (陆)
- liù
- 7 七 (柒)
- qī
- 8 八 (捌)
- bā
- 9 九 (玖)
- jiǔ
- 10 十 (拾)
- shí
- 11 十一
- shí-yī
- 12 十二
- shí-èr
- 13 十三
- shí-sān
- 14 十四
- shí-sì
- 15 十五
- shí-wǔ
- 16 十六
- shí-liù
- 17 十七
- shí-qī
- 18 十八
- shí-bā
- 19 十九
- shí-jiǔ
- 20 二十
- èr-shí
- 21 二十一
- èr-shí-yī
- 22 二十二
- èr-shí-èr
- 23 二十三
- èr-shí-sān
- 30 三十
- sān-shí
- 40 四十
- sì-shí
- 50 五十
- wǔ-shí
- 60 六十
- liù-shí
- 70 七十
- qī-shí
- 80 八十
- bā-shí
- 90 九十
- jiǔ-shí
For numbers above 100, any "gaps" must be filled in with 零 líng, as e.g. 一百一 yībǎiyī would otherwise be taken as shorthand for "110". A single unit of tens may be written and pronounced either 一十 yīshí or just 十 shí.
- 100 一百 (壹佰)
- yī-bǎi
- 101 一百零一
- yī-bǎi-líng-yī
- 110 一百一十
- yī-bǎi-yī-shí
- 111 一百一十一
- yī-bǎi-yī-shí-yī
- 200 二百
- èr-bǎi or 两百:liǎng-bǎi
- 300 三百
- sān-bǎi
- 500 五百
- wǔ-bǎi
- 1000 一千 (壹仟)
- yī-qiān
- 2000 二千
- èr-qiān or 两千:liǎng-qiān
Numbers starting from 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits starting with 万 wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred ten-thousands" (一百万).
- 10,000 一万 (壹萬)
- yī-wàn
- 10,001 一万零一
- yī-wàn-líng-yī
- 10,002 一万零二
- yī-wàn-líng-èr
- 20,000 二万
- èr-wàn
- 50,000 五万
- wǔ-wàn
- 100,000 十万
- shí-wàn
- 200,000 二十万
- èr-shí-wàn
- 1,000,000 一百万
- yī-bǎi-wàn
- 10,000,000 一千万
- yī-qiān-wàn
- 100,000,000 一亿 (壹億)
- yī-yì
- 1,000,000,000,000 一万亿
- yī-wàn-yì
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- number measure word (路 lù, 号 hào, ...) _____ (huǒ chē, gōng gòng qì chē, etc.)
Measure words are used in combination with a number to indicate an amount of mass nouns, similar to how English requires "two pieces of paper" rather than just "two paper". [1] When unsure, use 个 (ge); even though it may not be correct, you will probably be understood because it is the most common measure word. (One person: 一个人 yīgè rén; two apples: 两个苹果 liǎnggè píngguǒ; note that two of something always uses 两 liǎng rather than 二 èr).
- half
- 半 bàn
- less than
- 少于 shǎoyú
- more than
- 多于 duōyú
- more
- 更 gèng
Time
- now
- 现在 xiànzài
- later
- 以后, yǐhòu or 稍后, shāohòu
- before
- 以前, yǐqián
- morning
- 早上/上午, zǎoshang/shàngwǔ
- noon
- 中午, zhōngwǔ
- afternoon
- 下午, xiàwǔ
- evening/night
- 晚上, wǎnshang
- midnight
- 半夜 bànyè or 午夜 (wǔyè)
Clock time
- What time is it?
- 现在几点? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
- It is nine in the morning.
- 早上9点钟。 Zǎoshàng jǐu diǎn zhōng.
- Three-thirty PM.
- 下午3点半. Xiàwǔ sān diǎn bàn.
- 3:38 PM
- 下午3点38分 Xiàwǔ sāndiǎn sānshíbā fēn.
Duration
- _____ minute(s)
- _____ 分钟 fēnzhōng
- _____ hour(s)
- _____ 小时 xiǎoshí
- _____ day(s)
- _____ 天 tiān
- _____ week(s)
- _____ 星期 xīngqī
- _____ month(s)
- _____ 月 yùe
- _____ year(s)
- _____ 年 nián
Days
- today
- 今天 jīntiān
- yesterday
- 昨天 zuótiān
- the day before yesterday
- 前天qiăntiān
- tomorrow
- 明天 míngtiān
- the day after tomorrow
- 后天 hòutiān
- this week
- 这星期 zhè xīngqī
- last week
- 上星期 shàng xīngqī
- next week
- 下星期 xià xīngqī
Weekdays in Chinese are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after 星期 xīngqī. In Taiwan, 星期 is pronounced xīngqí (second tone on the second syllable).
- Sunday
- 星期天 xīngqītiān or xīngqīrì (星期日)
- Monday
- 星期一 xīngqīyī
- Tuesday
- 星期二 xīngqīèr
- Wednesday
- 星期三 xīngqīsān
- Thursday
- 星期四 xīngqīsì
- Friday
- 星期五 xīngqīwǔ
- Saturday
- 星期六 xīngqīliù
星期 can also be replaced with 礼拜 lǐbài and 周 zhōu.
Months
Months in Chinese are also easy: starting with 1 for January, just add the number before 月 yuè.
- January
- 一月, yī yuè
- February
- 二月, èr yuè
- March
- 三月, sān yuè
- April
- 四月, sì yuè
- May
- 五月, wŭ yuè
- June
- 六月, liù yuè
- July
- 七月, qī yuè
- August
- 八月, bā yuè
- September
- 九月, jiŭ yuè
- October
- 十月, shí yuè
- November
- 十一月, shí yī yuè
- December
- 十二月, shí èr yuè
From January to December, you just need to use this pattern: number (1-12) + yuè.
Writing Dates
Writing dates in the lunar calendar
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When writing the date, you name the month (number (1-12) + yuè), before inserting the day (number (1-31) + 日(rì)/ 号(hào) ). Note that the usage of 号(hào), which is more often used in spoken language, is more colloquial than that of 日(rì), which is more often used in written documents.
- 6th January
- 一月六号 (yī yuè liù hào) or 一月六日 (yī yuè liù rì)
- 25th December
- 十二月二十五号 (shí-èr yuè èr-shí-wǔ hào)
Colours
- black
- 黑色 hēi sè
- white
- 白色 bái sè
- grey
- 灰色 huī sè
- red
- 红色 hóng sè
- blue
- 蓝色 lán sè
- yellow
- 黄色 huáng sè
- green
- 绿色 lǜ sè
- orange
- 橙色 chéng sè
- purple
- 紫色 zǐ sè
- brown
- 褐色 he sè, 棕色 zōng sè,
- gold
- 金色 jīn se
- Do you have it in another colour?
- 你们有没有其他颜色? nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu qítā yánsè ?
Sè means 'colour' so 'hóng sè' is literally 'red colour'. More common for brown and easier to remember is 'coffee colour': 咖啡色 kā fēi sè
Transportation
Bus and Train
- How much is a ticket to _____?
- 去______的票多少钱 qù _____ de piào duō shǎo qián?
- Do you go to... (the central station)?
- 去不去... (火车站) qù bù qù... (huǒ chē zhàn)
Directions
- How do I get to _____ ?
- 怎么去_____ zěnme qù _____?
- ...the train station?
- ...火车站? ...huǒchēzhàn?
- ...the bus station?
- ...汽车站? ...qìchēzhàn?
- ...the airport?
- ...机场? ...jī chǎng?
- street
- 街 jiē; 路 lù
- Turn left.
- 左转 zuǒ zhuǎn/左拐zuǒguǎi
- Turn right.
- 右转 yòu zhuǎn/右拐yòuguăi
- Go straight
- 直走 zhízŏu
- I've reached my destination
- 到了dàole
- U-turn
- 掉头 diàotóu
- Taxi driver
- 师傅 shīfu
- Please use the meter machine
- 请打表 qǐng dǎbiǎo
- Please turn up the aircon/heater
- 请把空调开大点儿。 qǐng bǎ kōngtiáo kāi dàdiǎn(r)
- left
- 左边 zuǒbiān
- right
- 右边 yòubiān
- straight ahead
- 往前走 wǎngqián zǒu
- north
- 北 bĕi
- south
- 南 nán
- east
- 东 dōng
- west
- 西 xī
Taxi
- Taxi 出租车 chū zū chē
- Take me to _____, please.
- 请开到_____。 qǐng kāidào _____。
Lodging
Common signs
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- Do you have any rooms available?
- 你们有房间吗? Nǐmen yǒu fángjiān ma?
- Does the room come with...
- 有没有... Yǒu méiyǒu...
- ...bedsheets?
- ...床单? ...chuángdān?
- ...a bathroom?
- ...浴室? ...yùshì?
- ...a telephone?
- ...电话? ...diànhuà?
- ...a TV?
- ...电视? ...diànshì ?
- I will stay for _____ night(s).
- 我打算住_____夜。 Wǒ dǎsuàn zhù _____ yè.
- Do you have a safe?
- 你们有没有保险箱? Nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu bǎoxiǎn xiāng?
- Can you wake me at _____?
- 请明天早上_____叫醒我。 Qǐng míngtiān zǎoshàng _____ jiàoxǐng wǒ.
- I want to check out.
- 我现在要走。 Wǒ xiànzài yào zǒu.
Money
- pay
- 付 fù
- cash
- 现钱 xiàn qián
- credit card
- 信用卡 xìn yòng kǎ
- debit card
- 借记卡 jiè jì kǎ
- check
- 支票 zhīpiào
- foreign exchange
- 外汇 wài huì
- to change money
- 换钱 huàn qián
- exchange rate
- 汇率 huìlǜ
- Chinese Renminbi
- 人民币 rén mín bì or (less formal and easier!) 元 yuán
- US dollars
- 美元 mĕi yuán
- Euros
- 欧元 ōu yuán
- British pounds
- 英镑 yīng bàng
Eating
Reading a Chinese Menu Look for these characters to get an idea of what you're ordering. With help from The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters (J. McCawley) and using Simplified Chinese.
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- Can I look at the menu, please?
- 请给我看看菜单。 qǐng gěi wǒ kànkan càidān.
- Do you have an English menu?
- 你有没有英文菜单? nǐ yŏu méi yǒu yīngwén càidān?
(Listen for... Yes, we have one. : 有 yǒu - No, we don't. : 没有 méi yǒu)
- I'm a vegetarian
- 我吃素 wǒ chī sù
- breakfast
- 早饭 zǎofàn or 早餐 zǎocān
- lunch
- 午饭 wǔfàn or zhōngfàn or 午餐 wǔcān
- supper
- 晚饭 wǎnfàn or 晚餐 wǎncān
- beef
- 牛肉 niúròu
- pork
- 猪肉 zhūròu,or sometimes simply '肉' ròu.
- mutton
- 羊肉 yángròu
- chicken
- 鸡 jī
- fish
- 鱼 yú
- cheese
- 奶酪 nǎilào
- eggs
- 鸡蛋 jīdàn
- bread
- 面包 miànbāo
- noodles
- 面条 miàntiáo
- fried rice
- 炒饭 chǎofàn
- dumpling
- 饺子 jiǎozi
- rice
- 米饭 mĭfàn
- coffee
- 咖啡 kāfēi
- black coffee: 黑咖啡 hēi kāfēi
- milk
- 牛奶 niúnǎi
- sugar
- 糖 táng
- tea (drink)
- 茶 chá
- green tea
- 绿茶 lǜ chá
- scented tea
- 花茶 huāchá
- black tea
- 红茶 hóngchá
- juice
- 果汁 guǒzhī
- water
- 水 shuĭ
- natural mineral water
- 矿泉水 kuàngquán shuǐ
- beer
- 啤酒 píjiŭ
- red/white wine
- 红/白 葡萄酒 hóng/bái pútáojiŭ
- It was delicious.
- 好吃极了。 hǎochī jí le
- The check, please.
- 请结帐。 qǐng jiézhàng
Bars
- Do you serve alcohol?
- 卖不卖酒? ( mài búmài jiǔ?)
- Is there table service?
- 有没有餐桌服务? (yǒu méiyǒu cānzhuō fúwù?)
- A beer/two beers, please.
- 请给我一杯/两杯啤酒。 (qǐng gěiwǒ yìbēi/liǎngbēi píjiǔ)
- A glass of red/white wine, please.
- 请给我一杯红/白葡萄酒。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìbēi hóng/bái pútáojiǔ)
- A bottle, please.
- 请给我一瓶。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpíng)
- _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
- 请给我_____和_____。 (qǐng gěi wǒ _____ hé _____)
- whiskey
- 威士忌 (wēishìjì)
- vodka
- 伏特加 (fútèjiā)
- rum
- 兰姆酒 (lánmǔjiǔ)
- water
- 水 (shuǐ)
- mineral spring (i.e. bottled) water
- 矿泉水 (kuàngquánshuǐ)
- boiled water
- 开水 (kāishuǐ)
- club soda
- 苏打水 (sūdǎshuǐ)
- tonic water
- 通宁水 (tōngníngshuǐ)
- orange juice
- 橙汁 (chéngzhī)
- Coke (soda)
- 可乐 (kělè)
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- 有没有吧台点心? (yǒu méiyǒu bātái diǎnxīn?)
- One more, please.
- 请再给我一个。 (qǐng zài gěi wǒ yígè')
- Another round, please.
- 请再来一轮。 (qǐng zàilái yìlún)
- When is closing time?
- 几点打烊/关门? (jǐdiǎn dǎyáng/guānmén?)
- Where is the toilet?
- 厕所在哪里 (cèsuǒ zài nǎli?)
- Where is the washingroom?
- 洗手间在哪儿?(xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?)
Shopping
Bargaining (还价 huán jià) is possible (and expected) in markets and many small shops. The first price you are given will usually be hugely inflated - it's up to you to haggle it down to something more acceptable. This will probably feel awkward if you aren't used to it, and you may worry about ending up cheating the seller. Don't worry - sellers won't take a price that's too low, and you will usually end up agreeing on a price that's considerably lower than the starting one but still allows the seller to make a profit. Try starting at around 20-30% of the original price; you can always work up from there. The exceptions to the rule are supermarkets, large department stores, bookshops and some of the higher end boutiques, most of which will have signs letting you know that haggling is unacceptable in these stores.
- Do you have this in my size?
- 有没有我的尺码? (yǒu méiyǒu wǒde chǐmǎ?)
- How much is this?
- 这个多少钱? (zhège duōshǎo qián?)
- That's too expensive.
- 太贵了。 (tài guì le)
- Would you take _____?
- _____元可以吗? (_____ yuán kěyǐ ma?)
- expensive
- 贵 (guì)
- cheap
- 便宜 (piányi)
- I can't afford it.
- 我带的钱不够。 (wǒ dài de qián búgòu)
- I don't want it.
- 我不要。 (wǒ bù yào)
- You're cheating me.
- 你欺骗我。 (nǐ qīpiàn wǒ) Use with caution!
- I'm not interested.
- 我没有兴趣。 (wǒ méiyǒu xìngqù)
- OK, I'll take it.
- 我要买这个。 (wǒ yào mǎi zhège)
- Please provide me with a carrier-bag.
- 请给我个袋子。 (qǐng gěi wǒ ge dàizi)
- Do you ship (overseas)?
- 可以邮寄到海外吗? (kěyǐ yóujì dào hǎiwài ma?)
- I need...
- 我要_____ (wǒ yào _____)
- ...toothpaste.
- 牙膏 (yágāo)
- ...a toothbrush.
- 牙刷 (yáshuā)
- ...tampons.
- 卫生棉条 (wèishēng miántiáo)
- ...soap.
- 肥皂 (féizào)
- ...shampoo.
- 洗发精 (xǐfàjīng)
- ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
- 止疼药 (zhǐténg yào)
- ...cold medicine.
- 感冒药 (gǎnmào yào)
- ...stomach medicine.
- 胃肠药 (wèicháng yào)
- ...a razor.
- 剃须刀 (tìxūdāo)
- ...an umbrella.
- 雨伞 (yǔsǎn)
- ...sunblock lotion.
- 防晒霜 (fángshàishuāng)
- ...a postcard.
- 明信片 (míngxìnpiàn)
- ...postage stamps.
- 邮票 (yóupiào)
- ...batteries.
- 电池 (diànchí)
- ...writing paper.
- 纸 (zhǐ)
- ...a pen.
- 笔 (bǐ)
- ...a pencil.
- 铅笔 (qiānbǐ)
- ...glasses.
- 眼镜 (yǎnjìng)
- ...English-language books.
- 英文书 (Yīngwén shū)
- ...English-language magazines.
- 英文杂志 (Yīngwén zázhì)
- ...an English-language newspaper.
- 英文报纸 (Yīngwén bàozhǐ)
- ...a Chinese-English dictionary.
- 汉英词典 (Hàn-Yīng cídiǎn)
- ...an English-Chinese dictionary.
- 英汉词典 (Yīng-Hàn cídiǎn)
Driving
- I want to rent a car.
- 我想要租车。 (wǒ xiǎngyào zūchē)
- Can I get insurance?
- 我可以买保险吗? (wǒ kěyǐ mǎi bǎoxiǎn ma?)
- stop (on a street sign)
- 停 (tíng)
- one way
- 单行道 (dānxíngdào)
- yield
- 让路 (rànglù)
- no parking
- 禁止停车 (jìnzhǐ tíngchē)
- speed limit
- 速度限制 (sùdù xiànzhì)
- gas (petrol) station
- 加油站 (jiāyóuzhàn)
- petrol
- 汽油 (qìyóu)
- diesel
- 柴油 (cháiyóu)
Authority
- I haven't done anything wrong.
- 我没有做错事。 (wǒ méiyǒu zuòcuò shì)
- It was a misunderstanding.
- 这是误会。 (zhè shì wùhuì)
- Where are you taking me?
- 你带我去哪里? (nǐ dài wǒ qù nǎlǐ?)
- Am I under arrest?
- 我被捕了吗? (wǒ bèibǔle ma?)
- I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.
- 我是 美国/澳洲/英国/加拿大 公民。 (wǒ shì měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà gōngmín)
- I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.
- 我希望跟 美国/澳洲/英国/加拿大 的 大使馆/领事馆 联系。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà de dàshǐguǎn/lǐngshìguǎn liánxì)
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
- 我希望跟律师联系。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn lǜshī liánxì)
- Can I just pay a fine now?
- 我可以支付罚款吗? (wǒ kěyǐ zhī fù fákuǎn ma?)
Telephone and the Internet
Telephone & Internet
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- Can I make international calls here?
- 可以打国际电话吗? (kěyǐ dǎ guójì diànhuà ma?)
- How much is it to America/Australia/Britain/Canada?
- 打给 美国/澳洲/英国/加拿大 是多少钱? (dǎgěi měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà shì duōshǎo qián?)
- Where can I find an Internet cafe?
- 哪里有网吧? (nǎlǐ yǒu wǎng ba?)
- How much is it per hour?
- 一小时是多少钱? (yī xiǎoshí shì duōshǎo qián?)
Learning more
Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, with more speakers than the next two, Hindi and Spanish, combined. However, there are still few learners of Chinese in the Western world and you might get weird looks if you say you want to start learning it: "Instead of anger or frustration, the student should instead feel a smug superiority of being ahead of everyone else!"
The first step is to learn to read the romanization with tones. Avoid any phrasebook that does not mark the tones.
For simple sentences, one may be able to get away without tones, but this can cause confusion in more complex situations, so tones are very important. A classic example is the difference between the Chinese characters for "four" (四, sì) and "death" (死, sǐ), different only by tones.
A good idea for practicing is to make Chinese friends online since millions of young people in China also look for somebody to practice English with.