Chinese phrasebook Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. In English, it is often just called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In Chinese, it is called Putonghua (普通话), meaning "common speech". It has been the only language of education in China (but not Hong Kong) since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not quite identical with, the dialect of the Beijing area.
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Understand
The word "dialect" means something different when applied to Chinese than it does for other languages. Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as, say, Spanish and French and even English, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".
However, while there are different spoken dialects of Chinese, there is only one form of written Chinese, with one common set of characters -- mostly. An exception arises where in some spoken dialects, 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. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional 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. Although Japanese and Korean use Chinese written characters, the spoken languages are only very distantly related to Chinese. Also, the unrelated Vietnamese language has borrowed many words from Chinese.
Yet other languages may've borrowed so much from Chinese that they've come to be considered Chinese languages. Hokkien/Taiwanese/Ban-lam-gu and Teochew could have "become Chinese" this way.
Note that travellers headed for Guangdong, Hong Kong or Macau will almost certainly find Cantonese more useful than Mandarin.
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, but has recently officially switched to Tongyong pinyin, which is only slightly different.
Vowels
- a
- as in father
- e
- as in the hen
- i
- as in ping or key; after sh, zh, or r, as in shirr; after s or z, hold the z and make a vowel of it
- o
- as in saw or sung
- u
- as in soon; but as ü in ju, qu, yu and xu
- ü
- as in French lune or German grün
Consonants
Chinese stops distinguish aspirated and unaspirated, not voiceless and voiced as in English. So p, t, and k should be pronounced with a puff of air.
- b
- as in ball or spall
- c
- as in rats
- ch
- as in chore
- d
- as in do or stew
- f
- as in fun
- g
- as in gang
- h
- as in her
- j
- as in jeer
- k
- as in king
- l
- as in lease
- m
- as in mow
- n
- as in none
- ng
- as in sing
- p
- as in pit
- q
- as in cheap
- r
- as in genre or fair
- s
- as in sag
- sh
- as in shoot
- t
- as in tongue
- w
- as in wing, but silent in wu
- x
- as in sheep
- y
- as in yet, but silent in yi, yu
- z
- as in red zebra
- zh
- as in jungle
Exceptions
There are a fairly large number of niggling exceptions to the basic rules above, based on the position of the sound. Some of the more notable ones include:
- -ian
- as -ien, so 天安門 Tian'anmen is pronounced "Tien'anmen"
- 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
There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation.
- 1. first tone ( ā )
- flat, high pitch - more sung instead of spoken
- 2. second tone ( á )
- low to middle, rising - pronounced like the end of a question phrase (Whát?)
- 3. third tone ( ǎ )
- middle to low to high, dipping - if at the end of a sentence or before a pause, it is then followed by a rising pitch
- 4. fourth tone ( à )
- high to low, falling - Pronounced like a command (Stop!)
5. There is also a fifth tone, the neutral tone, which is used rarely, mostly for phrase particles.
Phrase list
All phrases shown in here use the simplified characters used in mainland China and Singapore.
Basics
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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. Common ones include:
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- Hello.
- 你好。 Nǐ hǎo.
- How are you?
- 你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? 身体好吗? Shen1tǐ hǎo ma?
- Fine, thank you.
- 很好, 谢谢。 Hěn hǎo, xièxie.
- What is your (first) 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。 xièxie.
- You're welcome.
- 不客气。 Bú kèqi.
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- 请问 qǐng wèn
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- 打擾一下。 Dǎrǎo yixià ; 麻烦您一下, Máfan nǐ le.
- I'm sorry.
- 对不起。 Duìbùqǐ.
- Goodbye
- 再见。 Zàijiàn
- Goodbye (informal)
- 拜拜。 Bai-bai (Byebye)
- I can't speak Chinese.
- 我不会说汉语。 Wǒ bú hui4 shūo hànyǔ.
- Do you speak English?
- 你会说英语吗？ Nǐ hui4 shūo yīngyǔ ma?
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- 这里有人会说英语吗？ Zhèli3 yǒu rén hùi shūo Yīngyǔ ma?
- Help! (in emergencies)
- 救命 jìu mìng!
- 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 bu4 dǒng.
- Where is the toilet?
- 厕所在哪里？ Cèsuo3 zài nǎli?
Problems
- Leave me alone.
- 不要打擾我。 (búyào dǎrǎo wǒ)
- 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.
- 我需要你的幫助。 (wǒ xūyào nǐde bāngzhù)
- It's an emergency.
- 這是緊急情況。 (zhèshì jǐnjí qíngkuàng)
- I'm lost.
- 我迷路了。 (wǒ mílù le)
- I lost my bag.
- 我丟了手提包。 (wǒ diūle shǒutíbāo)
- I lost my wallet.
- 我丟了錢包。 (wǒ diūle qiánbāo)
- I'm sick.
- 我生病了。 (wǒ shēngbìng le)
- I've been injured.
- 我受傷了。 (wǒ shòushāng le)
- I need a doctor.
- 我需要醫生。 (wǒ xūyào yīshēng)
- Can I use your phone?
- 我可以打個電話嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ dǎ ge diànhuà ma?)
Numbers
Chinese numbers are very regular. While Arabic (Western) numerals have become more common, the Chinese numerals shown below are still used, particularly in informal contexts like markets.
- 0 〇, 零
- líng
- 1 一
- yī
- 2 二
- èr
- 3 三
- sān
- 4 四
- sì
- 5 五
- wǔ
- 6 六
- lìu
- 7 七
- qī
- 8 八
- bā
- 9 九
- jǐu
- 10 十
- 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-lìu
- 17 十七
- shí-qī
- 18 十八
- shí-bā
- 19 十九
- shí-jǐu
- 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
- lìu-shí
- 70 七十
- qī-shí
- 80 八十
- bā-shí
- 90 九十
- jǐu-shí
For numbers above 100, any "gaps" must be filled in with 〇 líng, as eg. 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
- yī-bǎi
- 101 一百〇一
- 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
- 300 三百
- sān-bǎi
- 500 五百
- wǔ-bǎi
- 1000 一千
- yī-qiān
- 2000 二千
- èr-qiān
Numbers above 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits, starting with 万 wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred tenthousands" (一百万).
- 10,000 一万
- yī-wàn
- 10,001 一万〇一
- yī-wàn-líng-yī
- 10,002 一万〇二
- yī-wàn-líng-èr
- 20,000 二万
- èr-wàn
- 50,000 五万
- wǔ-wàn
- 100,000 十万
- shí-wàn
- 200,0000 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
- yi1yi4
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- number measure word (lu4 or hao4 etc.) _____ (huo3 che1, gong1 gong4 qi4 chi1, etc. Measure words are used in combination with a number to indicate the count of mass nouns. Check out here for more details.)
- half
- 半 bàn (...)
- less
- 少於 shao3yu1 (...)
- more
- 多於 duo1yu1 (...)
Time
- now
- 现在 xiànzài
- later
- 以后， yǐhòu or shāohòu
- before
- 以前, yǐqián
- morning
- 早上, zǎoshàng
- afternoon
- 下午, xiàwǔ
- night
- 晚上, wǎnshàng
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.
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
- tomorrow
- 明天 míngtiān
- this week
- 这个星期 zhège xīngqī
- last week
- 上个星期 shàngge xīngqī
- next week
- 下个星期 xiàge xīngqī
Weekdays in Chinese are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after 星期 xīngqī.
- Sunday
- 星期天 xīngqītiān or xing1 qi1 ri4 or xing1 qi1 qi1
- 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 xīngqīlìu
Months
Months in Chinese are also easy: starting with 1 for January, just add the number after 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
Tips: From January to December, you just need to use this pattern: number (1-12) + yuè
Writing Time and Date
Colors
- black
- 黑色 hēi sè
- white
- 白色 bái sè
- gray
- 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,
- Do you have it in another color?
- 你们有没有另外颜色? nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu lìngwài yánsè ?
Tips: sè means 'color', therefore, 'hóng sè' is 'red color'(literally). More common for brown and easier to remmember is 'coffee color': 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? ...huǒchē zhàn?
- ...the bus station?
- ...汽车总站? ...qìchē zǒngzhàn?
- ...the airport?
- ...飞机场? ...fēijī chǎng?
- street
- 街 jiē; 路 lù
- Turn left.
- 左边转弯 zuǒbiān zhuǎnwān
- Turn right.
- 右边转弯 yòubiān zhuǎnwān
- 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
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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 zǎoshang _____ 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
Eating
- Can I look at the menu, please?
- 请给我看看菜单 qĭng gĕi wŏ kànkan càidān?
- I'm a vegetarian
- 我吃素的 wŏ chī sù de
- breakfast
- 早饭 zǎofàn
- lunch
- 午饭 wǔfàn or zhōngfàn
- supper
- 晚饭 wǎnfàn
- beef
- 牛肉 niúròu
- pork
- 猪肉 zhūròu
- 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 cha
- green tea
- 绿茶 lǜ chá
- scented tea
- 花茶 huāchá
- black tea
- 红茶 hóngchá
- juice
- 水果 shuǐguǒ fruit; 汁 zhī juice
- 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 pŭtáo jiŭ
- It was delicious.
- 好吃極了。 (hǎochī jí le)
- The check, please.
- 請結帳。 (qǐng jiézhàng)
Bars
- Do you serve alcohol?
- 有没有卖酒？ (yǒu méiyǒu mài 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 gěi wǒ 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 pint, please.
- 请给我一品脱。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpǐntuō)
- A bottle, please.
- 请給我一瓶。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpíng)
- _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
- 请給我_____和_____。 (qǐng gěi wǒ _____ hé _____)
- whiskey
- 威士忌 (wēishìjì)
- vodka
- 伏特加 (fútèjiā)
- rum
- 兰姆酒 (lánmǔjiǔ)
- water
- 水 (shuǐ)
- club soda
- 苏打水 (sūdǎshuǐ)
- tonic water
- 通宁水 (tōngníngshuǐ)
- orange juice
- 柳橙汁 (liǔchéngzhī)
- Coke (soda)
- 可樂 (kělè)
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- 有没有吧臺点心？ (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？ (jǐdiǎn dǎyáng?)
- Where is the toilet?
- 厕所在哪里 (cèsuǒ zài nǎli?)
Shopping
- Do you have this in my size?
- 有没有我的尺寸？ (yǒu méiyǒu wǒde chǐcùn?)
- How much is this?
- 这个多少钱？ (zhège duōshǎo qián?)
- That's too expensive.
- 太贵了。 (tài gùi le)
- Would you take _____?
- _____元可以吗？ (_____ yuán kěyǐ ma?)
- expensive
- 贵 (gùi)
- cheap
- 便宜 (piányí)
- I can't afford it.
- 我带的钱不够。 (wǒ dài de qián búgòu)
- I don't want it.
- 我不想要。 (wǒ bùxiǎng 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)
- Can I have a bag?
- 请给我袋子。 (qǐng gěi wǒ dàizǐ)
- 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.
- 香皂 (xiāngzào)
- ...shampoo.
- 洗髮精 (xǐfǎjīng)
- ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
- 镇痛剂 (zhèntòngjì)
- ...cold medicine.
- 感冒藥 (gǎnmòuyào)
- ...stomach medicine.
- 胃腸藥 (wèichángyào)
- ...a razor.
- 剃刀 (tìdāo)
- ...an umbrella.
- 雨伞 (yu3sǎn)
- ...sunblock lotion.
- 防曬油 (fángshàiyóu)
- ...a postcard.
- 明信片 (míngxìnpiàn)
- ...postage stamps.
- 郵票 (yóupiào)
- ...batteries.
- 电池 (diànchí)
- ...writing paper.
- 紙 (zhǐ)
- ...a pen.
- 笔 (bǐ)
- ...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.
- 汉英字典 (hànyīng zìdiǎn)
- ...an English-Chinese dictionary.
- 英汉字典 (yīnghàn zìdiǎn)
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.
- 我没有作错事。 (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 联繫。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà de dàshǐguǎn/lǐngshìguǎn liánxì)
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
- 我希望跟律师联繫。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn lǜshī liánxì)
- Can I just pay a fine now?
- 我可以只付罚款吗？ (wǒ kěyǐ zhǐ fù fákuǎn ma?)
Telephone & Internet
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Telephone & Internet
Don't go online in hotels since most common cafes are cheaper. Usually you pay 10RMB in advance for a card. Prices per hour from 1RMB to 4RMB. Those cafes are quite hidden sometimes and you should look for the following chinese characters:
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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?
- 到 美国/澳洲/英国/加拿大 是多少钱? (dào měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà shì duōshǎo qián?)
- Where can I find an Internet cafe?
- 那里有网吧? (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 of the world, with more speakers than the next two, English 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. So here is a nice quote from the Hindi Phrasebook (the 4th most spoken, yet seldom learnt language): "Instead of anger of frustration, the student should instead feel a smug superiority of being ahead of everyone else...!"
Advice: The first step is to learn to properly read the romanization with tones! There are still many sites with small Chinese phrase chapters which don't use tones for romanization (pinyin tones). Stay away from those, learning that is useless. 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.
- Chinese (Wikibooks.org): Free lessons providing detailed grammar explanations, audio samples and stroke order animations.
