Useful Chinese Phrases
China’s official language is Mandarin, which is also called Putonghua (普通话, means “common speech”) in China. There are many dialects in China, and many of them are mutually unintelligible. However, standard Mandarin is taught all over the country, and it’s close to Beijing dialect. All dialects in China use the same set of characters in reading and writing, so even if people with different dialects can’t understand each other, they can read what the other writes.
Mandarin pronunciation uses Hanyu Pinyin, or Pinyin as its official phonetic system. If you understand how Pinyin works, then it will allow you to pronounce Chinese accurately. To learn Chinese and pronounce it correctly, the first step is to learn the principle of Pinyin. There are many Pinyin tutorials on Internet, both in text and video. Travelers can learn the basic use of it before travelling to China.
Here we list some basic and common Chinese phrases that will be useful in the trip. Check it when necessary.
Basics
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Yes | 是 | Shì |
| No | 不是 | Búshì |
| Hello | 你好 | Nǐ hǎo |
| How are you | 你好吗 | Nǐ hǎo ma |
| Fine, thank you | 很好, 谢谢 | Hěn hǎo, xièxie |
| May I please ask, what is your name | 请问你叫什么名字 | Qǐngwèn nǐjiào shěnme míngzi |
| 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/麻烦您了 | Dǎrǎo yixià/Máfán nín le |
| Excuse me. (coming through) | 对不起/请让一下 | Duìbùqǐ/Qǐng ràng yixià |
| I'm sorry | 对不起 | Duìbùqǐ |
| It's okay(polite response to "I'm sorry") | 没关系 | méiguānxi |
| Goodbye | 再见 | Zàijiàn |
| Byebye | 拜拜 | Bāi-bāi |
| I can't speak Chinese | 我不会讲中文 | Wǒ bú huì jiáng zhōngwén |
| Do you speak English | 你会说英语吗 | Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma |
| DIs 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 (something heard) | 我听不懂 | Wǒ tīng bù dǒng |
| I don't understand (something read) | 我看不懂 | Wǒ kàn bù dǒng |
Asking for Help and Directions
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| I'm lost | 我迷路了 | Wǒ mílù le |
| Can I help you? | 有什么需要我帮你的 | Yǒu shénme xūyaà wǒ bang nĭ de |
| Can you help me | 你能帮助我吗 | |
| Where is the (bathroom/pharmacy) | （洗手间/药房）在哪里 | (Xǐshǒujiān/yào fáng) zaì nǎlǐ |
| Go straight! then turn left/ right! | 直往前走！左／右拐弯到 | Zhízǒu wǎngqián! Zuǒ/yóu guaǐwān dào |
| I'm looking for_____ | 我在找_____ | Wǒzaì zhǎo |
| One moment please! | 请等一下 | Qǐng děngyíxià |
| Hold on please! (phone) | 请稍后 | Qǐng shāohóu |
Hotels
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Do you have any rooms available | 你们有房间吗 | Nǐmen yǒu fángjiān ma |
| Does the room come with... | 房间有没有... | Fángjiān yǒu méiyǒu... |
| ...bedsheets | ...床单 | ..chuángdān |
| ...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 in | 我要入住 | Wǒ yào rùzhù |
| I want to check out | 我现在要走 | Wǒ xiànzài yào zǒu |
Eating
| English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 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.. |
| Yes, we have one | 有 | Yǒu |
| No, we don't | 没有 | Méi yǒu |
| I'm a vegetarian | 我吃素的 | wǒ chī sù de |
| It was delicious | 好吃极了 | hǎochī jí le |
| The check, please | 请结帐 | qǐng jiézhàng |
| Do you have a safe | 你们有没有保险箱 | Nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu bǎoxiǎn xiāng |
Numbers
| Arabic Numerals | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 零 | líng |
| 1 | 一 | yī |
| 2 | 二 | è |
| 3 | 三 | sān |
| 4 | 四 | sì |
| 5 | 五 | wǔ |
| 6 | 六 | liù |
| 7 | 七 | qī |
| 8 | 八 | bā |
| 9 | 九 | jiǔ |
| 10 | 十 | shí |
| 100 | 一百 | yī-bǎi |
| 1,000 | 一千 | yī-qiān |
| 10,000 | 一万 | yī-wàn |
| 100,000 | 十万 | 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 | yī-yì |
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