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Useful Chinese Phrases

We are collecting here some basic phrases which you may find useful when travelling through China. Feel free to print this page out and use it while communicating. Sometimes, it may be difficult to get the pronunciation of a particular phrase correct, and pointing at the Chinese characters can sometimes be a more effective way of getting your meaning across. We've marked in bold or italics some corresponding parts of each phrase in English, Pinyin and Chinese. For the most part, if you want to replace one of these segments in English, you simply replace the corresponding segment in Chinese as well with the right word from a dictionary, for example.

A key point to remember is to not be afraid of trying to say things. In most travelling situations, the person (ticket seller, hotel staff) you're talking to is only expecting to hear one of a handful of different words, and with this context, it's possible to mispronounce something fairly drastically and still be understood.

This phrasebook is under construction. If you'd like to know how to say something generally useful in Mandarin that's not listed here, please suggest it to us.

Basic Phrases (and Responses)
Hello níhăo 你好
How are you? [Good/Okay/Bad] níhăoma? [wŏ hén hăo/hái kéyĭ/wŏ bù hăo] 你好吗? [我很好/还可以/我不好]
Bye zàijiàn 再见
Thank you [You're welcome] xièxiè [búkèqi] 谢谢 [不客气]
Excuse me (sorry) [No Problem] duìbúqì [méiguānxì] 对不起 [没关系]
Excuse me (I have a question) qĭngwèn 请问
Where's the toilet? cèsuŏ zài nálĭ? 厕所在哪里?
How much? (money) duōshăo qián? 多少钱?
This zhèige 这个
That nèige 那个
Shall we go?/Let's go zŏuba? 走吧？
I don't understand (what you said) wŏ tīngbùdŏng 我听不懂
Can you speak English? nĭ huì jiăng yīngwén ma? 你会讲英文吗？
Please give me a pair of chopsticks. qĭng géi wŏ yī shuāng kuàizi 请给我一双筷子
Please give me two bottles of beer. qĭng géi wŏ liăng píng píjĭu 请给我两瓶啤酒

Basic Generic Responses
I don't want it (this, that, these, those) búyào 不要
Yes/I agree/I heard you èn (pronounced "uh or uhn", 4th tone) 嗯

Numbers
There are two forms of the number "two" (2) in Mandarin. The first one, èr (二), is used when reciting telephone numbers, counting from 1 to 10, and for the tens and digits places in large numbers like "two thousand two hundred twenty two". The other form, liăng (两), is used when counting anything (2 minutes, 2 yuan, 2 bottles of beer, 2 people), as well as the hundreds and greater places in large numbers in colloquial speech. 0 líng 〇 or 零
1 yī 一
2 (number) èr 二
2 (things) liăng 两
3 sān 三
4 sì 四
5 wŭ 五
6 lìu 六
7 qī 七
8 bā 八
9 jĭu 九
10 shí 十
11 shíyī 十一
12 shíèr 十二
13 shísān 十三
27 èrshíqī 二十七
100 yībăi 一百
101 yībăilíngyī 一百零一
110 yībăiyīshí 一百一十
114 yībăiyīshísì 一百一十四
1000 yīqiān 一千
2222 liăngqiānliăngbăièrshíèr 两千两百二十二

Internet
Internet Cafe wăngbā 网吧

Time
Now xiànzài 现在
Today jīntiān 今天
2:34 pm xìawŭliăngdiănsānshísì 下午两点三十四
11:00 am shàngwŭshíyīdiănzhōng 上午十一点钟
Tomorrow míngtiān 明天
Yesterday zuótiān 昨天
Day after tomorrow hòutiān 后天
Day before yesterday qiántiān 前天
3 days later (3 days from now) sāntiān yĭhòu 三天以后
2 months before (2 months ago) liăng gè yuè yĭqián 两个月以前
December shíèryuèfen 十二月份
November 28 shíyīyuèèrshíbā 十一月二十八
November 28 (generally when written) shíyīyuèèrshíbārì 11月28日
November 28 (optionally when spoken) shíyīyuèèrshíbāhào 十一月二十八号

Money
How much is this? zhèige duōshăo qián? 这个多少钱?
Cheapest (literally: most cheap) zuìpíanyíde 最便宜的
Get money (out of a bank account/using credit card) qŭqián 取钱

Toilets
Men/Women nán/nǚ 男/女
Toilet Paper wèishēngzhĭ 卫生纸

Transportation
I want to go to Kunming wŏ yào qù kūnmíng 我要去昆明
Train station huŏchē zhàn 火车站
Hard seat (train) yìngzuŏ 硬坐
Soft seat (train) ruănzuŏ 软坐
Hard sleeper (train) yìngwò 硬卧
Soft sleeper (train) ruănwò 软卧
Public Bus gonggongqiche 公共汽车
Taxi dishi 的士

Accommodation
Hotel fàndiàn/jĭudiàn/bīn'guăn 饭店/酒店/宾馆
Hostel kèzhàn/lǚguăn 客栈/旅馆
Single Room dānrénfáng 单人房
Double Room shuāngrénfáng 双人房
Dormitory Room duōrénfáng 多人房

Departures
Take care baozhong 保重
Safe Trip yilu ping'an 一路平安

You May Hear
Welcome! huānyíng guānglín 欢迎光临
Is the food okay? [Yes/No] hăochī ma? [hăochī/bùhăochī] 好吃吗？[好吃/不好吃]
Do you understand? (meaning) [Yes/No] míngbái ma? [míngbái/bùmíngbái] 明白吗? [明白/不明白]
Do you understand? (listening) [Yes/No] tīngdedŏngma? [tīngdedŏng/tīngbùdŏng] 听得懂吗? [听得懂/听不懂]
Foreigner lăowài 老外
Good friend hăopéngyŏu 好朋友
Smoke? [Thanks/I don't smoke] xī yān ma? [xièxiè/wŏbúxīyān] 吸烟吗? [谢谢/我不吸烟]

You May See
Entrance rùkŏu 入口
Exit chūkŏu 出口
Car (on a train) chē 车
Center (as in Shopping Center) zhōngxīn 中心
China zhōngguó 中国
Road lù 路
Street jiē 街