Chinese phrasebook

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Chinese is the official language of China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. 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 they are not related to Chinese. Also the unrelated Vietnamese language has borrowed many words from Chinese.

Although the Chinese consider that they only have a single language, there are major regional dialectal differences that would be considered to be separate languages in other parts of the world. In many cases the regional dialects are not clearly regionalised but vary gradually across a region. Thus linguists can identify anywhere between seven and seventeen separate Chinese languages where the speakers of different dialects are mutually unintelligible.

Putonghua (普通话), commonly known in English as Mandarin, is considered the official dialect and is covered by this phrasebook. Putonghua is based on, but not identical to, the Chinese spoken in and around Beijing. However, the Cantonese dialect, for example, is widely spoken, especially in the former British colony of Hong Kong and by the ethnic minorities in other countries. While formally written Mandarin can be read by speakers of both dialects, the spoken languages are, for most purposes, mutually unintelligible and will require translation. Mandarin Chinese is now being uniformly taught in the schools of China.

Contents 1 Pronunciation guide 1.1 Vowels 1.2 Consonants 1.3 Exceptions 1.4 Tones 2 Phrase list 2.1 Basics 2.2 Problems 2.3 Numbers 2.4 Time 2.4.1 Clock time 2.4.2 Duration 2.4.3 Days 2.4.4 Months 2.4.5 Writing Time and Date 2.5 Colors 2.6 Transportation 2.6.1 Bus and Train 2.6.2 Directions 2.6.3 Taxi 2.7 Lodging 2.8 Money 2.9 Eating 2.10 Bars 2.11 Shopping 2.12 Driving 2.13 Authority 3 Learning more

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 and xu

ü 

as in French lune

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

x 

as in sheep

y 

as in yet

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-

Tones

There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation.

first tone ( ā ) 

flat, high pitch

second tone ( á ) 

low to middle, rising

third tone ( ǎ ) 

middle to low to high, dipping

fourth tone ( à ) 

high to low, falling

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

Template:Infobox

Hello. 

你好。 Nǐ hǎo.

How are you? 

你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? 身体好吗? Shentǐ hǎo ma?

Fine, thank you. 

很好, 谢谢。 Hěn hǎo, xièxiè.

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。 xìexie.

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, Má fán 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 hùi shūo hànyǔ.

Do you speak English? 

你会说英语吗？ Nǐ hùi shūo yīngyǔ ma?

Is there someone here who speaks English? 

这里有人会说英语吗？ Zhèli 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 bu dǒng.

Where is the toilet? 

厕所在哪里？ Cèsǔo 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! 

停止！小偷！ (tíngzhǐ! 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 yùe.

January 

一月, yÄ« yùe

February 

二月, èr yùe

March 

三月, sān yùe

April 

四月, sì yùe

May 

五月, wŭ yùe

June 

六月, liù yùe

July 

七月, qÄ« yùe

August 

八月, bā yùe

September 

九月, jiŭ yùe

October 

十月, shí yùe

November 

十一月, shí yÄ« yùe

December 

十二月, shí èr yùe

Tips: From January to December, you just need to use this pattern: number (1-12) + yùe

Writing Time and Date

Colors

black 

黑色 hei se

white 

白色 bai se

gray 

灰色 hui se

red 

红色 hong se

blue 

蓝色 lan se

yellow 

黄色 huang se

green 

绿色 lǜ sè

orange 

橙色 cheng se

purple 

紫色 zi se

brown 

褐色 he se, 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: Se4 means 'color', therefore, 'hong2 se4' is 'red color'(literally).

Transportation

Bus and Train

How much is a ticket to _____? 

去______的票多少钱 qu _____ de piao duoshao qian?

Directions

How do I get to _____ ? 

怎么去_____ zenme qu _____?

...the train station? 

...火车站? ...huoche zhan?

...the bus station? 

...汽车总站? ...qiche zongzhan?

...the airport? 

...机场? ...jichang?

street 

街　jie

Turn left. 

左边转弯 zuobian zhuanwan

Turn right. 

右边转弯 youbian zhuanwan

left 

左边 zuobian

right 

右边 youbian

straight ahead 

往前走 wangqianzou

north 

北 bĕi

south 

南 nán

east 

东 dōng

west 

西 xī

Taxi

Taxi! 

Taxi! (...) (literally) 出主德士! chuzu de shi!

Take me to _____, please. 

请开到_____。 qing kaidao _____。

Lodging

Do you have any rooms available? 

你們有房間嗎？ nimen you fangjian ma?

Does the room come with... 

有沒有... you meiyou...

...bedsheets? 

...床單？ ...chuangdan?

...a bathroom? 

...浴室？ ...yushi?

...a telephone? 

...電話？ ...dianhua?

...a TV? 

...電視？ ...dianshi?

I will stay for _____ night(s). 

我打算住_____夜。 Wo dasuan zhu _____ ye.

Do you have a safe? 

你們有沒有保險箱？ Nimen you mei you baoxian xiang?

Can you wake me at _____? 

請明天早上_____叫醒我。 Qing mingtian zaoshang _____ jiaoxing wo.

I want to check out. 

我現在要走。 Wo xianzai yao zou.

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 chÄ« 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 zhÄ« juice

water 

æ°´ shuÄ­

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。 (hǎochÄ« jí le)

The check, please. 

請結帳。 (qǐng jiézhàng)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol? 

有沒有賣酒？ (yǒu méiyǒu mài jiǔ?)

Is there table service? 

有沒有餐桌服務？ (yǒu méiyǒu cānzhuō fúwù?)

A beer/two beers, please. 

請給我一杯/兩杯啤酒。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìbēi/liǎngbēi píjiǔ)

A glass of red/white wine, please. 

請給我一杯紅/白葡萄酒。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìbēi hóng/bái pútáojiǔ)

A pint, please. 

請給我一品脫。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpǐntuō)

A bottle, please. 

請給我一瓶。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpíng)

_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please. 

請給我_____和_____。 (qǐng gěi wǒ _____ hé _____)

whiskey 

威士忌 (wēishìjì)

vodka 

伏特加 (fútèjiā)

rum 

蘭姆酒 (lánmǔjiǔ)

water 

水 (shuǐ)

club soda 

蘇打水 (sūdǎshuǐ)

tonic water 

通寧水 (tōngníngshuǐ)

orange juice 

柳橙汁 (liǔchéngzhī)

Coke (soda) 

可樂 (kělè)

Do you have any bar snacks? 

有沒有吧臺點心？ (yǒu méiyǒu bātái diǎnxīn?)

One more, please. 

請再給我一個。 (qǐng zài gěi wǒ yígè)

Another round, please. 

請再來一輪。 (qǐng zàilái yìlún)

When is closing time? 

幾點打烊？ (jǐdiǎn dǎyáng?)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size? 

有沒有我的尺寸？ (yǒu méiyǒu wǒde chǐcùn?)

How much is this? 

這個多少錢？ (zhège duōshǎo qián?)

That's too expensive. 

太貴了。 (tài gùi le)

Would you take _____? 

_____元可以嗎？ (_____ yuán kěyǐ ma?)

expensive 

貴 (gùi)

cheap 

便宜 (piányí)

I can't afford it. 

我帶的錢不夠。 (wǒ dài de qián búgòu)

I don't want it. 

我不想要。 (wǒ bùxiǎng yào)

You're cheating me. 

你欺騙我。 (nǐ qīpiàn wǒ) Use with caution!

I'm not interested. 

我沒有興趣。 (wǒ méiyǒu xìngqù)

OK, I'll take it. 

我要買這個。 (wǒ yào mǎi zhège)

Can I have a bag? 

請給我袋子。 (qǐng gěi wǒ dàizǐ)

Do you ship (overseas)? 

可以郵寄到海外嗎？ (kěyǐ yóujì dào hǎiwài ma?)

I need... 

我要_____ (wǒ yào _____)

...toothpaste. 

牙膏 (yágāo)

...a toothbrush. 

牙刷 (yáshuā)

...tampons. 

衛生棉條 (wèishēng miántiáo)

...soap. 

香皂 (xiāngzào)

...shampoo. 

洗髮精 (xǐfǎjīng)

...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen) 

鎮痛劑 (zhèntòngjì)

...cold medicine. 

感冒藥 (gǎnmòuyào)

...stomach medicine. 

胃腸藥 (wèichángyào)

...a razor. 

剃刀 (tìdāo)

...an umbrella. 

傘 (sǎn)

...sunblock lotion. 

防曬油 (fángshàiyóu)

...a postcard. 

明信片 (míngxìnpiàn)

...postage stamps. 

郵票 (yóupiào)

...batteries. 

電池 (diànchí)

...writing paper. 

紙 (zhǐ)

...a pen. 

筆 (bǐ)

...English-language books. 

英文書 (yīngwén shū)

...English-language magazines. 

英文雜誌 (yīngwén zázhì)

...an English-language newspaper. 

英文報紙 (yīngwén bàozhǐ)

...a Chinese-English dictionary. 

漢英字典 (hànyīng zìdiǎn)

...an English-Chinese dictionary. 

英漢字典 (yīnghàn zìdiǎn)

Driving

I want to rent a car. 

我想要租車。 (wǒ xiǎngyào zūchē)

Can I get insurance? 

我可以買保險嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ mǎi bǎoxiǎn ma?)

stop (on a street sign) 

停 (tíng)

one way 

單行道 (dānxíngdào)

yield 

讓路 (rànglù)

no parking 

禁止停車 (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. 

我沒有做錯事。 (wǒ méiyǒu zuòcuò shì)

It was a misunderstanding. 

這是誤會。 (zhè shì wùhuì)

Where are you taking me? 

你帶我去哪裡？ (nǐ dài wǒ qù nǎlǐ?)

Am I under arrest? 

我被捕了嗎？ (wǒ bèibǔle ma?)

I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen. 

我是 美國/澳洲/英國/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 美國/澳洲/英國/加拿大 的 大使館/領事館 聯繫。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà de dàshǐguǎn/lǐngshìguǎn liánxì)

I want to talk to a lawyer. 

我希望跟律師聯繫。 (wǒ xÄ«wàng gēn lǜshÄ« liánxì)

Can I just pay a fine now? 

我可以只付罰款嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ zhǐ fù fákuǎn ma?)

Learning more

• Zhongwen.com: Chinese to English dictionary and other resources presented in English; searchable by English meanings; Chinese text displayed as graphics (i.e. does not require any Chinese font).
• mandarin123.com: Practice Chinese vocabularies with flash card, match game and mini-quizzes.
• Chinese-tools.com: Learn Chinese Online, Free Mandarin lessons + many tools and dictionaries.
• China West Exchange: Free Cantonese and Mandarin lessons and a discussion board.
• Chinese to English Dictionary: searchable by English meanings; Chinese text in Big5 code (i.e. requires Chinese font).
• Chinese Linguistics: Sites on Chinese linguistics (in English).
• Chinese Characters Dictionary: supports Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Hakka etc.
• Marjorie Chan's ChinaLinks: A large collection of Web resources by a professor of linguistics at Ohio State University

WikiPedia:Chinese language