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 (???), 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.

Pronunciation guide

The pronunciation guide below uses Hanyu pinyin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin), the official romanization of the People's Republic of China. Until recently, Taiwan used the Wade-Giles (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade-Giles) system, which is quite different, but has recently officially switched to Tongyong pinyin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/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 ??? Tian'anmen is pronounced "Tien'anmen"
wu-: as u-, so ?? wubai is pronounced "ubai"
yi-: as i-, so ?? yige is pronounced "ige"
yü-: as ü-, so ?? Yuyuan is pronounced "ü-üan"

Tones

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

1. first tone ( ? ): 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 ( ? ): 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

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:

To be or not to be: ? shì, ?? bú shì
To have or not have / there is or is not: ? y?u, ?? méi y?u
To be right or wrong: ? duì, ?? bú duì

Hello.: ??? N? h?o.
How are you?: ???? N? h?o ma? ????? Shen1t? h?o ma?
Fine, thank you.: ??, ??? H?n h?o, xièxie.
What is your (first) name?: ??????? N? jiào shénme míngzi?
My name is ______ .: ?? _____ ? W? jiào ______ .
Nice to meet you.: ??????? H?n g?oxìng rènshì n?.
Please.: ?? Q?ng.
Thank you.: ??? xièxie.
You're welcome.: ???? Bú kèqi.
Excuse me. (getting attention): ?? q?ng wèn
Excuse me. (begging pardon): ????? D?r?o yixià ; ?????, Máfan n? le.
I'm sorry.: ???? Duìbùq?.
Goodbye: ??? Zàijiàn
Goodbye (informal): ??? Bai-bai (Byebye)
I can't speak Chinese.: ??????? W? bú hui4 sh?o hàny?.
Do you speak English?: ??????? N? hui4 sh?o y?ngy? ma?
Is there someone here who speaks English?: ?????????? Zhèli3 y?u rén hùi sh?o Y?ngy? ma?
Help! (in emergencies): ?? jìu mìng!
Good morning.: ??? Z?o ?n.
Good evening.: ???? W?nshàng h?o.
Good night.: ??? W?n ?n.
I don't understand.: ????? W? t?ng bu4 d?ng.
Where is the toilet?: ?????? Cèsuo3 zài n?li?

Problems

Leave me alone.: ?????? (búyào d?r?o w?)
Don't touch me!: ????? (búyào pèng w?!)
I'll call the police.: ??????? (w? yào jiào j?ngchá le)
Police!: ??? (j?ngchá!)
Stop! Thief!: ?????? (zhùsh?u! xi?ot?u!)
I need your help.: ???????? (w? x?yào n?de b?ngzhù)
It's an emergency.: ??????? (zhèshì j?njí qíngkuàng)
I'm lost.: ????? (w? mílù le)
I lost my bag.: ??????? (w? di?le sh?utíb?o)
I lost my wallet.: ?????? (w? di?le qiánb?o)
I'm sick.: ????? (w? sh?ngbìng le)
I've been injured.: ????? (w? shòush?ng le)
I need a doctor.: ?????? (w? x?yào y?sh?ng)
Can I use your phone?: ????????? (w? k?y? d? 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 ?, ?: líng
1 ?: y?
2 ?: èr
3 ?: s?n
4 ?: sì
5 ?: w?
6 ?: lìu
7 ?: q?
8 ?: b?
9 ?: j?u
10 ?: shí
11 ??: shí-y?
12 ??: shí-èr
13 ??: shí-s?n
14 ??: shí-sì
15 ??: shí-w?
16 ??: shí-lìu
17 ??: shí-q?
18 ??: shí-b?
19 ??: shí-j?u
20 ??: èr-shí
21 ???: èr-shí-y?
22 ???: èr-shí-èr
23 ???: èr-shí-s?n
30 ??: s?n-shí
40 ??: sì-shí
50 ??: w?-shí
60 ??: lìu-shí
70 ??: q?-shí
80 ??: b?-shí
90 ??: j?u-shí

For numbers above 100, any "gaps" must be filled in with ? líng, as eg. ??? y?b?iy? would otherwise be taken as shorthand for "110". A single unit of tens may be written and pronounced either ?? y?shí or just ? shí.

100 ??: y?-b?i
101 ????: y?-b?i-líng-y?
110 ????: y?-b?i-y?-shí
111 ?????: y?-b?i-y?-shí-y?
200 ??: èr-b?i
300 ??: s?n-b?i
500 ??: w?-b?i
1000 ??: y?-qi?n
2000 ??: èr-qi?n

Numbers above 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits, starting with ? wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred tenthousands" (???).

10,000 ??: y?-wàn
10,001 ????: y?-wàn-líng-y?
10,002 ????: y?-wàn-líng-èr
20,000 ??: èr-wàn
50,000 ??: w?-wàn
100,000 ??: shí-wàn
200,0000 ???: èr-shí-wàn
1,000,000 ???: y?-b?i-wàn
100,000,000 ??: 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 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/measure_word) for more details.)
half: ? bàn (...)
less: ?? shao3yu1 (...)
more: ?? duo1yu1 (...)

Time

now: ?? xiànzài
later: ??? y?hòu or sh?ohòu
before: ??, y?qián
morning: ??, z?oshàng
afternoon: ??, xiàw?
night: ??, w?nshàng

Clock time

What time is it?: ????? Xiànzài j? di?n?
It is nine in the morning.: ??9??? Z?oshàng j?u di?n zh?ng.
Three-thirty PM.: ??3??. Xiàw? s?n di?n bàn.

Duration

_____ minute(s): _____ ?? f?nzh?ng
_____ hour(s): _____ ?? xi?oshí
_____ day(s): _____ ? ti?n
_____ week(s): _____ ?? x?ngq?
_____ month(s): _____ ? yùe
_____ year(s): _____ ? nián

Days

today: ?? j?nti?n
yesterday: ?? zuóti?n
tomorrow: ?? míngti?n

this week: ???? zhège x?ngq?
last week: ???? shàngge x?ngq?
next week: ???? xiàge x?ngq?

Weekdays in Chinese are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after ?? x?ngq?.

Sunday: ??? x?ngq?ti?n or xing1 qi1 ri4 or xing1 qi1 qi1
Monday: ??? x?ngq?y?
Tuesday: ??? x?ngq?èr
Wednesday: ??? x?ngq?s?n
Thursday: ??? x?ngq?sì
Friday: ??? x?ngq?w?
Saturday: ??? x?ngq?lìu

Months

Months in Chinese are also easy: starting with 1 for January, just add the number after ? yuè.

January: ??, y? yuè
February: ??, èr yuè
March: ??, s?n yuè
April: ??, sì yuè
May: ??, w? yuè
June: ??, liù yuè
July: ??, q? yuè
August: ??, b? yuè
September: ??, ji? yuè
October: ??, shí yuè
November: ???, shí y? yuè
December: ???, 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: ?? h?i sè
white: ?? bái sè
gray: ?? hu? sè
red: ?? hóng sè
blue: ?? lán sè
yellow: ?? huáng sè
green: ?? l? sè
orange: ?? chéng sè
purple: ?? z? sè
brown: ?? he sè, ?? z?ng sè,
Do you have it in another color?: ?????????? n?men y?u méiy?u lìngwài yánsè ?

Tips: sè means 'color', therefore, 'hóng sè' is 'red color'(literally). More common for brown and easier to remmember is 'coffee color': ??? k? f?i sè

Transportation

Bus and Train

How much is a ticket to _____?: ?______????? qù _____ de piào du? sh?o qián?
Do you go to... (the central station)?: ???... (???) qù bù qù... (hu? ch? zhàn)

Directions

How do I get to _____ ?: ???_____ z?nme qù _____?
...the train station?: ...???? ...hu?ch? zhàn?
...the bus station?: ...????? ...qìch? z?ngzhàn?
...the airport?: ...???? ...f?ij? ch?ng?

street: ? ji?; ? lù
Turn left.: ???? zu?bi?n zhu?nw?n
Turn right.: ???? yòubi?n zhu?nw?n
left: ?? zu?bi?n
right: ?? yòubi?n
straight ahead: ??? w?ngqián z?u
north: ? b?i
south: ? nán
east: ? d?ng
west: ? x?

Taxi

Taxi ??? ch? z? ch?
Take me to _____, please.: ???_____? q?ng k?idào _____?

Lodging

Common signs

??: Entrance
??: Exit
?: Push
?: Pull
?? / ???: Toilet
?: Men
?: Women
??: Forbidden
??: Smoking

Do you have any rooms available?: ??????? N?men y?u fángji?n ma?
Does the room come with...: ???... Y?u méiy?u...
...bedsheets?: ...??? ...chuángd?n?
...a bathroom?: ...??? ...yùshì?
...a telephone?: ...??? ...diànhuà?
...a TV?: ...??? ...diànshì ?
I will stay for _____ night(s).: ????_____?? W? d?suàn zhù _____ yè.
Do you have a safe?: ????????? N?men y?u méiy?u b?oxi?n xi?ng?
Can you wake me at _____?: ?????_____???? Q?ng míngti?n z?oshang _____ jiàox?ng w?.
I want to check out.: ?????? W? xiànzài yào z?u.

Money

pay: ? fù
cash: ?? xiàn qián
cr card: ??? xìn yòng k?

Eating

Can I look at the menu, please?: ??????? q?ng g?i w? kànkan càid?n?
I'm a vegetarian: ???? w? ch? sù de
breakfast: ?? z?ofàn
lunch: ?? w?fàn or zh?ngfàn
supper: ?? w?nfàn
beef: ?? niúròu
pork: ?? zh?ròu
mutton: ?? yángròu
chicken: ? j?
fish: ? yú
cheese: ?? n?ilào
eggs: ?? j?dàn
bread: ?? miànb?o
noodles: ?? miàntiáo
fried rice: ?? ch?ofàn
dumpling: ?? ji?ozi
rice: ?? m?fàn
coffee: ?? k?f?i; black coffee: ??? h?i k?f?i
milk: ?? niún?i
sugar: ? táng
tea (drink): ? cha
green tea: ?? l? chá
scented tea: ?? hu?chá
black tea: ?? hóngchá
juice: ?? shu?gu? fruit; ? zh? juice
water: ? shu?
natural mineral water: ??? kuàngquán shu?
beer: ?? píji?
red/white wine: ?/? ?? ? hóng/bái p?táo ji?
It was delicious.: ????? (h?och? jí le)
The check, please.: ???? (q?ng jiézhàng)

Bars

Do you serve alcohol?: ?????? (y?u méiy?u mài ji??)
Is there table service?: ???????? (y?u méiy?u c?nzhu? fúwù?)
A beer/two beers, please.: ?????/????? (q?ng g?i w? yìb?i/li?ngb?i píji?)
A glass of red/white wine, please.: ??????/????? (q?ng g?i w? yìb?i hóng/bái pútáoji?)
A pint, please.: ??????? (q?ng g?i w? yìp?ntu?)
A bottle, please.: ?????? (q?ng g?i w? yìpíng)
_____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.: ???_____?_____? (q?ng g?i w? _____ hé _____)
whiskey: ??? (w?ishìjì)
vodka: ??? (fútèji?)
rum: ??? (lánm?ji?)
water: ? (shu?)
club soda: ??? (s?d?shu?)
tonic water: ??? (t?ngníngshu?)
orange juice: ??? (li?chéngzh?)
Coke (soda): ?? (k?lè)
Do you have any bar snacks?: ???????? (y?u méiy?u b?tái di?nx?n?)
One more, please.: ??????? (q?ng zài g?i w? yígè)
Another round, please.: ?????? (q?ng zàilái yìlún)
When is closing time?: ????? (j?di?n d?yáng?)
Where is the toilet?: ????? (cèsu? zài nàli?)

Shopping

Do you have this in my size?: ???????? (y?u méiy?u w?de ch?cùn?)
How much is this?: ?????? (zhège du?sh?o qián?)
That's too expensive.: ???? (tài gùi le)
Would you take _____?: _____????? (_____ yuán k?y? ma?)
expensive: ? (gùi)
cheap: ?? (piányí)
I can't afford it.: ??????? (w? dài de qián búgòu)
I don't want it.: ????? (w? bùxi?ng yào)
You're cheating me.: ????? (n? q?piàn w?) Use with caution!
I'm not interested.: ?????? (w? méiy?u xìngqù)
OK, I'll take it.: ?????? (w? yào m?i zhège)
Can I have a bag?: ?????? (q?ng g?i w? dàiz?)
Do you ship (overseas)?: ????????? (k?y? yóujì dào h?iwài ma?)
I need...: ??_____ (w? yào _____)
...toothpaste.: ?? (yág?o)
...a toothbrush.: ?? (yáshu?)
...tampons.: ???? (wèish?ng miántiáo)
...soap.: ?? (xi?ngzào)
...shampoo.: ??? (x?f?j?ng)
...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen): ??? (zhèntòngjì)
...cold medicine.: ??? (g?nmòuyào)
...stomach medicine.: ??? (wèichángyào)
...a razor.: ?? (tìd?o)
...an umbrella.: ?? (yu3s?n)
...sunblock lotion.: ??? (fángshàiyóu)
...a postcard.: ??? (míngxìnpiàn)
...postage stamps.: ?? (yóupiào)
...batteries.: ?? (diànchí)
...writing paper.: ? (zh?)
...a pen.: ? (b?)
...English-language books.: ??? (y?ngwén sh?)
...English-language magazines.: ???? (y?ngwén zázhì)
...an English-language newspaper.: ???? (y?ngwén bàozh?)
...a Chinese-English dictionary.: ???? (hàny?ng zìdi?n)
...an English-Chinese dictionary.: ???? (y?nghàn zìdi?n)

Driving

I want to rent a car.: ?????? (w? xi?ngyào z?ch?)
Can I get insurance?: ???????? (w? k?y? m?i b?oxi?n ma?)
stop (on a street sign): ? (tíng)
one way: ??? (d?nxíngdào)
yield: ?? (rànglù)
no parking: ???? (jìnzh? tíngch?)
speed limit: ???? (sùdù xiànzhì)
gas (petrol) station: ??? (ji?yóuzhàn)
petrol: ?? (qìyóu)
diesel: ?? (cháiyóu)

Authority

I haven't done anything wrong.: ??????? (w? méiy?u zuòcuò shì)
It was a misunderstanding.: ????? (zhè shì wùhuì)
Where are you taking me?: ??????? (n? dài w? qù n?l??)
Am I under arrest?: ?????? (w? bèib?le ma?)
I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.: ?? ??/??/??/??? ??? (w? shì m?iguó/àozh?u/y?ngguó/ji?nádà g?ngmín)
I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.: ???? ??/??/??/??? ? ???/??? ??? (w? x?wàng g?n m?iguó/àozh?u/y?ngguó/ji?nádà de dàsh?gu?n/l?ngshìgu?n liánxì)
I want to talk to a lawyer.: ????????? (w? x?wàng g?n l?sh? liánxì)
Can I just pay a fine now?: ????????? (w? k?y? zh? fù fáku?n ma?)

Telephone & Internet

Telephone & Internet

In most Chinese cities telephone booths don't exist. Instead, small street shops have telephones which can usually be used for national calls and cost around 0.6RMB for a city-call. Look for signs like

???? Public Telephone

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:

?? Internet Cafe

Can I make international calls here?: ????????? (k?y? d? guójì diànhuà ma?)
How much is it to America/Australia/Britain/Canada?: ? ??/??/??/??? ????? (dào m?iguó/àozh?u/y?ngguó/ji?nádà shì du?sh?o qián?)
Where can I find an Internet cafe?: ?????? (n?l? y?u w?ng ba?)
How much is it per hour?: ???????? (y? xi?oshí shì du?sh?o qián?)

Learning more

Although Chinese is the most spoken language of the world, before English and Spanish, there are still very few learners of Chinese in the Western world and you might get weird looks by other people if you say, you want to start learning. So here 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...!"

Advise: 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.

Learning sites

mandarin123.com (http://mandarin123.com/vocabulary.html): Practice Chinese vocabularies with flash card, match game and mini-quizzes.
Chinese-tools.com (http://www.chinese-tools.com/): Learn Chinese Online, Free Mandarin lessons + many tools and dictionaries.
Audio Chinese phrasebook (http://www.zapchinese.com): phrasebook and audio vocabulary
China West Exchange (http://www.chinawestexchange.com/): Free Cantonese and Mandarin lessons and a discussion board.
China West Friends (http://friends.chinawestexchange.com/) : Find language-exchange friends
Mandarin Tools (http://www.mandarintools.com/) : Many PC Tools for learning Chinese

Dictionaries

Mandarin Tools (http://www.mandarintools.com/cgi-bin/wordlook.pl/) Dictionary with Trad., Simp., Pinyin, Pronounciation audio clips. Chinese can be text displayed or with graphics.
Zhongwen.com (http://www.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).
Chinese to English Dictionary (http://humanum.arts.cuhk.edu.hk/Lexis/Lindict/): searchable by English meanings; Chinese text in Big5 code (i.e. requires Chinese font).
Chinese Characters Dictionary (http://www.chineselanguage.org/CCDICT/index.html): supports Japanese, Korean, Cantonese, Hakka etc.

Others

Marjorie Chan's ChinaLinks (http://deall.ohio-state.edu/chan.9/c-links.htm): A large collection of Web resources by a professor of linguistics at Ohio State University

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