Survival Chinese Phrases

Have you ever thought about come to China but stopped by the language barrier? Did you have embarrassed experience in China when you both can’t get each others’ point? Some of you may even get into trouble when you misunderstand others meaning. In order to help you get rid of these kinds of problems, today I will introduce you some easy and basic survival Chinese phrases which will be very useful when you come to China.

Greetings & Goodbyes

ní hǎo
你好 (Hello)

ní hǎo ma?
你好吗? (How are you?)

dà jiā hǎo!
大家好！ (Hello everyone!)

xià cì zài yuē.
下次再约。 (I’ll see you next time. )

zài jiàn
再见 (Goodbye.)

Courtesy

xiè xie
谢谢 (Thanks.)

duì bu qǐ
对不起 (I'm sorry.)

Bú kè qi.
不客气 (You’re welcome. )

Méi guānxi.
没关系 (It doesn’t matter.)

Ordering

Wǒ yào yī bēi kāfēi。
我要一杯咖啡。
(I want a cup of coffee.)

Wǒ yào yī píng hóngjiǔ。
我要一瓶红酒。
(I want a bottle of red wine.)

Wǒ yào yī fèn niúpái.
我要一份牛排。
(I want a piece of steak.）

Wǒ yào yī fèn shālā.
我要一份沙拉。
(I want a piece of salad. )

Wǒ bú chī ròu.
我不吃肉。
(I don’t eat meat.)

Go Shopping

Duōshao qián?
多少钱?
How much is it?

Nǐmen dǎzhé ma?
你们打折吗？
(Do you have a discount? )

wǒ ké yǐ shì yí xià mɑ?
我可以试一下吗？
(Can I try it on? )

tài ɡuì le, nǐ nénɡ pián yi diár mɑ?
太贵了，你能便宜点儿吗？
(It is too expensive, can you give me a lower price?)

Taking a taxi

Wǒ qù...
我去......
(I go to ... )

Zuǒ guǎi
左拐
(Turn left)

Yòu guǎi
右拐
(Turn right)

yì zhí zǒu
一直走
(Go straight forward,please.)

tíng
停
(Stop.)

Ask for help

jiù mìnɡ!
救命!
(Help!)

dǎ rǎo yí xià,zhè ɡe dì fɑnɡ zài nǎ lǐ？
打扰一下，这个地方在哪里？
(Excuse me, where is this place?)

nǐ hǎo, qǐnɡ wèn cè suǒ zěn me zǒu ?
你好，请问厕所怎么走？
(nǐ hǎo, qǐnɡ wèn cè suǒ zěn me zǒu ?)

nǐ hǎo, nénɡ bānɡ wǒ dì xià ɡōnɡ jiāo kǎ mɑ？
你好，能帮我递下公交卡吗？
(Hello, could you please help me to pass my bus card?)

Measure word

1. gè 个: measure word for people, and common things, as in one person is ‘yí ge rén’, also you can add the nationality or gender.

For example:
yí ge Zhōngguó rén
一个中国人 (a Chinese).

liǎng ge Měiguó rén
两个美国人 (two Americans).

2. fèn 份: refers to one portion of food or multi-page documents.

3. bēi 杯/píng瓶 = cup, glass/ bottle
　yì bēi/píng shuǐ 一杯/瓶水 = 1 glass/bottle of water

4. zhāng 张：refers to flat thing that are made of wood. (pieceof ticket, paper, tables, chair, CDs)

5. shuāng 双: refers to things come in pairs (pair of chopsticks, pair of shoes, etc.)

6. kuài 块: is the basic unit for RMB.

OK, Here are all for today’s practical survival Chinese phrases. If you want to learn Chinese with native Chinese teachers, you can sign up and book a free trial lessonnow!