Whether you are traveling to China, hanging out with Chinese people, or going out on a date with a Chinese person, it`s necessary to know some essential basic Chinese phrases to help you survive. Knowing a few handy phrases will not only help you avoid social awkwardness, it will allow you to build great new connections with people, and even make your Chinese conversations more interesting. Even if you just need to travel around China, basic Chinese words can help you out in unfamiliar surroundings and perhaps even help you avoid some potential misunderstandings. Here we’d like to introduce basic Chinese words and phrases which you may need in your next Chinese language survival and social situation.
Basic Chinese Words and Phrases
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| Greetings | ||
| 你好! | nǐ hǎo ! | Hello |
| 早上好 | zǎo shàng hǎo | Good morning |
| 晚上好 | wǎn shàng hǎo | Good evening |
| 你好吗? | nǐ hǎo ma ? | How are you? |
| 我很好 | wǒ hěn hǎo | I’m fine |
| 你吃了吗? | nǐ chī le ma ? | Have you eaten? |
| 吃了 | chī le | I ate |
| 你呢 | nǐ ne | And you? |
| 欢迎 | huān yíng | Welcome |
| 很高兴见到你 | hěn gāo xìng jiàn dào nǐ | Pleased to meet you |
| Polite ways | ||
| 谢谢 | xiè xie | Thank you |
| 不客气 | bù kè qì | You are welcome |
| 请 | qǐng | Please |
| 请问 | qǐng wèn | Excuse me? |
| 抱歉 | bào qiàn | Sorry |
| 对不起 | duì bù qǐ | I’m sorry |
| 没关系 | méi guān xì | No problem |
| 不好意思 | bù hǎo yì si | Excuse me |
| 借过一下 | jiè guò yī xià | Please excuse me |
| Saying goodbye | ||
| 再见 | zài jiàn | Good bye |
| 晚安 | wǎn ān | Good night |
| 回头见 | huí tóu jiàn | See you later |
| 祝您有个美好的一天！ | zhù nín yǒu gè měi hǎo de yī tiān ！ | Have a nice day! |
| 周末愉快 | zhōu mò yú kuài | Have a nice weekend |
| 保持联系 | bǎo chí lián xì | Keep in touch |
| 一路顺风 | yí lù shùn fēng | Have a smooth and safe journey. |
| 慢走 | màn zǒu | Take care |
| What’s your name | ||
| 我叫[Name], 你呢？ | wǒ jiào [Name], nǐ ne ？ | My name is …. What about you? |
| 怎么称呼？ | zěn me chēng hū ？ | What is your name? |
| 请问您贵姓? | qǐng wèn nín guì xìng ? | May I have your family name? |
| Making yourself understood | ||
| 我不会说中文 | wǒ bù huì shuō zhōng wén | I don’t speak Chinese |
| 你会说英语吗？ | nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma ？ | Do you speak English? |
| 我会说一点中文 | wǒ huì shuō yī diǎn zhōng wén | I speak a little Chinese |
| 请说慢一点 | qǐng shuō màn yī diǎn | Please speak more slowly |
| 请写下来 | qǐng xiě xià lái | Please write it down |
| 请你再说一遍好吗？ | qǐng nǐ zài shuō yī biàn hǎo ma ？ | Could you please repeat that? |
| 我明白 | wǒ míng bái | I understand |
| 我不明白 | wǒ bù míng bái | I don’t understand |
| 我不知道 | wǒ bù zhī dào | I don’t know |
| 我知道 | wǒ zhī dào | I know |
| 什么意思？ | shén me yì si | What do you mean? |
| Things you might see | ||
| 入口 | rù kǒu | Entrance |
| 出口 | chū kǒu | Exit |
| 紧急出口 | jǐn jí chū kǒu | Emergency exit |
| 推 | tuī | Push |
| 拉 | lā | Pull |
| 厕所 | cè suǒ | Toilets |
| 空的 | kōng de | Vacant |
| 禁止吸烟 | jìn zhǐ xī yān | No smoking |
| 打折 | dǎ zhé | discount |
| 促销 | cù xiāo | promotion |
| 买一送一 | mǎi yī sòng yī | two for one |
| More useful basic Chinese phrases | ||
| 对 | duì | Yes |
| 不 | bù | no |
| 也许吧 | yě xǔ ba | maybe |
| 请问，厕所在哪里？ | qǐng wèn ， cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ ？ | Excuse me,where’s the toilet? |
| 多少？ | duō shǎo ？ | How much? |
| 太贵了 | tài guì le | Too expensive |
| 便宜点 | pián yi diǎn | Make it cheaper |
| 你是本地人吗？ | nǐ shì běn dì rén ma ？ | Are you a local? |
| 我从…来 | wǒ cóng … lái | I’m from … |
| 你经常来这吗 | nǐ jīng cháng lái zhè ma | Do you come here often? |
| 我会想念你的 | wǒ huì xiǎng niàn nǐ de | I will miss you |
| 我爱你 | wǒ ài nǐ | I love you |
| 别管我 | bié guǎn wǒ | Leave me alone! |
| 救命啊! | jiù mìng a | Help! |
| 停下 | tíng xià | Stop |
| 生日快乐 | shēng rì kuài lè | Happy Birthday |
| 恭喜 | gōng xǐ | Congratulations |
| 这个用中文怎么说 | zhè gè yòng zhōng wén zěn me shuō | How do you say this in Chinese? |
| 叫警察 | jiào jǐng chá | Call the police |
| 你做什么样的工作? | nǐ zuò shén me yàng de gōng zuò ? | What kind of work do you do? |
| 好搞笑 | hǎo gǎo xiào | That’s hilarious |
| 新春快乐 | xīn chūn kuài lè | Happy Chinese New Year |
| 等一下 | děng yī xià | Wait a moment |
| 结账，谢谢。 | jié zhàng ， xiè xie。 | The bill, please. Thank you. |
| 我要 | wǒ yào | I want… |
| 一瓶啤酒 | yī píng pí jiǔ | a beer |
| 一杯咖啡 | yī bēi kā fēi | a cup of coffee |
| 一瓶水 | yī píng shuǐ | a bottle of water |
I’m enjoying learning Mandarin as my 3rd language. Thank you for these awesome translations.
Wow 😲 these translations are awesome…xie xie
wǒ jiào Devon, nǐ ne ？
It’s to much helpful words ”
Xie xie
kou shui
didnt ask hoe
I like china
wo xi huan xue han yu
suo yi xie xie
Wǒ rènwéi tā bù huì shuō hányǔ
start to teach characters please
Wo ai zhongguo!!!!❤️❤️❤️ I love China I love you!
I like to know more basic Mandarin language
I don’t speak china do you know that I bet you do…
Xie xie
You will be friendship with me ,i learning chinese
a pleasant for me to learn new things like this language. xié xie
Can you send me Chinese language documents i really need it
Hi Biruk,
You can directly click the button to download on the post
i want to learn
i am learning chinese at yorkton sk
Chaina rocks
I want to learn simple Mandarin because a lot of Chinese are doing business in my area
Basic Mandarin words as explained was so amazing and very helpful. More Power to you!
I have enjoyed and would wish to learn more. xiexie laoshi. zai jian.
Hope I can see more translation! Xiexie man zou!
I am interested in learning
I find this really helpful, i’m confident that by June I’ll be speaking Chinese fluently, xie xie
wow this actually helpful wish others were like this its amazing xie xie!!!!!
yes you are right🥰谢谢!
I am learning it as my forth lol I love learning languages! *^*
A lot of people say Chinese is the hardest language to learn, but when you get to learn it for a while, it actually gets easier, and easier as you go!! I am learning this as my third language and it’s really hard, but pretty easy at the same time!!!!
Hi good morning.. I need your help. I hope you would help about translating english sentence to mandarin laguage.. This is our assignment from our online class.
How to introduce yourself in mandarin laguage?
Starting from, Name, age, address, course enrolled, previous school and motto: “better late than never”.
Pls help me.. Thank you. God Bless..
Good
ni hao wo dao bu ke qi Xie xie
I really want to engage in learning chinese language. So is there any instruction for me to follow.
xie xie
this is very help ful
Now I can see Chinese dramas without subtitles….. xie xie
Can you show both traditional & simplified forms ? Thanks
yī bēi kā fēi
Xie xie laoshi
I’ve really come to like Chinese language so much so am looking forward to knowing it….xie xie
I’m really enjoying this ohh my I need to just to pronounce the words correctly
I wish to speach chinese very well. xie xie
Xie Xie I love Chinese too
Awesome, thank you.
Ni hao
I’ve got that, Learning chinese language is much enough easy by pinning to start speaking with Chinese in business affairs. I’m enjoying of learning Chinese as my 3rd languages. So I’ll shift my business direction to China soon after learning essential levels.
Ni hao ma. Xie Xie.Good job for the one who prepare these Chinese notice of common phrases
wo ai feilubin wo ai zhongguo
Xia xia😊😊😊😛😛
ni hao chinese is nice
Chinese is gd to and easy to learn try it
I am very interested this chinese word’s very comfortable
Gong xi
xiè xie
I started having interest in chinese when i started their love movies.
Xie xie.
早上好 Good morning
This is amazing website that i ever seen
wo xihuan xue de hanyu suoyi wo zai xue. suoyi xixie ni de bangzhu, jixujiaoxue
This is informative!! I’m having a business trip to Taiwan in December, I’m gonna need this very much.
xie xie
Wǒ yě zàixué zhōngwén, xiàng nǐ zhèyàng de péngyǒu۔
Hi friends!
Nimen du hao ma.
I’m learning Chinese language like you
Nice