The Visitor's (and Beginner's) Guide to Survival Chinese: Greetings and the Basics

The Visitor's (and Beginner's) Guide to Survival Chinese in Beijing: Greetings and Basics

Margaux Schreurs | Aug 8, 2016 5:30 pm | Add a comment | 3417 reads

So you’re passing through Beijing. Or you’ve finally decided to crawl out of your cave and get in touch with the exciting linguistic world around you, good on you! These are some of the phrases we recommend you learn to make it easier to greet people and thank them, or to let them know your level of Chinese.

Come back every "Mandarin" Monday for more useful phrases related to travel, eating, health, and getting around the city.

The Basics

English	Mandarin	Pinyin
Hello	你好	Nǐ hǎo
Hello (more polite)	您好	Nǐn hǎo
How are you?	你好吗?	Nǐ hǎo ma?
I'm fine, and you?	我很好，你呢？	Wǒ hěn hǎo, nǐ ne?
Thank you	谢谢	Xièxiè
You're welcome	不客气	Bù kèqì
I'm sorry	对不起	Duìbùqǐ
See you later	再见	Zàijiàn
Good Morning	早上好	Zǎoshang hǎo
Good Evening	晚上好	Wǎnshàng hǎo
Can you speak English?	你会说英语吗？	Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma?
I'm sorry, I can't speak Chinese	对不起，我不会说中文	Duìbùqǐ, wǒ bù huì shuō zhōngwén
I am learning Chinese	我正在学习中文	Wǒ zhèngzài xuéxí zhōngwén
Have a safe journey!	一路平安	Yīlù píng'ān
I love China！	我爱中国	Wǒ ài zhōngguó

Easy as 1, 2, 3 ...

Number	Mandarin	Pinyin
1	一	Yī
2	二	Èr
3	三	Sān
4	四	Sì
5	五	Wǔ
6	六	Liù
7	七	Qī
8	八	Bā
9	九	Jiǔ
10	十	Shí
11	十一	Shíyī
12	十二	Shí'èr
13, 14, 15 ...	十三，十四，十五	Shísān, Shísì, Shíwǔ
20, 30, 40 ...	二十，三十，四十	Èrshí, Sānshí, Sìshí
100	一百	Yībǎi
1,000	一千	Yīqiān
10,000	一万	Yīwàn