Are you looking to expand your Mandarin Chinese vocabulary? This comprehensive list of 30 essential Chinese phrases covers everything from everyday greetings and questions to shopping and travel. Whether you’re a beginner or looking to brush up on your skills, these practical phrases will help you communicate confidently in various situations.
Learn how to ask for directions, order food, and make new friends with ease. This guide includes both simplified and traditional Chinese characters, along with Pinyin romanization for pronunciation. Perfect for language learners of all levels!
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Greetings and Farewells
- Good morning! 早上好! / zǎoshang hǎo!
- Good afternoon! 下午好! / xiàwǔ hǎo!
- Good evening! 晚上好! / wǎnshàng hǎo!
- Goodbye! 再見! / zàijiàn!
- Good night! 晚安! / wǎn’ān!
- Thank you. 謝謝你。 / xièxiè nǐ.
- You’re welcome. 不客氣。 / bù kèqi.
Questions and Answers
- How are you? 你好嗎? / nǐ hǎo ma?
- I’m fine, thank you. 我很好,謝謝。 / wǒ hěn hǎo, xièxiè.
- What’s your name? 你叫什麼名字? / nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
- My name is… 我叫…。 / wǒ jiào… .
- Where are you from? 你是哪裡人? / nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?
- I’m from… 我是…人。 / wǒ shì… rén.
- Can you speak Chinese? 你會說中文嗎? / nǐ huì shuō Zhōngwén ma?
- A little. 一點點。 / yīdiǎn diǎn.
Everyday Life
- What do you like to eat? 你喜歡吃什麼? / nǐ xǐhuan chī shénme?
- I like to eat… 我喜歡吃…。 / wǒ xǐhuan chī… .
- What do you like to drink? 你喜歡喝什麼? / nǐ xǐhuan hē shénme?
- I like to drink… 我喜歡喝…。 / wǒ xǐhuan hē… .
- Where are you going today? 你今天要去哪裡? / nǐ jīntiān yào qù nǎlǐ?
- I’m going to… 我要去…。 / wǒ yào qù… .
- How do you say this? 這個怎麼說? / zhège zěnme shuō?
Transportation
- How can I get to the station? 怎麼去車站? / zěnme qù zhànchē?
- Take the bus. 搭公車去。 / dā gōngchē qù.
- Take the subway. 搭捷運去。 / dā dièyùn qù.
- Take a taxi. 坐計程車去。 / zuò jìchéngchē qù.
Shopping
- How much is this? 這個多少錢? / zhège duōshǎo qián?
- It’s too expensive. 太貴了。 / tài guì le.
- Can you give me a discount? 可以便宜一點嗎? / kěyǐ piányi yīdiǎn ma?
- I’ll take this. 我要這個。 / wǒ yào zhège.