China Travel Tips

Chinese Language

Learn some simple Chinese words and expressions to help when you travel in China.

The official language of the People’s Republic of China is Mandarin or putonghua, roughly the form of the language spoken in Beijing. Natives in Shanghai, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Suzhou, Hangzhou, etc speak their local dialects, which are difficult for even Mandarin speakers to understand. Regardless of dialect, Chinese speakers share a written language in common, consisting of Chinese characters, of which about 5,000 are in common daily use.

The sound of each character as spoken in the standard (Mandarin) dialect has been rendered into a Romanized system called pinyin, which employs letters from the alphabet to mimic the sounds and carry the meaning of Chinese words. Pronouncing pinyin has its own nuances and complications. Among the biggest stumbling blocks are the following consonants (accompanied by approximate English equivalents).


c　 　 like ts in the word ‘its’
g　 　 hard g as in ‘give’
h　 　 like ch in Scottish ‘loch’
j　 　  like j in ‘jeer’
q　 　 similar to ch in ‘cheer’
x　 　 like sh in ‘ship’
z　 　 like ds in ‘kids’
zh　　 like j in ‘jug’

Some useful words

Hello　　　　   ni hao
Goodby　　　  zai jian
Thanks　　　  xie xie
Sorry　　　　   dui bu qi
Wrong　　　　bu dui
Today　　　　 jin tian
Tomorrow　　 ming tian
Airport　　　　 ji chang
Hotel　　　　  bin guan
Taxi　　　　     di shi
Ok　　　　　   Ok
Passport　　   hu zhao
Visa　　　　   qian zheng

I don’t understand　　   wo bu dong
How much is this?　　  duo shao qian?
Too expensive 　　　　 tai gui le
Cheaper?　　　　　　  pian yi dian?
Too big/Too small　　    tai da/tai xiao
I don’t want it　　　　　 bu yao

Pinyin can be learnt from your China interpreter. Also, Interpretersky’s tour guide in Shanghai, tour guide in Guangzhou/Beijing and other cities can also work as your tutor to help you learn simple Chinese.

Bargaining tips

When you buy things from small vendors or shops (except department stores or big shopping malls), you could bargain and it’s fun. You could use the above-mentioned words to communicate with the vendors, and they also expect your bargaining so as to sell things to you.

It is really enjoyable to buy at a price you are satisfied with, but make sure that the article you take is the one you want since there are some dishonest shop keepers who will replace the purchased products with shoddy ones. So you are strongly advised to hire a Chinese interpreter or private tour guide to help you, then you will save more money and win a lower price, and also avoid some risk.

Hire a China interpreter/translator/personal assistant