Yunnan province is an area of great cultural and linguistic diversity. Many of the minority people living in Yunnan do not speak Mandarin as a first language, and some don't speak Mandarin well at all. For example, many Tibetans living in Xianggelila speak the local Tibetan dialect as a first language. This dialect is unique to the area, and dialects from as nearby as Deqin are mutually unintelligable. Adding to the melee is the fact that the Chinese normally spoken in Yunnan is based on the Kunming dialect, which is itself based on, but not the same as, Mandarin Chinese. From a practical point of view though, you will still best be able to communicate with the people here using Mandarin Chinese.

We are collecting here some basic phrases which you may find useful when travelling through China. Feel free to print this page out and use it while communicating. Sometimes, it may be difficult to get the pronunciation of a particular phrase correct, and pointing at the Chinese characters can sometimes be a more effective way of getting your meaning across. We've marked in bold or italics some corresponding parts of each phrase in English, Pinyin and Chinese. For the most part, if you want to replace one of these segments in English, you simply replace the corresponding segment in Chinese as well with the right word from a dictionary, for example.

A key point to remember is to not be afraid of trying to say things. In most travelling situations, the person (ticket seller, hotel staff) you're talking to is only expecting to hear one of a handful of different words, and with this context, it's possible to mispronounce something fairly drastically and still be understood.

This phrasebook is under construction. If you'd like to know how to say something generally useful in Mandarin that's not listed here, please suggest it to us.

Basic Phrases (and Responses)

Hello	níhăo	你好
How are you? [Good/Okay/Bad]	níhăoma? [wŏ hén hăo/hái kéyĭ/wŏ bù hăo]	你好吗? [我很好/还可以/我不好]
Bye	zàijiàn	再见
Thank you [You're welcome]	xièxiè [búkèqi]	谢谢 [不客气]
Excuse me (sorry) [No Problem]	duìbúqì [méiguānxì]	对不气 [没关系]
Excuse me (I have a question)	qĭngwèn	请问
Where's the toilet?	cèsuŏ zài nálĭ?	厕所在哪里?
How much? (money)	duōshăo qián?	多少钱?
This	zhèige	这个
That	nèige	那个
Shall we go?/Let's go	zŏuba?	走吧？
I don't understand (what you said)	wŏ tīngbùdŏng	我听不懂
Can you speak English?	nĭ huì jiăng yīngwén ma?	你会讲英文吗？
Please give me a pair of chopsticks.	qĭng géi wŏ yī shuāng kuàizi	请给我一双筷子
Please give me two bottles of beer.	qĭng géi wŏ liăng píng píjĭu	请给我两瓶啤酒

Basic Generic Responses

I don't want it (this, that, these, those)	búyào	不要
Yes/I agree/I heard you	èn (pronounced "uh or uhn", 4th tone)	嗯

Numbers

There are two forms of the number "two" (2) in Mandarin. The first one, èr (二), is used when reciting telephone numbers, counting from 1 to 10, and for the tens and digits places in large numbers like "two thousand two hundred twenty two". The other form, liăng (两), is used when counting anything (2 minutes, 2 yuan, 2 bottles of beer, 2 people), as well as the hundreds and greater places in large numbers in colloquial speech.

0	líng	〇 or 零
1	yī	一
2 (number)	èr	二
2 (things)	liăng	两
3	sān	三
4	sì	四
5	wŭ	五
6	lìu	六
7	qī	七
8	bā	八
9	jĭu	九
10	shí	十
11	shíyī	十一
12	shíèr	十二
13	shísān	十三
27	èrshíqī	二十七
100	yībăi	一百
101	yībăilíngyī	一百零一
110	yībăiyīshí	一百一十
114	yībăiyīshísì	一百一十四
1000	yīqiān	一千
2222	liăngqiānliăngbăièrshíèr	两千两百二十二

Internet

Internet Cafe

wăngbā

网吧

Time

Now	xiànzài	现在
Today	jīntiān	今天
2:34 pm	xìawŭliăngdiănsānshísì	下午两点三十四
11:00 am	shàngwŭshíyīdiănzhōng	上午十一点钟
Tomorrow	míngtiān	明天
Yesterday	zuótiān	昨天
Day after tomorrow	hòutiān	后天
Day before yesterday	qiántiān	前天
3 days later (3 days from now)	sāntiān yĭhòu	三天以后
2 months before (2 months ago)	liăng gè yuè yĭqián	两个月以前
December	shíèryuèfen	十二月份
November 28	shíyīyuèèrshíbā	十一月二十八
November 28 (generally when written)	shíyīyuèèrshíbārì	11月28日
November 28 (optionally when spoken)	shíyīyuèèrshíbāhào	十一月二十八号

Money

How much is this?	zhèige duōshăo qián?	这个多少钱?
Cheapest (literally: most cheap)	zuìpíanyíde	最便宜的
Get money (out of a bank account/using credit card)	qŭqián	取钱

Toilets

Men/Women	nán/nǚ	男/女
Toilet Paper	wèishēngzhĭ	卫生纸

Transportation

I want to go to Kunming	wŏ yào qù kūnmíng	我要去昆明
Train station	huŏchē zhàn	火车站
Hard seat (train)	yìngzuŏ	硬坐
Soft seat (train)	ruănzuŏ	软坐
Hard sleeper (train)	yìngwò	硬卧
Soft sleeper (train)	ruănwò	软卧
Public Bus	gonggongqiche	公共汽车
Taxi	dishi	的士

Accommodation

Hotel	fàndiàn/jĭudiàn/bīn'guăn	饭店/酒店/宾馆
Hostel	kèzhàn/lǚguăn	客栈/旅馆
Single Room	dānrénfáng	单人房
Double Room	shuāngrénfáng	双人房
Dormitory Room	duōrénfáng	多人房

Departures

Take care	baozhong	保重
Safe Trip	yilu ping'an	一路平安

You May Hear

Welcome!	huānyíng guānglín	欢迎光临
Is the food okay? [Yes/No]	hăochī ma? [hăochī/bùhăochī]	好吃吗？[好吃/不好吃]
Do you understand? (meaning) [Yes/No]	míngbái ma? [míngbái/bùmíngbái]	明白吗? [明白/不明白]
Do you understand? (listening) [Yes/No]	tīngdedŏngma? [tīngdedŏng/tīngbùdŏng]	听得懂吗? [听得懂/听不懂]
Foreigner	lăowài	老外
Good friend	hăopéngyŏu	好朋友
Smoke? [Thanks/I don't smoke]	xī yān ma? [xièxiè/wŏbúxīyān]	吸烟吗? [谢谢/我不吸烟]

You May See

Entrance	rùkŏu	入口
Exit	chūkŏu	出口
Car (on a train)	chē	车
Center (as in Shopping Center)	zhōngxīn	中心
China	zhōngguó	中国
Road	lù	路
Street	jiē	街

Recommended Phrasebooks

For those in the beginning stages of learning the language, or even just hoping to get around in China, a good Mandarin phrasebook is essential. I have personally used the Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook, 4th Edition, which was indispensable on my first trip to China.

In particular, I recommend against the 5th Edition, simply because it has replaced romanizations in Pinyin, standard in any other modern book on Chinese (including the 4th edition), with its own incompatible homegrown variant.

I haven't used the Rough Guide Mandarin Chinese, 2nd Edition in the "field", but I have flipped through it. The translations looked good, and phrases are organized alphabetically by "key word". This organization is better suited toward your communicating things to Chinese people than the other way around.