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 |
If you’re not visiting, nor a beginner, these articles may be of more interest to you:
- 6 Ways To Maintain Your Mandarin Once You’re Back Home
- See How Your Mandarin Measures Up With These 5 Digital Proficiency Tests
- Brush Up on Your Putonghua at These Top Chinese Language Centers More stories by this author here.
- “Knock Knock … Kuaidi!” The Characters You Need to Shop on Taobao
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Photos: aichinese.com