Top 7 Practical Words and Phrases of Mandarin Chinese
Learning Mandarin Chinese is certainly not as difficult as before. Learning some practical phrases and words will surely help you communicate with different Chinese people when you are in China next time. Below are some basic words and phrases you can use during your stay in China. For more information, feel free to visit our site for learning Mandarin Chinese.
Basic greetings:
No matter which Chinese city you go, it’s important to keep in mind that you should always be respectful and polite. Below are some words and phrase you should know during the conversation.
YES: 是 shì
NO: 不 bù
Further more below are also some of the most common words and phrase you should hear in the Chinese conversation.
You are welcome: 不用客气 （Bú yòng kè qì）
Maybe: 可能（ Kĕ néng）
Please: 请（Qĭng）
Thank you: 谢谢（Xiè xie）
Some very useful Mandarin Chinese phrase:
1. Have you eaten? 你吃饭了吗？(ni chi fan le ma?)
This is one of the common phrases you will hear all the time. It generally means, “What is going on?” or “How are you doing”?
2. Here is to you 我敬你！(wo jing ni)
敬 means “respect” in Chinese.
If you are in the typical Chinese dinner, you will also often hear this. It is used when you make a toast. It’s similar to “Cheers”.
3. I really appreciate your hard work – 你辛苦了 (ni xin ku le)
This is a phrase you can use when someone has given you some help.
In my opinion, in English there is no a direct equivalent for the phrase. Maybe “You have worked hard” is quite similar, but it’s not exactly the same. Westerners will be likely to say something like “Thank you, I really appreciate your help!”
4. Forgive me, please –多多包涵 （duo duo bao han）
You can use this when you feel you may offer someone else. In English, they will usually say something like “excuse me” or “I am sorry”.
5. You are outstanding! –你真牛( ni zhen niu)
It’s not easy to understand at first why complimenting someone by saying he or she is a “cow”? Yes, in fact, you should use this phrase when someone have helped you to do something amazing or incredible. For example, they get you a ticket to Jay Chou’s concert.
6. Let’s go and eat together. My treat! – 一起吃饭，我请客 (yi qi chi fan, wo qing ke)
Sharing a meal is very important in China as in many other countries. It’s how people establish relationship in business or personal way. No matter you want to make some friends, or want them to give you some help, why not offer to buy a meal for them. It will almost never go wrong!
7. “where, where”-哪里哪里(nali, nali)－it’s used for deflecting compliments
Again politeness is big in China. And because of this, when people say “thank you” to you in China, you will say “nail nali”. Next time, when someone say “thank you” to you in Chinese, try this phrase and you will impress and surprise many Chinese people.
People are always wondering tips to learn how to speak Chinese. In opinion, practice is the key. Above are some key phrase for you to get started, of course there are so many other Chinese phrase you should learn for the next level. Feel free to get started to read our guide about how to study Chinese. We always want to help!
