57 Of The Most Useful Basic Chinese Phrases To Learn In Minutes

Learning Chinese can feel intimidating at first.

The characters, the tones, the grammar… but don’t worry!

You don’t need to master everything overnight. In fact, just a few basic Chinese phrases can take you a long way when travelling, studying, or living in a Chinese-speaking environment.

Whether you’re heading to China, chatting with Chinese-speaking friends, or just getting started with Mandarin, this guide will give you the essential phrases you need to communicate with confidence.

We’ve broken them down into useful categories like time and directions, shopping phrases, communication phrases and phrases for restaurants so you can skip directly to what you need most.

Let’s take it away…

Basic Chinese Phrases || Excuse Me

Basic Chinese Phrases || Asking Where and What

Basic Chinese Phrases || Time and Directions

Basic Chinese Phrases || Shopping Phrases

Basic Chinese Phrases || Communication Phrases

Basic Chinese Phrases || At the Restaurant

Basic Chinese Phrases || Useful Vocab: Places and Emergencies

Basic Chinese Phrases || FAQs

Basic Chinese Phrases || Excuse Me

Just like they say, manners cost nothing!

Learning to say excuse me in Chinese is important because it not only makes you sound polite, it’s also a great way to grab someone’s attention to ask them a question.

So, here’s how to say it:

This literally means “please ask”.

If you’re new to Chinese, you might be wondering what the squiggly lines are above the i and e.

Chinese is a tonal language. This means that saying the same sound (such as ‘ma’) in different tones will actually change the meaning of the word.

But fear not! Our colleague Amy is here to help you out:

Basic Chinese Phrases || Asking Where and What

Where is…?

Asking where something is is an extremely important question.

Whether you’re trying to find the best sights in Shangai, an exit in Beijng’s vast metro system or simply the nearest bathroom, you need to know how to ask!

Let’s take a look at how to do this:

To ask where something is, you simply fill in the gap with the appropriate noun.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

Don’t worry, if you don’t know how to say the name of something in Chinese, you could always point to something on a map or a picture of something and ask “在哪里?”

What is…?

Menus in China can be mysterious, so it helps to be able to ask exactly what something is. This also applies to souvenirs, clothes and random things lying around your Chinese friend’s house.

But first, an important distinction to make is ‘this’ and ‘that’.

👇 This Play 这 zhè

👉 That Play 那 nà

Then, once you’ve decided whether you’re asking about ‘this’ or ‘that’, you simple add Play 是什么 (Shì shénme) which literally translates to “is what”?

For example:

PROTIP: 这个 (zhège) is one of the most useful words you can learn in Chinese. It means ‘this one’ and can be used in shops, cafes and pretty much anywhere that you can choose something.

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Basic Chinese Phrases || Time and Directions

What time is it?

Time is of the essence, no matter where you are!

So it definitely helps to be able to ask this all important question:

Literally translated this becomes – now (现在) how many (几) hours (点).

It’s one thing to ask questions about time, but being able to understand the answer is a whole other ballgame!

To learn more about telling the time in Chinese, check out our comprehensive guide here.

China is huge, we all know that. But did you know how many times zones are in China? You might be surprised by the answer!

Directions

So we already covered ‘where is ___?’ above, but now we’re going to take a look at how to say three key phrases:

📍 How do I get to…?

📍 How far is …?

📍 Can you show me on a map?

And then we’ve even added in some extra vocab to help you ask about specific places!

How do I get to…?

Fancy a day out exploring the Great Wall or hiking Taiwan’s biggest mountain?

But before you get to these highly Instagrammable spots, you’re going to need to know how to get there.

You also will likely need to ask for directions at bus stations, railways and airports.

Remember: whilst you might be used to relying on Google Maps to get you from A to B, you won’t be able to access the app in China without a VPN.

Let’s take a look at how to ask:

To complete the sentences, all you need to do is add the name of where you’re going into the blank. Here’s some examples:

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How far is…?

Next up, it definitely helps to know whether that hotpot restaurant you’re planning on going to is 5 miles away or 50.

It might also help you decide whether or not you want to hop in a taxi (we have a guide for that too!) or take your chances by foot.

So, here’s how to ask about distance:

You probably guessed this already, but to complete the question, simply add the name of the place you want to go in the blank.

Can you show me on a map?

Sometimes it helps to get a visual idea of where you’re going, so you can picture the route or keep an eye out for noticeable landmarks.

Or sometimes you just don’t want to have the pressure of translating verbal instructions in Chinese- we’ve all been there!

This sentence is a bit of a mouthful, so here’s a breakdown of the sentence:

• 你能 – can you
• 在地图上 – on the Map
• 给我 – give me
• 看看 – to look
• 吗 – (question particle)

Directions vocabulary

And finally, in our directions section, here’s some vocabulary you might find helpful when trying to find your destination!

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Basic Chinese Phrases || Shopping

Ok shopaholics (there’s a Chinese word for that too: 购物狂 gòuwù kuáng!) here are some essential phrases to get you through your Chinese shopping trip!

Do you have…?

Here’s a very simple, very useful phrase.

Asking “do you have __?” can be applied pretty much anywhere, whether you’re chasing after a vanilla latte or a new game for your Nintendo Switch.

The options really are endless with this one.

Here’s a few examples:

And the list goes on!

How much is it?

As you browse through the (night) markets of Taipei or the high-end shopping districts of Shanghai, there will be many opportunities to use this phrase.

Literally, this translates to “how many money?” – simple and to the point!

Don’t forget to brush up on Chinese numbers before you go on your shopping spree, it’ll help the process a lot smoother.

That being said, in our experience, a lot of small shop owners will often show you a number on a calculator to speed things along!

Do you have anything cheaper?

Hope you haven’t already forgotten the 你有…吗? (do you have…?) structure already, it’s going to come in useful for this next one!

When going into Chinese markets, we always advise our students to haggle for a bargain.

It’s not unheard of to below less than 50% or even 25% lower than the original asking price!

But sometimes, you might just want to ask for cheaper alternatives.

Here’s how to ask:

NOTE – Be aware of accents in China. In the North East, and Beijing, you’ll hear the 儿 (-er) sound a lot. So Play 便宜点 becomes Play 便宜点儿 (meaning diǎn sounds more like diǎr). Listen out for it!

I need a bag

Whether it’s for your Chinese cooking essentials or all your new guided readers, it usually helps to have a bag (袋子 dàizi).

Just remember, some places in China may add on a small fee if you opt for a bag- that environment isn’t going to protect itself after all!

Luckily, the way to ask for one in Chinese is pretty simple:

If someone asks you whether you want a bag in Chinese ( Play 要袋子吗？ yào dàizi ma or Play 要不要袋子 yào bù yào dàizi?) you can simply say Play 要 (yào, I want).

Can I pay with…?

China is fast becoming a cashless society (it’s not uncommon to see homeless people in China asking for money via QR codes) and so it helps to be able to ask about your options.

But before you pull out your Apple and Google pay apps, it’s important to know that two of the most popular methods of paying in China are Alipay and WeChat.

👉 Check out our Alipay Guide for Foreigners, including how to link foreign bank cards!

👉 If you’re not sure which one to choose, take a look at our WeChat Pay VS Alipay Guide Here

Here’s the basic sentence structure for asking about payment:

To ask about a specific payment type, you simply fill in the blanks, for example:

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Basic Chinese Phrases || Communication

No matter how much you practice, it can still be daunting to communicate in real life with native Chinese speakers!

Suddenly, you’ve gone from simple, slow textbook dialogues to a million-mile-an-hour Mandarin (or at least, it feels that way!)

So whilst we’d recommend you improve your Chinese listening skills with podcasts and TV shows, it still helps to have a few communication phrases in your back pocket for when things get a little tricky to understand!

So, first up…

Can you repeat that?

Some things are better the second time around- like our Chinese listening skills!

Here’s how to ask someone to say something again.

Let’s break that sentence down a little more:

• 再 again
• 说 say
• 一遍 one time

What if I don’t understand the second time?

You could ask them to repeat it again (third time’s the charm!), but you might still have trouble understanding. So instead, you could ask:

Can you speak a little slower?

Often, problems with communicating with natives arise from speed.

After all, you’d probably be hesitant to speak very slowly with someone in English, as you wouldn’t want to appear patronising.

But asking someone to slow down can make a massive difference to your comprehension ability! Here’s what to say:

And if all else fails, we’d definitely recommend you take the time to learn the following useful phrase!

Can you write that down?

This phrase isn’t just super helpful if you’re stuck mid-conversation.

You could also get a taxi driver to write down the name of some famous sights or the nearest metro stop and then you can show someone else the Chinese, job done!

So, here’s how to make that handy request:

Basic Chinese Phrases || At the Restaurant

Have you heard of the Eight Great Chinese Cuisines?

Trust us when we say you’re going to want to try them all!

Now that you’ve already learned how to say ‘what is this?’ and ‘do you have __?’, let’s look at some useful phrases for the end of your meal.

Asking for the bill

You’d be surprised at how easy it is to ask for the bill in Chinese.

In fact, you only need to learn to say two syllables!

Unlike in English, you can get away without say “Can I pay the bill” and simply say “pay the bill”.

Oh and depending on the restaurant, you might be shouting this rather than saying it!

Takeaway leftovers

With so many different dumplings to try, it’s easy to get carried away and order too much food.

Again, you only need to learn two syllables to be able to take your leftovers home. Efficiency!

Here’s how to ask:

The literal meaning of this is actually “to pack”. We just wish we could really pack all the delicious local food in our suitcases!

Basic Chinese Phrases || Useful Vocab

Last and certainly not least, we’ve included some useful vocabulary to help you survive your time in China.

Specifically, we’ve included some need-to-know place names and emergency words.

Places

👉 For a full guide on places in Chinese, including over 100 words and phrases, check out our ultimate guide here

Emergencies

Hopefully, these aren’t words that you’ll have to use much, but it’s always better to be prepared!

👉 Should you need to visit the hospital during your stay in China, take a look at our Health in Chinese guide, which includes describing symptoms and talking about illnesses.

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Basic Chinese Phrases || FAQs

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