Following on from lesson 2 here are some everyday useful phrases that you might need when traveling in China.
In this third lesson we look at simple transactions at shops and restaurants. With our previous lesson 1 and 2 we build on the basics that are useful for a first visit to China.
At the store and market
buy买 mǎi
sell卖 mài
When learning Chinese it is important to use the correct tone. As an example, consider mai which can mean either buy or sell just depending on the tone. Let's introduce some things you might want to buy.
green vegetables青菜 qīng cài
dumplings饺子 jiǎo zǐ
chopsticks筷子 kuài zǐ
food米饭 mǐ fàn
beer啤酒 pí jiǔ
beer is literally hop wine
wine葡萄酒 pú táo jiǔ
literally grape wine
drink喝 hē
tea茶 chá
coffee咖啡 kā fēi
this is a transliteration of the English coffee
cup杯 bēi
bottle; vase瓶 píng
money钱 qián
bowl碗 wān
also; and也 yě
some; few些 xiē
many; much多 duō
you - polite form您 nín
and you?呢 ne
give; bring给 gěi
want; need; must要 yào
sit; seat座 zuò
go to; arrive到 dào
type; kind of种 zhǒng
or还是 hái shì
pair of双 shuāng
Colors
We have already introduced some of the colors, here is a more complete set. Colors are often used symbolically in China, for a guide to the meaning and history of the use of colors please read our color symbolism guide.
color颜色 yán sè
red红 hóng
yellow黄 huáng
green绿 lù
blue蓝 lán
white (also bright)白 bái
black黑 hēi
Sentences
Buying a ticket
Hello Nǐ hǎo 你好
I (me) wǒ 我
want; essential yào 要
buy mǎi 买
one yī 一
'of'; spread zhāng 张
ticket piào 票
Hello, I want to buy a ticket.
Don’t forget the measure wordzhang, it is needed in this context. Also note that verbs in Chinese are often strung together as in ‘want-buy’.
you Nǐ 你
want; essential yào 要
go qù 去
where nà r 那儿
Where do you want to go?.
The response by the ticket seller will be to ask where you want to go to. The question is implied in this case there is no need to add ma at the end. This is another double verb form ‘want-go’ there is no need for a want ‘to’ go construction as there is in English.
arrive; reach Dào 到
Shanghai shàng hǎi 上海
Go to Shanghai.Shanghai literally means ‘on Sea’ or ‘by Sea’.
what Shén me 什么
time shí hòu 时候
"At what time?".
This phrase was included in lesson 2, hou implies a wait.
tomorrow Míng tiān 明天
morning shàng wǔ 上午
10 past 8 bā diǎn shí fēn 八点十分
Tomorrow morning at 8:10.
Our date and time guide explains how to express times in Chinese. The largest units come first and the time of day (morning, afternoon, evening) is needed in place of 'am' or 'pm'.
wait a moment Děng yī děng 等一等
have yǒu 有
ticket piào 票
Please wait... Yes I have a ticket.
By repeating a verb separated with yi softens a word and makes it more informal and colloquial.
how much Duō shǎo 多少
money qián 钱
How much does it cost?.
One way of asking a question in Chinese is to give the two opposite extremes, so how much is literally 'many-few'. This is a common and useful phrase when out shopping.
give; for Gěi 给
I (me) wǒ 我
553 wǔ bǎi wǔ shí sān 五百五十三
piece; coin kuài 块
Give me 553 kuai.
We have a separate section devoted to all the numbers in Chinese. The unit of yuan is called kuai (piece) in spoken and not written Chinese.
you Nǐ 你
want; essential yào 要
that nà 那
kind of; breed zhǒng 种
color yán sè 颜色
What color do you want?.
While shopping you might be asked which color of fabric or other thing you want.
red one Hóng de 红的
or hái shì 还是
yellow one huáng de 黄的
The red one or yellow one.
You can say red one by using the possessive 'de' combined with the color.
We want two cups of coffee.
To ask for 2 of anything you need liang rather than the number 2 er as this is only used for counting.
please; permit; to ask Qǐng 请
seat; place zuò 座
Please sit down.
An important instruction to learn.
please; permit; to ask Qǐng 请
give; for gěi 给
we (us) wǒ mén 我们
some; few xiē 些
dumplings jiǎo zǐ 饺子
Please bring us some dumplings.
The use of please is not essential as it would be in English ‘we want’ is good enough. Jiaozis are not to be confused with ‘English dumplings’ they are more like ravioli - meat or vegetable wrapped up in dough and usually steamed. See here for a recipe.
I (me) Wǒ 我
want; essential yào 要
one yī 一
bottle; vase píng 瓶
Qingdao qīng dǎo 青岛
beer pí jiǔ 啤酒
I want a bottle of Qingdao beer.Qingdao ➚ in Shandong is world famous for its German style beer.
you (polite) Nín 您
and you? ne 呢
What about you?.
This a shorthand way of repeating the same question to someone else. In this case it is asking whether someone else would also like a drink.
still; also Hái 还
want; essential yào 要
green vegetables qīng cài 青菜
?; question mǎ 吗
Are there any more vegetables?.Qingcai can stand for vegetables in general.
you Nǐ 你
want; essential yào 要
many duō 多
less; few shǎo 少
bottle; vase píng 瓶
wine pú táo jiǔ 葡萄酒
You want how many bottles of wine?.Many-few can be used to ask a how much or how many question for anything not just about money.
we (us) Wǒ mén 我们
drunk hē le 喝了
four sì 四
cup bēi 杯
green lù 绿
tea chá 茶
We have drunk four cups of green tea.
Adding le to a verb puts it into the past tense.
please; permit; to ask Qǐng 请
give; for gěi 给
I (me) wǒ 我
one yī 一
pair shuāng 双
chopsticks kuài zǐ 筷子
Please bring me a pair of chopsticks.
The correct measure word needs to be used for chopsticks. ‘shuang’ is used for objects that come in pairs (socks, shoes, gloves etc.).
still; also Hái 还
want; essential yào 要
pair; two liǎng 两
bowl wān 碗
food mǐ fàn 米饭
Also want two bowls of rice.
Another necessary measure word is ‘bowl’. As rice is the staple food in southern China, mifan can be used for food in general.
Vocabulary
白báiwhite (also bright)
杯bēicup
茶chátea
到dàogo to; arrive
多duōmany; much
给gěigive; bring
还是hái shìor
喝hēdrink
黑hēiblack
红hóngred
黄huángyellow
饺子jiǎo zǐdumplings
咖啡kā fēicoffee
筷子kuài zǐchopsticks
蓝lánblue
绿lùgreen
买mǎibuy
卖màisell
米饭mǐ fànfood
呢neand you?
您nínyou - polite form
啤酒pí jiǔbeer
瓶píngbottle; vase
葡萄酒pú táo jiǔwine
钱qiánmoney
青菜qīng càigreen vegetables
双shuāngpair of
碗wānbowl
些xiēsome; few
颜色yán sècolor
要yàowant; need; must
也yěalso; and
种zhǒngtype; kind of
座zuòsit; seat
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See also
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