Chinese Pronunciation is difficult

I won’t deny that Chinese is difficult if your aim is to talk like a native. It will likely take years to master perfect pronunciation. However, if this is not what you are aiming for, Chinese language is actually not a difficult language to learn, speaking wise. Don’t let this deter you from learning important Chinese expression. 

Chinese word is difficult to write

Learning Chinese is difficult because people normally associate learning Chinese to learning the Chinese characters or words. I totally agree that writing and remembering the Chinese words can be impossible at times. I myself cannot remember all the Chinese characters let alone write them. Moreover, as we can now type out the Chinese characters by keying the pinyin, you are not required to remember how the Chinese character should be written. All you need to do is type and poof, out come the list of Chinese characters with the same pinyin. You then go through the list and choose the correct Chinese character you are looking for.

I have known many good Chinese speakers who cannot write a word of Chinese. They can read and speak Chinese very well, but when you ask them to write Chinese, they will rather type the word out for you.

Short cut to learning Mandarin Chinese

If you want to shorten your learning time, you can choose to move to China or other Chinese speaking countries. The next best thing is to find a Chinese girlfriend / boyfriend in your own country and learn from her/him. If all these fail, you can learn Chinese together with us at Learn Mandarin Chinese in 5 Minutes. The lessons are free. Moreover, you can learn the Chinese phrases anytime and anywhere so long as you have an internet and a phone.

As shown above, Mandarin Chinese is actually a simple language to learn. Today, you can start by remembering the 15 simple Chinese phrases or Chinese expressions listed below.

15 important Chinese expressions you must know

The 15 Chinese phrases are mainly for those who are beginners, or for those who want to know some Mandarin Chinese to feel secure before venturing into unknown territory. Unless you are travelling with local guides, it does no harm to learn these 15 Chinese expression when traveling to China or other Chinese speaking countries. Learning some basic Chinese phrases is important as you will never know when you need them.

1. 你好 Nǐ hǎo – hello in Chinese

It is always good to be polite. This is especially so when you are in a foreign country. You can say 你好, which means hello, to those you meet.

2. 谢谢 Xiè xiè – Thank you in Chinese language

A simple way to say thank you in Chinese.

3. 请问 Qǐng wèn – asking a question in Mandarin Chinese

May I ask….. This is a polite way to say when asking a question. For example, when nature calls and you can’t find the toilet,  you may ask 请问厕所在哪里 Qǐng wèn cè suǒ zài nǎlǐ？

4. 对不起 Duì bù qǐ – Chinese expression for sorry

You can say 对不起when you are apologizing to someone. You can also use 对不起 before you ask a question. This is similar to excuse me in English. For example, you can combine point 3 and point 4 together to ask where is the toilet. 对不起，请问厕所在哪里 Duì bù qǐ, qǐng wèn cè suǒ zài nǎlǐ.

5. 多少钱 Duō shǎo qián – How much in Mandarin

This is an important phrase to remember as you will definitely be using it very often when travelling. When paying for an item, you can ask 多少钱.

6. 我要……  Wǒ yào….. – I want in Mandarin Chinese

This Chinese phrase is use when you want something. It can be you want to eat, you want to go etcWhen you want to eat something, you say 我要吃……

When you want to eat something, you say 我要吃…… Wǒ yào chī…..

When you want to go somewhere, you say 我要去….. Wǒ yào qù…..

7. 在哪里？ Zài nǎ lǐ? – Chinese phrase for Where?

If you cannot find the place you are going when travelling in China, you can ask someone by asking ……在哪里？- where is it? You will say the name of the place first and follow by 在哪里? For example,

火车站在哪里 Huǒchē zhàn zài nǎlǐ？Where is the train station?

酒店在哪里 Jiǔdiàn zài nǎlǐ？Where is the hotel.

8. 帮(帮)我  Bāng (bāng) wǒ – Chinese expression for help

This Chinese phrase is handy when situation arise and you need to seek some help while travelling in a Chinese speaking country. You can say 请帮(帮)我 Qǐng bāng (bāng) wǒ. This literally means please help me.

9. 对 / 是 Duì/ shì – How to say ok / yes in chinese

It means ok / right / yes in English.

10. 不对 / 不是 Bù duì/ bù shì – How to say no in Mandarin

This is the negative form of ok / yes / right. When someone ask whether the luggage is yours, if it is, you can say 是, if it is not yours, you say 不是.

11. ….不见了  ….Bù jiàn le – Chinese expression for lost

You can use this Chinese phrase when you have lost something or something is missing. However, I do hope you will never ever need to use this phrase.

If you have lost your passport, you can say 护照不见了 Hù zhào bù jiàn le.

If you have lost your wallet, you can say 钱包不见了 Qián bāo bù jiàn le.

12. 很好吃  Hěn hào chī – Chinese phrase for delicious 

You are eating in a Chinese restaurant, and the food is very delicious. You can say 很好吃. The shop owner will be very happy to hear that and might just give you a discount. ^^

13. 太贵了 Tài guì le – Chinese phrase for too expensive

You saw this beautiful antique tea port in China and wanted to buy it. But it was too expensive. You can tell the shop owner, 太贵了Tài guì le.

14. 打折 Dǎ zhé – Chinese phrase for discount

This is extremely important to remember if you are planning to buy things in China. 打折 or just 折means discount. When you see the sign that says 9折, it does not mean you get 90% discount, it actually means you need to pay 90% of the original price.

1折 = you pay 10% of the original price

5 折 = you pay 50% of the original price

7折 = you pay 70% of the original price

When you want to ask for a discount, you can say this Chinese expression 打折吗 Dǎzhé ma？

15. 有….吗？ Yǒu…. Ma? – Chinese expression for do you have

When you are traveling to China on your own, you will use this Chinese expression / question very frequently. 有 is to have / to exist. Situations such as,

有空房吗 Yǒu  kòng fáng ma? any rooms available?

有空位吗 Yǒu  kòng wèi ma? Any seats available?

Practice the above 15 Chinese expression before you fly to China or any other Chinese speaking countries. It is always better to be prepared than be sorry.