Chinese Words and Phrases

Basics

To learn more about Words and Phrases visit Learn the Chinese Language.

To be or not to be?Chinese does not have words for “yes” and “no” as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Common ones include:
To be or not to be
是 shì, 不是 bú shì
To have or not have / there is or is not
有 yǒu, 没有 méi yǒu
To be right or wrong
对 duì, 不对 bú duì
Hello.
你好。 Nǐ hǎo.
How are you?
你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? 身体好吗? Shen1tǐ hǎo ma?
Fine, thank you.
很好, 谢谢。 Hěn hǎo, xièxie.
What is your (first) name?
你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jià o shénme míngzi?
My name is ______ .
我叫 _____ 。 Wǒ jià o ______ .
Nice to meet you.
很高兴认识你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.
Please.
请。 Qǐng.
Thank you.
谢谢。 xièxie.
You’re welcome.
不客气。 Bú kèqi.
Excuse me. (getting attention)
请问 qǐng wèn
Excuse me. (begging pardon)
打擾一下。 Dǎrǎo yixià ; 麻烦您一下, Máfan nǐ le.
I’m sorry.
对不起。 Duìbùqǐ.
Goodbye
再见。 Zà ijià n
Goodbye (informal)
拜拜。 Bai-bai (Byebye)
I can’t speak Chinese.
我不会说汉语。 Wǒ bú hui4 shūo hà nyǔ.
Do you speak English?
你会说英语吗？ Nǐ hui4 shūo yīngyǔ ma?
Is there someone here who speaks English?
这里有人会说英语吗？ Zhèli3 yǒu rén hùi shūo Yīngyǔ ma?
Help! (in emergencies)
救命 jìu mìng!
Good morning.
早安。 Zǎo ān.
Good evening.
晚上好。 Wǎnshà ng hǎo.
Good night.
晚安。 Wǎn ān.
I don’t understand.
我听不懂。 Wǒ tīng bu4 dǒng.
Where is the toilet?
厕所在哪里？ Cèsuo3 zà i nǎli?

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