普通话 · 63 phrases · 7 categories

Basic Mandarin Phrases for Travelers

Hello in Mandarin is 你好 (Nǐ hǎo), thank you is 谢谢 (Xièxiè), and the one to memorise before anything else is 救命！(Jiù mìng!) — help. Below: all 63 phrases across 7 travel situations, each one tappable to copy.

Limited outside international hotels and the business districts of Beijing and Shanghai. A translation app with Chinese downloaded for offline use is close to essential.

Nǐ hǎo is fine for strangers; nín hǎo is the respectful form for elders and officials.

The Mandarin phrases to learn first

A greeting, a thank-you, an apology, a question, a price and an emergency — enough to get through a first day in 普通话.

Hello

你好 (Nǐ hǎo)

Thank you

谢谢 (Xièxiè)

Please

请 (Qǐng)

Excuse me / sorry

对不起 (Duìbuqǐ)

Do you speak English?

你会说英语吗？

How much is this?

这多少钱？(Zhè duōshǎo qián?)

Where is...?

...在哪里？

Help!

救命！(Jiù mìng!)

How Mandarin is written

Simplified characters in mainland China and Singapore, traditional characters in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Pinyin writes the sounds in Latin letters.

Where it gets you further

Mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, and Chinese communities across Southeast Asia.

🇨🇳 Mandarin — China + Taiwan

Saying 普通话 out loud

  • Four tones plus a neutral one. Mā (mother), má (hemp), mǎ (horse) and mà (scold) are four different words.
  • The tone marks in pinyin are the pronunciation — skipping them is like skipping half the letters.
  • Q is roughly ch, x is roughly sh, and zh is close to an English j.
  • C is ts, so cài (dish) sounds like tsigh.
  • There is no verb conjugation and no plural form; time words carry the tense instead.

The mistake travelers make in Mandarin: Mobile payment has largely replaced cash. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you arrive — many small vendors no longer handle notes.

All 63 Mandarin phrases, by situation

Yes

是 (Shì)

No

不 (Bù)

Please

请 (Qǐng)

Thank you

谢谢 (Xièxiè)

You're welcome

不客气 (Bù kèqi)

Excuse me / Sorry

对不起 (Duìbuqǐ)

I don't understand

我不懂 (Wǒ bù dǒng)

Do you speak English?

你会说英语吗？

I don't speak [lang]

我不会说中文

A little

一点点 (Yīdiǎndiǎn)

Phrase guides in other languages

🇪🇸Spanish🇫🇷French🇯🇵Japanese🇩🇪German🇮🇹Italian🇵🇹Portuguese🇸🇦Arabic🇹🇭Thai🇮🇩IndonesianAll 10 languages

Ready to Go?

You've got the phrases — now plan your full trip with costs, transport, and a day-by-day itinerary.

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