50+ Basic Chinese Phrases To Boost Your Skills

Ling Learn Languages
4 min readOct 10, 2022

--

Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/zh/basic-chinese-phrases/

Do you know that you can survive in countries like China, Taiwan, and Singapore by simply memorizing basic Chinese phrases? Yep, you read that right! While this may seem like a challenging language to learn, having knowledge of some of the basic expressions can undoubtedly take you far when interacting with the Chinese people [中国人, Zhōngguó rén]. If you are ready to find out more about this, keep reading below!

How To Speak Chinese Like A Native

When learning Chinese, it’s expected that everyone dreams of speaking like a native speaker. So, to accomplish your goal, you can’t skip learning the Chinese pronunciation lesson as it’s a tonal language. Allow me to explain that in the section below briefly.

Chinese Has 4 Tones

  • First tone: (neutral)
  • Second tone:
  • Third tone:
  • Fourth tone:

By the way, there’s a debate regarding a fifth tone. Let’s focus on the four major tones to make things easier for a beginner like you. The phrases covered in this post will all use the tones described above so that you can practice too while learning expressions. Let’s get started!

Basic Chinese Phrases

Chinese Phrases Used At The Airport

Whether arriving or departing at the airport, you will eventually meet at least one Chinese person. It can be ground staff or other passengers. So you better have these basic Chinese phrases in mind.

Chinese Phrases Used At The Hotel

Let’s say you’re a backpacker who doesn’t like planning in advance. So you prefer to walk into any hotels you feel like. But, perhaps, you’ve to practice these basic Chinese phrases beforehand to secure that your trip will be smooth.

Chinese Phrase Used For Shopping

Imagine traveling to a Chinese street market or department store with plenty of beautiful things you can’t wait to purchase. But, you’re not the kind of person who can spend money quickly, so you want to ask a vendor for more details. So here are the common Chinese phrases you need.

Chinese Phrases Used At The Restaurant

The most delicious sauce is hunger, but it would be so much better to order the right Chinese food for yourself. So before you step into the local restaurant, make sure you practice ordering in the native language using any of the expressions below.

Chinese Phrases For Asking Directions

Getting lost is such a nightmare, so you better practice how to ask Chinese people about your destination.

Chinese Phrases For Seeking Help

Indeed, you’re a foreigner and not familiar with your surroundings. You may need much assistance from Chinese people in any possible situation. So here are the basic phrases you should remember.

Chinese Phrases Used Inside The Classroom

In case you visit the country to study, no matter Chinese language class or pursue a higher degree. Here are the Chinese phrases you need in the classroom.

Summary

So you now have all the essential Chinese words and phrases you need to be able to survive in Chinese-speaking countries. But, it would be great if you could learn Chinese from its beginning structure rather than as a shortcut to remember words and phrases easier. Though these essential Chinese phrases can surely help you survive, you should study more about Chinese characters and upper-level Chinese to improve your skills further. With that said, we have a resource to recommend to you. Check it out below!

Learning Chinese In The Most Powerful Way With The Ling App

Reading this blog seems not enough for you, and now seeking many more useful phrases to learn? Then, we suggest you swipe up your phone to download the Ling App so that you can learn the Chinese language anytime and anywhere! We offer massive resources necessary to communicate with native speakers, from beginner to expert level.

Are you now feeling motivated to learn more? Download the Ling App from Google PlayStore and Apple AppStore now, and prepare to be fluent in Chinese sooner!

--

--

Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!