With the deepening of One Belt And One Road, Chinese has been pursued by young people all over the world. More and more foreigners begin to learn and speak Chinese. Labor travel network is such a platform, let the world know China, let China go to the world.
Worktrip network focuses on providing Spanish training, volunteer travel, overseas internship, travel, study and research, work vacation projects, so that you can start a new experience of work travel and find a better yourself.
In my opinion, one of the main reasons why westerners do not want to travel to China is because of the language barrier. The complex characters are daunting, and the challenges of speaking and being understood seem insurmountable. Although I failed to master the language, I did learn enough mandarin to survive as an expat in Shanghai for two years.
English is spoken in surprisingly large Numbers in cosmopolitan Shanghai, but a small amount of the local language will still be useful. Be patient and smile!
Common words and phrases
Nǐ hǎo (你好) – hello – pronounced knee-how
Zàijiàn (再见) – goodbye – pronounced dzeye-jee-ehn
Xièxiè (谢谢) – thank you – pronounced sheeyeah-sheeyeah
Bù kèqì (不客气) – you’re welcome – pronounced boo-kuh-chee
Shénme (什么) – what? – pronounced shuhmah (you willlikely hear this one a lot as people – especially taxi drivers – might not get what you said the first time around)
Duì (对) – yes or right – pronounced duay
Bù (不) – no – pronounced boo
Tīng bù dǒng (听不懂) – I don’t understand – pronounced ting-boo-dong (this isprobably the most important phrase you can learn)
Míngbáile (明白了) – I understand – pronounced ming-buy-lah
Duìbùqǐ (对不起) – I’m sorry – pronounced duay-boo-chee
Méi bànfǎ (没办法) – it can’t be helped – pronounced may-ban-fah
Ordering the food:
Zhège (这个) – this – pronounced jay-guh
Fàn (饭) – rice – pronounced fahn
Miàntiáo (面条) – noodles – pronounced mee-ehn-tee-ow
Xiǎo lóng bāo (小笼包) – dumplings – pronounced shee-ow-long-bow
Zhūròu (猪肉) – pork meat – pronounced jew-roe
Jīròu (鸡肉) – chicken meat – pronounced gee-roe
Niúròu (牛肉) – beef – pronouncednyew-roe
Shūcài (蔬菜) – vegetables – pronounced shoe-tseye
Dòufu (豆腐) – tofu – pronounced doe-foo
Taking a taxi:
Many of Shanghai’s taxi drivers are non-locals, and most do not speak English. They may not be familiar with all the streets of the city. If you can pronounce street names correctly in Chinese, the best thing to do is tell the driver to take you to the nearest major intersection. Otherwise, give the driver a Chinese address or ask someone at the hotel to tell them where you want to go.
Qù nǎlǐ (去哪里) – where going?– pronouncedchew-nah-lee (the taxi driver will ask this when you get in the car)
Wǒ qù (我去) – I go to – pronounced woah-chew
Lùkǒu (路口) – intersection – pronounced loo-koh
Zhèlǐ hǎo (这里好) – here is good– pronouncedjuhlee-how
Yòubiān (右边) – right side – pronounced yo-bee-ehn
Zuǒbiān (左边) – left side – pronounced dzwhoa-bee-ehn
Yīzhí zǒu (一直走) – keep goingstraight – pronouncedeee-jer-dzoh
Xiànjīn (现金) – cash – pronouncedshee-ehn-jean
Shuākǎ (刷卡) – swipe card – pronounced shuah-kah (this is what you would say if you want to payby credit card, though I’d pay cash if you can so there’s no risk of being scammed)
Tip to avoid taxi scams: look for green and white cars and vans with yellow phone Numbers. Other famous companies have white or blue cars. Never take a taxi without a phone number. Don’t ride in an unlicensed car.
Wǒ yào (我要) – I want – pronounced woah-yow
Bùyào (不要) – don’t want – pronounced boo-yow
Duōshǎo qián (多少钱) – how muchmoney? – pronounceddwoah-shao-chee-ehn
Tài guile (太贵了) – tooexpensive – pronouncedtai-guay-lah
Kěyǐ (可以) – can or okay – pronounced – kuh-yee
Da (大) – big – pronounced dah
Zhōng (中) – middle or medium – pronounced jong
Xiao (小) – small – pronounced shee-yow