COMMON CHINESE (MANDARIN) PHRASES AND WORDS http://www.geocities.com/pcawizman/index.html Although there is only one common written language, there are a great number of different spoken Chinese dialects. These dialects are often so different that people from different regions will be incomprehensible to each other. The dialects can generally be classified into the following five groups: Mandarin or Putonghua is the official national language of China. Cantonese is mainly spoken in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and overseas. Hakka is spoken in northeastern Guangdong and south Jiangxi. Fukienese (including the Foochow and Amoy-Swatow) is spoken by Chinese in Malaysia and Taiwan. Wu dialects are spoken by the Chinese in the central or Shanghai regions. Years ago, it was decided that the language spoken in the nation's capital of Beijing should become the common language. Thus, Putonghua (common speech) or what is commonly referred to as Mandarin, became the national language of the People's Republic of China. Putonghua is now spoken throughout the country and is the language that foreigners should learn. One of the elements that makes the Chinese language so much more challenging is the use of varying tones in the pronunciation. The use of an incorrect tone can completely change the meaning of a word or make it incomprehensible. It takes a good ear, close attention, and patience for a foreigner to learn Chinese. COMMON PHRASES AND WORDS Yes Shi No Bu shi I don't understand Wo bu dong Do you understand? Ni dong ma? When? Shenme shihou? Where? Zai na li? Where's the post office? Youju zai na li? I want to go to Wo yao qu Where's the bank? Yin hang zai na li? Telephone Dianhua Police Jingcha Toilet Cesuo Hello/how are you? Ni hao? Thank you Xiexie I'm sorry Duibuqi No problem Mei wenti Airport Fei jichang train Huoche Taxi Chuzu che How much? Duoshao qian? Too expensive Tai gui le What time is it? Ji dian? Hotel Fandian I'm lost Wo milu le Chinese restaurant, zhong can ting Western restaurant, xi can ting Hotel, fan dian / lu guan Bar, jiu ba Cafe, ka fei ting Waiter and waitress, fu wu yuan cashier, shou yin yuan Beverage, yin liao Toilets, xi shou jian Public telephone, gong yong dian hua Smoking area, xi yan qu Non-smoking area, fei xi yan qu It's delicious, wei dao zhen hao! Hello, ni-hao How do you do, ni hao Welcome!, Huan Ying! Very good, hen hao Good morning , zao shang hao Good friends, hao peng you Goodbye, zai jian Thank you, xie xie Please, qing I am sorry, dui bu qi Don't mention it, bu ke qi Excuse me, qing yuan liang It doesn't matter, mei guan xi You're welcome, bu ke qi Today, jin tian Will you show me the way to .....?, qing wen zen mo zou? Where, na li When, shen mo shi hou Let's go, zou ba Wait a moment, deng yi deng What is this?, zhe shi shen mo? How much?, duo shao qian? Bus stop, qi che zhan Trolley stop, dian che zhan Taxi, chu zu qi che Plane, fei ji Van, mian bao che Coach, da jiao che Bus, gong gong qi che Minibus, xiao gong gong qi che Trolley Bus, wu gui dian che Driver, si ji Conductor, shou piao yuan Hard-seat carriage, ying zuo che xiang Soft-seat carriage, ruan zuo che xiang Hard sleeper, ying wo che xiang Soft sleeper, ruan wo che xiang Express, pu tong ke che Emergency exit, jin ji chu kou CHINESE PROVINCE-LEVEL NAMES Province - Pronunciation - Capital - Pronunciation Anhui arn-hway Hefei huh-fay Beijing bay-jing Beijing bay-jing Fujian foo-gee-en Fuzhou foo-joe Gansu garn-sue Lanzhou larn-joe Guangdong gwong-dong Guangzhou gwong-joe Guanxi gwong-she Nanning narn-ning Guizhou gway-joe Guiyang gway-yong Hainan high-narn Haikou high-co Hebei huh-bay Shijiazhuang she-gee-are-jew-ong Heilongjiang hay-long-gee-ong Harbin har-bin Henan huh-narn Zhengzhou jeng-joe Hubei who-bay Wuhan woo-harn Hunan who-narn Changsha chong-shar Jiangsu gee-ong-sue Nanjing narn-jing Jiangxi gee-ong-she Nanchang narn-chong Jilin gee-lin Changchun chong-tune Liaoning lee-ow-ning Shanyang sharn-yong Nei Mongol nay-mong-oo Hohhot hore-hort Ningxia ning-she-are Yinchuan yinch-w-on Qinghai ching-high Xining sh-urn-ing Shaanxi shun-she Xi'an shur-arn Shandong sharn-dong Jinan gee-narn Shanghai shong-high Shanghai shong-high Shanxi sharn-she Taiyuan tie-w-on Sichuan seech-w-on Chengdu cheng-do Taiwan tie-wah-n Taipei tie-pay Tianjin tee-end-jean Tianjin tee-end-jean Xinjiang sh-urn-gee-ong Ürümqi izh-im-chee Xizang (Tibet) sh-err'd-zong Lhasa lar-sar Yunnan you-narn Kunming koon-ming Zhejiang jed-gee-ong Hangzhou hong-joe