When traveling to China or planning an international meeting with Chinese representatives, it’s normal to get overwhelmed by the complicated Chinese characters used. Understanding and being able to speak Chinese may seem like a daunting task for Westerners. But once you get the hang of the basic Chinese words and phrases, making yourself heard in Chinese is not as challenging as it seems.
Basic Chinese Vocabulary
Westerners refer to Chinese as one language. But the fact is that the Chinese languages are made up of hundreds of dialects and varieties spoken by Han Chinese and some other minority groups, accounting for 92% of the Chinese population. With the predominance of Standard Mandarin Chinese, many foreigners take it for granted that Mandarin is identified with Chinese. But to be exact, despite being the official language and lingua franca in China, Mandarin is a dialect of the Chinese language, which is unintelligible to many other dialects. You can continue reading more about all languages spoken in China if you are interested.
There are hundreds of thousands of Chinese characters in the Chinese vocabulary. But knowing a minimum of 2,500 characters allows you to read a Chinese newspaper. Linguistic experts estimated that it would take a minimum of 2,200 class hours to become fluent in Mandarin Chinese.
However, if your goal is to pick up some basic Chinese words or sentences to get around in a Chinese-speaking country or among Chinese speakers, you’ve come to the right place.
| Basic Chinese vocabulary PRONOUN | ||
| English | Chinese (S/T) | Pinyin |
| I, me | 我 | wŏ |
| we | 我们/我們 | wŏ men |
| you | 你 | nǐ |
| you (formal) | 您 | nín |
| You (plurals) | 你们/你們 | nǐ men |
| he | 他 | tā |
| she | 她 | tā |
| it | 它 | tā |
| they | 他们/他們 | tā men |
| they (female) | 她们/她們 | tā men |
| my | 我的 | wǒ de |
| your | 你的, 你們的 | nǐ de, nǐ men de |
| his | 他的 | tā de |
| her | 她的 | tā de |
| its | 它的 | tā de |
| their | 他們的, 它們的 | tā men de |
| NOUN | ||
| English | Chinese (S/T) | Pinyin |
| Body Parts | ||
| body | 身体 / 身體 | shēn tǐ |
| head | 头 / 頭 | tóu |
| face | 脸 / 臉 | liǎn |
| eye | 眼睛 | yǎn jīng |
| nose | 鼻子 | bí zi |
| mouth | 嘴 | zuǐ |
| ear | 耳 | ěr |
| hand | 手 | shǒu |
| leg | 腿 | tuǐ |
| foot | 脚/腳 | jiǎo |
| Time | ||
| time | 时间/時間 | shí jiān |
| year | 年 | nián |
| month | 月 | yuè |
| week | 周/週 | zhōu |
| day | 日,天 | rì, tiān |
| hour | (小)时 / (小)時 | (xiǎo) shí |
| minute | 分(钟) / 分(鐘) | fēn (zhōng) |
| second | 秒 | miǎo |
| today | 今天, 今日 | jīn tiān, jīn rì |
| tomorrow | 明天, 明日 | míng tiān, míng rì |
| the day before yesterday | 前天, 前日 | qián tiān, qián rì |
| the day after tomorrow | 后天 / 後天, 后日 / 後日 | hòu tiān, hòu rì |
| Monday | 周一 / 週一, 星期一 | zhōu yī, xīng qīyī |
| Tuesday | 周二 / 週二, 星期二 | zhōu èr, xīng qī èr |
| Wednesday | 周三 / 週三, 星期三 | zhōu sān, xīng qī sān |
| Thursday | 周四 / 週四, 星期四 | zhōu sì, xīng qī sì |
| Friday | 周五 / 週五, 星期五 | zhōu wǔ, xīng qī wǔ |
| Saturday | 周六 / 週六, 星期六 | zhōu liù, xīng qī liù |
| Sunday | 周日 / 週日, 星期日 | zhōu rì, xīng qī rì |
| Family Members | ||
| family | 家庭, 家人 | jiā tíng, jiā rén |
| mom | 妈妈 / 媽媽 | mā ma |
| dad | 爸爸 | bà ba |
| grandma (from dad’s side) | 奶奶 | nǎi nai |
| grandma (from mom’s side) | 外婆, 姥姥 | wàipó, lǎo lao |
| grandpa (from dad’s side) | 爷爷 / 爺爺 | yé ye |
| grandpa (from mom’s side) | 外公, 姥爷 | wàigōng, lǎo ye |
| parents | 父母 | fù mǔ |
| son | 儿子 / 兒子 | ér zi |
| daughter | 女儿 / 女兒 | nǚ ér |
| husband | 丈夫 | zhàng fu |
| wife | 妻子 | qī zǐ |
| Home | ||
| door | 门 / 門 | mén |
| window | 窗 | chuāng |
| room | 房间 / 房間 | fáng jiān |
| kitchen | 厨房 / 廚房 | chú fáng |
| television | 电视机 / 電視機 | diàn shì jī |
| fan | 风扇 / 風扇 | fēng shàn |
| refrigerator | 电冰箱 / 電冰箱 | diàn bīng xiāng |
| air conditioner | 空调/ 空調 | kōng tiáo |
| washer | 洗衣机 / 洗衣機 | xǐ yī jī |
| microwave | 微波炉 / 微波爐 | wēi bō lú |
| hair dryer | 吹风机 / 吹風機 | chuī fēng jī |
| Animal | ||
| cat | 猫 / 貓 |
māo |
| dog | 狗 |
gǒu |
| bird | 鸟 / 鳥 |
niǎo |
| worm | 虫 / 蟲 | chóng |
| fish | 鱼 / 魚 |
yú |
| horse | 马 / 馬 |
mǎ |
| pig | 猪 / 豬 |
zhū |
| cow | 牛 | niú |
| duck | 鴨 (子) | yā |
| deer | 鹿 | lù |
| Occupation | ||
| doctor | 医生 / 醫生 | yī shēng |
| lawyer | 律师 / 律師 | lǜ shī |
| nurse | 护士 / 護士 | hù shi |
| chef | 厨师 / 廚師 | chú shī |
| police | 警察 | jǐng chá |
| teacher | 教师 / 教師 | jiào shī |
| Restaurant | ||
| table | 桌子 | zhuō zi |
| chair | 椅子 | yǐ zi |
| menu | 菜单 / 菜單 | cài dān |
| spoon | 勺子 | sháo zi |
| chopsticks | 筷子 | kuài zi |
| plate | 盘子 / 盤子 | pán zi |
| bowl | 碗 | wǎn |
| water | 水 | shuǐ |
| tea | 茶 | chá |
| waitor | 服务员 / 服務員 | fú wù yuán |
| bill | 账单 / 賬單 | zhàng dān |
| Transportation | ||
| airplane | 飞机 / 飛機 | fēi jī |
| airport | 机场 / 機場 | jī chǎng |
| train | 火车 / 火車 | huǒ chē |
| train station | 火车站 / 火車站 | huǒ chē zhàn |
| subway | 地铁 / 地鐵 | dì tiě |
| bus | 公交车 / 公交車 | gōng jiāo chē |
| bus stop | 公交车站 / 公交車站 | gōng jiāo chē zhàn |
| taxi | 出租车 / 出租車 | chū zū chē |
| bike | 自行车 / 自行車 | zì xíng chē |
| traffic light | 红绿灯 / 紅綠燈 | hóng lǜ dēng |
| intersection | 十字路口 | shí zì lù kǒu |
| Technology | ||
| computer | 电脑 / 電腦 | diàn nǎo |
| laptop | 笔记本电脑 / 筆記本電腦 | bǐ jì běn diàn nǎo |
| tablet | 平板电脑 / 平板電腦 | píng bǎn diàn nǎo |
| cellphone | 手机 / 手機 | shǒu jī |
| headphones | 耳机 / 耳機 | ěr jī |
| charger | 充电器 / 充電器 | chōng diàn qì |
| Wifi | 无线网络 / 無線網絡 | wú xiàn wǎng luò |
| application | 软件 / 軟件 | ruǎn jiàn |
| website | 网站 / 網站 | wǎng zhàn |
| photo | 照片 | zhào piàn |
| account | 账号 / 賬號 | zhàng hào |
| password | 密码 / 密碼 | mì mǎ |
| VERB | ||
| English | Chinese (S/T) | Pinyin |
| to be (is, am, are) | 是 | shì |
| to become | 成为 / 成為 | chéng wéi |
| to want | 要 | yào |
| to see | 看 | kàn |
| to sit | 坐 | zuò |
| to go | 去 | qù |
| to use | 用 | yòng |
| to do/make | 做 | zuò |
| to find | 找 | zhǎo |
| to tell | 告诉 / 告訴 | gào su |
| to ask | 问 / 問 | wèn |
| to think | 想, 觉得 / 覺得 | xiǎng, jué de |
| to eat | 吃 | chī |
| to drink | 喝 | hē |
| to take | 拿 | ná |
| to give | 给 / 給 | gěi |
| to open | 打开 / 打開, 开 / 開 | dǎ kāi , kāi |
| to have | 有 | yǒu |
| to know | 知道 | zhī dao |
| to like | 喜欢 / 喜歡 | xǐ huan |
| to love | 爱 / 愛 | ài |
| ADJECTIVE | ||
| kind | 好 | hǎo |
| good | 好 | hǎo |
| pretty | 漂亮 | piào liang |
| big | 大 | dà |
| small | 小 | xiǎo |
| tall | 高 | gāo |
| short | 矮 | ǎi |
| interesting | 有趣 | yǒuqù |
| hot | 热 / 熱 | rè |
| cold | 冷 | lěng |
| tasty | 好吃 | hǎo chī |
| hard | 难 / 難 | nán |
| soft | 柔软 / 柔軟 | róu ruǎn |
Basic Chinese Language Grammar
Despite Chinese and English belong to different language families with distinct writing systems, their grammar rules are surprisingly similar to each other. Like English, Chinese sentence structure also follows the order of subject-verb-object. After you get the hang of the rule of the Chinese sentence structure, you can make some basic Chinese sentences out of the basic Chinese words listed above or with the help of an English-Chinese dictionary.
English | Chinese |
Statement: Subject-Verb-Object | |
I am a translator. | 我是一名翻译。 |
My name is David. | 我的名字是大卫。 |
I go to work. | 我去工作。 |
You saw me. | 你看见我了。 |
They are sitting on the chairs. | 他们坐在椅子上。 |
She likes coffee. | 她喜欢咖啡。 |
He wants to go to the gift shop. | 他想要去礼品店。 |
| |
Yes/No Question: Subject-Verb-Object +吗 (ma)？ | |
Are you a translator? | 你是一名翻译吗？ |
你的名字是大卫吗？ | |
Did you see me? | 你看见我了吗? |
Does she like coffee? | 她喜欢咖啡吗? |
Does he want to go to the gift shop? | 他想要去礼品店吗? |
|
|
Negation: Subject+不/没有 +Verb+Object | |
I am not a translator. | 我不是一名翻译。 |
My name is not David. | 我的名字不是大卫。 |
I don’t go to work. | 我不去工作。 |
You didn’t see me. | 你没有看见我。 |
They are not sitting on the chairs. | 他们没有坐在椅子上。 |
She doesn’t like coffee. | |
He doesn’t want to go to the gift shop. | 他不想要去礼品店。 |
| |
Basic Mandarin Chinese Phrases
When traveling to China or having a language barrier with Chinese speakers, you can either turn to your translator App for help or simply put your knowledge of common Chinese words and phrases to the test. Here we have aggregated some basic Chinese phrases to help you get around.
English | Chinese | Pinyin |
What’s your name? | 你叫什么名字？ | nǐ jiào shén me míng zì? |
Where are you from? | 你来自那里？ | nǐ lái zì nǎ li? |
What is this? | 这是什么？ | zhè shì shén me? |
I’d like to buy_____. | 我想买_____。 | wǒ xiǎng mǎi_____. |
How much is it? | 多少钱？ | duō shǎo qián? |
What time is it? | 现在几点？ | xiàn zài jǐ diǎn? |
Where do you want to go? | 你想去哪里？ | nǐ xiǎng qù nǎ li? |
How do I get to the ____? | ____怎么走？ | ___ zěn me zǒu? |
How is the weather in ____? | ____的天气怎么样？ | ___ de tiān qì zěn me yàng? |
Writing Basic Chinese Characters
Learning the basic Chinese language isn’t as daunting as it seems. Once you’ve familiarized yourself with the basic words in Chinese Mandarin and the rules of making them into sentences, you will get the hang of it and be ready to communicate with Chinese speakers in no time. However, writing basic Chinese characters may require a lot of learning and practice since each character has its order of strokes to follow. You can learn more about the knowledge of Chinese characters in this article.
Translating Basic Chinese Words
Artificial intelligence has enhanced the quality of living in many aspects, including making international travel much easier. Thanks to technological advancements, machine translation can accurately translate basic words in a jiffy and facilitate effective communication between speakers of different languages. If you are looking for an App that recognizes basic Mandarin words with English translation, feel free to read more about the best translation App for iPhone or Android in our blog.
To Wrap Up
Acquainting yourself with the basic Chinese words and phrases can be useful when dealing with Chinese people. However, suppose you’re visiting China for business or other official purposes. In that case, it’s best to add a professional Chinese interpreter to your team to ensure everything said is linguistically accurate and culturally appropriate. If you need such a service, don’t hesitate to hit the button and contact us for more information.
