Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Introductions Paying
Family Buildings
Professions Towns
Festivals Provinces
Ethnic groups
1 of 1 Greetings top ▲
The most common greetings in Chinese are 你好 (nǐ hǎo, hello) and 您好 (nín hǎo, how do you do?).
您好 is the polite form used when talking to older people, superiors, customers and so on.
早上好 (zǎoshàng hǎo, good morning) and 晚上好 (wǎnshàng hǎo, good evening) are used in the morning or
in the evening respectively.
In shops and restaurant the expression 欢迎光临 (huānyíng guānglín, welcome) can often be heard.
When meeting somebody after a long time 好久不见 (hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn, long time no see) can be added to the
greetings 你好 or 您好.
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1 of 1 Goodbyes top ▲
再见 zàijiàn goodbye
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1 of 1 Names top ▲
In Chinese the surname proceeds the given name. The surname normally consists of a single syllable (character).
Common surnames are:
毛泽东 Mao Zedong Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Founder of the People’
s Republic
of China
周恩来 Zhou Enlai First Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China
邓小平 Deng Xiaoping Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for the opening up of
China after 1978
鲁迅 Lu Xun famous Chinese writer (Lu Xun is his pen name, his real name was 周树人
(Zhou Shuren))
姚明 Yao Ming famous Chinese basketball player
孙中山 Sun Zhongshan better known as Sun Yatsen, the ‘father’ of the Chinese Republic
汤唯 Tang Wei famous Chinese actress
成龙 Cheng Long better known as Jackie Chan - film star
李安 Li An known as Ang Lee, famous film director
Chinese people sometimes adapt their names to the Western fashion of first names preceeding the
surname. It can then be difficult to decide which is which, but looking for common surnames can help.
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1 of 2 Asking for a name top ▲
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2 of 2 Asking for a name top ▲
If you give your own name you can easily ask after the other person’
s name by saying
我是王小龙, 你呢?。 wǒ shì wáng xiǎolóng, nǐ I am Wang Xiaolong and you are ...?
ne?
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1 of 1 Forms of address top ▲
When addressing friends it is common to use their surname preceeded by 小 or 老 depending on their age
relative to yours.
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1 of 1 Introductions top ▲
让我来介绍一下, 这是 [Name] [Title] ràng wǒ lái jièshào yīxià, zhè shì ... Let me introduce ...
让我来介绍介绍, 这是 [Name] [Title] ràng wǒ lái jièshào jièshào, zhè shì ... Let me introduce ...
for example:
让我来介绍一下, 这是李老师。 ràng wǒ lái jièshào yīxià, zhè shì lǐ Let me introduce teacher Li.
lǎoshī
让我来介绍介绍, 这是王经理。 ràng wǒ lái jièshào jièshào, zhè shì Let me introduce manager Wang.
wáng jīnglǐ
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1 of 1 Polite expressions top ▲
In Chinese a number of sentence final particles are used to soften the tone of a request:
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1 of 1 Good wishes and congratulations top ▲
To congratulate somebody you can say 恭喜恭喜 gōngxǐgōngxǐ. To congratulate somebody on occasion of a
specific event you can say 庆祝 (qìngzhù) followed by the event:
ITo express good wishes you can say 祝贺你/您 (zhùhè nǐ/nín) followed by the occasion:
祝你新年快乐 zhùnǐ xīnnián kuàilè Happy New Year
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1 of 1 Family top ▲
The diagram gives Family
Relationship terms in Chinese are quite complex. a simple overview. Diagram
我 wǒ I
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1 of 2 Education top ▲
Chinese education begins with primary school 小学 (xiǎoxué) and then continues to middle and high school 中
学 (zhōngxué) and finally university 大学 (dàxué)。
Students are generally called 学生 (xuésheng). Teachers are called 老师 (lǎoshī) or 教师 ( jiàoshī). A professor is
called 教授 ( jiàoshòu).
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2 of 2 Education top ▲
There are many universities (大学 dàxué) in China. Amongst the most famous ones are:
学生 xuésheng Students
教授 jiàoshòu Professor
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1 of 1 Professions top ▲
老师 lǎoshī teacher
教授 jiàoshòu professor
秘书 mìshū secretary
工人 gōngrén worker
医生 yīshēng doctor
护士 hùshi nurse
商人 shāngrén businessman
会计 kuàiji accountant
司机 sījī driver
技师 jìshī mechanic
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1 of 1 Chinese Festivals top ▲
There are a number of traditional Chinese festivals. Below are the most common ones.
Lantern 元宵节 yuánxiāojié Day 15 of lunar month 1 Lantern parades, lion dancing
Festival
Qingming 清明节 qīngmíngjié 104 days after winter visiting and cleaning ancestral
Festival solstice graves
Dragon Boat 端午节 duānwǔjié Day 5 of lunar month 5 dragon boat racing, eating rice
Festival wraps, commemorating Qu Yuan
Double Seven 七夕 qīxī 1Day 7 of lunar month 7 related to the story of 织女 and
Festival 牛郎 (Zhi Nǚ,Niú Láng)
Mid-autumn 中秋节 zhōngqiūjié Day 15 of lunar month 8 Mooncakes, Legend of 嫦娥
Festival (cháng’
é, the Lady on the Moon)
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1 of 1 Chinese Zodiac top ▲
There are a number of traditional Chinese festivals. Below are the most common ones.
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1 of 1 Language and People top ▲
To say where somebody is from add 人 (rén) to the name of the country.
Examples:
To ask what country somebody is from, say 你是哪国人? (nǐ shì nǎ guó rén) What country are you from?
The names of languages are normally formed by adding 文 (wén) or 语 (yǔ) to the name of the country.
Examples:
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1 of 1 Ethnic groups top ▲
China recognizes 56 ethnic groups. The biggest by far are the Han, which make up about 92% of the Chinese
population and just under 20% of the world population.
The table below lists the larger ethnic groups, their approximate size and geographical location.
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1 of 1 Chinese currency top ▲
元 yuán Yuan
In spoken Chinese you will often hear 块 (kuài) for Yuan and 毛 (máo) for Jiao.
Before 1947 many Chinese banks 银行 (yínháng) and other organisations issued their own notes, so there are a
large number of old Chinese banknotes in existence, although not in circulation.
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1 of 1 Tea and Drinks top ▲
咖啡 kāfēi coffee
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1 of 1 Where to get food and drink top ▲
There are a number of locations where you can get food and drink from:
酒巴 jiǔbā bar
茶馆 cháguǎn teahouse
A waiter or waitress is usually called: 服务员 (fúwùyuán). A waitress may also be called 小姐 (xiǎojie), however in
some parts of China using 小姐 is considered impolite. The cook is called 厨师 (chúshī).
Many Chinese restaurants have private rooms for smaller parties. These rooms are called: 包间 (bāojiān)
separate room.
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1 of 2 Chinese dishes top ▲
A Chinese meal normally consists of a number of dishes shared between everbody, not a series of courses.
Parties in a restaurant often sit around a turntable 转盘 (zhuànpán) with everbody helping themselves to the
food from the dishes placed on the turntable. Chinese food is eaten with chopsticks 筷子 (kuàizi) rather than
knife and fork 刀, 叉 (dāo, chā).
There are a very large number of dishes, some of the best known are:
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2 of 2 Chinese dishes top ▲
You may also look out for the following characters to give you a clue:
Ingredients: Seasoning:
鱼 yú fish 醋 cù vinegar
面条 miàntiáo noodles
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1 of 2 Hotel top ▲
空调 kōngtiáo Air-conditioning
电视 diànshì Television
电话 diànhuà telephone
早餐 zǎocān breakfast
浴室 yùshì bathroom
You check in at reception 前台服务 (qiántái fúwù), where you fill in the registration form 登记表 (dēngjìbiǎo), and
are told your room number 房间号码 (fāngjiān hàomǎ) and given your room key/card 钥匙 /卡 (yàoshi /kǎ).
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1 of 2 Paying top ▲
You can either pay by cash 现金 (xiànjīn) or credit card 信用卡 (xìnyòngkǎ).
The bill is called 账单 (zhàngdān) and you call for the bill by either saying 买单 (mǎidān) or 结账 ( jiézhàng).
发票 tends to be a small or automatically produced receipt, while 收据 is used for a more substantial, especially
produced receipt. Sellers pay tax based on 发票.
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1 of 2 Bargain and discounts top ▲
In China it is normal to haggle over prices in markets 市场 (shìchǎng) and similar places but not in modern
department stores 百货店 (bǎihuòdiàn).
To give a discount is called 打折 (dǎzhé). The discount given is expressed as the amount remaining not the
amount taken off the price:
贵 (guì) is expensive,
便宜 (piányi) is inexpensive/bargain.
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1 of 2 Measurements top ▲
Both traditional Chinese measurements and metric measurements are in common use. Metric measurements
usually use the prefix 公, traditional measurements use no prefix or the prefix市 (meaning ‘market’).
公分 gōngfēn gram
两 liǎng 50 grams
公斤 gōngjīn kilogram
担 dàn 50 kilograms
Area
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2 of 2 Measurements top ▲
Length
公分 gōngfēn 1 centimetre
公尺 gōngchǐ metre
公里 gōnglǐ kilometre
Volume
升 shēng litre
斗 dǒu 10 litre
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1 of 1 Buildings top ▲
胡同 hútong alley
大厦 dà shà high-rise
The number of floors are counted from 1, so 一楼 is the ground floor, 二楼 is the first floor etc. Floor thirteen is
often omitted.
A floor is called 楼 (lóu) or 层 (céng). 楼 is also used for the number of a building. 她住两号楼 (tā zhù liǎng hào
lóu) means ‘She lives in Building No.2’.
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1 of 1 Public Places top ▲
公园 gōngyuán park
医院 yīyuàn hospital
厕所 cèsuǒ toilet
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1 of 1 Towns top ▲
武汉 wǔhàn Wuhan (big industrial centre) 天津 tiānjīn Tianjin (port to the west of Beijing)
The names of non Chinese cities are usually transcriptions of their original names:
汉城 hànchéng Seoul
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1 of 2 Administrative regions top ▲
The names of non Chinese cities are usually transcriptions of their original names:
Provinces: 省 shěng
浙江 zhèjiāng Zhejiang
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2 of 2 Administrative regions top ▲
Autonomous Regions
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1 of 1 Countries top ▲
Country names are either formed by adding 国 (guó)to a syllable sounding similar to the country’s actual name,
or the Chinese name is a transcription of the country’
s name:
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1 of 1 Continents top ▲
亚洲 yàzhōu Asia
非洲 fēizhōu Africa
美洲 měizhōu America
欧洲 ōuzhōu Europe
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top ▲
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