The Chinese Language and dialects
Each province, each city and even each village speaks their own dialect. There are hundreds of Chinese dialects in China so much so that each dialect speaker is not likely to understand another dialect speaker from another village or city. Fortunately, Mandarin, the official dialect, is understood by all dialect speakers.
Let's learn a few useful basic and common Mandarin words and phrases that will help you break barriers with your Chinese friends.
How are You? -Ni Hao Ma
Also commonly shorten to Ni Hao.
This is likely to be the first Mandarin phrase that you will ever learn. Useful as a greeting or a ice-breaker. Suitable for use with all ages and professions.
Thank You -Xie Xie.
Another polite term that is easy to remember and use.
Very Good -Hen Hao.
This is useful when giving praise for a job or task well done. Also useful as a reply to anyone who says "Ni Hao Ma?' to you.
Ni Hao Ma? (How are you?)
Hen Hao (Very Good)
No Good -Bu Hao.
This is useful when there is a need to comment on a shoddy or incomplete job or task. Can also be used as a reply to Ni Hao Ma? but may not be such a good reply.
Ni Hao Ma? (How are you?)
Bu Hao (No Good)
Very Expensive -Hen Gui.
When bargaining at the shops, this is the best term to use when driving a hard bargain.
Don't want or No -Bu Yao.
This is the best term to use for touts - street hawkers who approach you at every tourist stop to ask you to buy things. Bu Yao....will stop them in their track.
This is beautiful -Hen Piao Liang.
Use this phrase to praise something that is nice or beautiful. May also be used when meeting a pretty girl too!
Taxi -De Shi.
De Shi is the correct term but you should be understood even if you use the English word for Taxi. They sound alike anyway.
Good Bye or See You Again -Zai Jian.
Well, I guess this is another term that will be easily understood even if the English word is used.
Excuse Me -Jie Guo.
There is always a crowd in touristy areas. There are so many Chinese who wants to see the same monuments too. Rather than push your way through the crowd, using the term Jie Guo may just open the path ahead for you!
Receipt -Fa Piao.
Always ask for the receipt or Fa Piao at the shops or from a taxi. This may be useful if you need to complain about a fraud or shoddy product. Also useful if you leave behind your bag or camera in the taxi.
I don't want -Wo Bu Yao.
Useful when refusing a tout or when offered a drink too many at the Dinner table.
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How Are You?
You can extend nǐ hǎo - 你好 by adding the question particle ►ma - 嗎/吗. The question particle ma can be added to the end of sentences and phrases to change them from statements to questions.
The literal translation of nǐ hǎo ma? - 你好嗎?/你好吗? is "you good?" which means "how are you?"
Zǎo means “morning.” It is a noun and can also be used by itself as a greeting meaning "good morning".
Another way to say "good morning" is zǎo ān - 早安. The second character - ān - 安 means "peace", so the literal translation of zǎo ān - 早安 is "morning peace".
A more formal way to say "good morning" is zǎo shàng hǎo - 早上好. We know hǎo - 好 from our first lesson. It means "good". Shàng means "upon", but in this case zǎo shàng - 早上 is a compound meaning "early morning". So the literal translation of zǎo shàng hǎo - 早上好 is "early morning good".
Wǎn shàng hǎo - 晚上好 - Good Evening
In the same pattern as zǎo shàng hǎo - 早上好, we can say "good evening" with wǎn shàng hǎo - 晚上好. In this greeting, wǎn shàng means "evening" and hǎo - 好 means "good". The literal translation of wǎn shàng hǎo - 晚上好 is "evening good".
Appropriate Times
These greetings should be said at the appropriate time of the day. Zǎo or zǎo shàng refer to early morning, so the morning greetings should only be said up to about 10 a.m.
Wǎn shàng hǎo is usually said between about 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The standard greeting nǐ hǎo - 你好 can be used at any time of the day or night.
The Four Tones of Mandarin
| Pinyin | Traditional Chinese | Simplified Chinese | Meaning | Sound Clip |
| mā | 媽 | 妈 | mother | audio |
| má | 麻 | 麻 | hemp | audio |
| mǎ | 馬 | 马 | horse | audio |
| mà | 罵 | 骂 | scold | audio |
Zài jiàn - 再見/再见 - Goodbye
Each of the two characters of zài jiàn - 再見/再见 are pronounced in the fourth (falling) tone. Listen to the sound file and try to repeat the tones exactly as you hear them.
Zài jiàn is two syllables, each represented by a Chinese character. It is possible to examine the meaning of each character, but it is important to remember that zài jiàn is a complete phrase. Chinese characters have individual meanings, but the majority of Mandarin vocabulary is made of compounds of two or more characters.
For interests sake, here are the possible translations of the two characters 再見 (traditional) 再见 (simplified).
zài - 再
- again
- once more
- next in sequence
- another
jiàn - 見/见
- to see
- to meet
- to appear (to be something)
- to interview
So a possible translation of zài jiàn - 再見/再见 is "again to meet". But don't think of zài jiàn - 再見/再见 as two words - it is one phrase that means "goodbye".
Other Ways To Say Goodbye
Here are some other common ways to say "goodbye". Listen to the sound files and try to reproduce the tones as closely as possible.
- ►míng tiān jiàn - 明天見/明天见 - see you tomorrow
- ►yī huĭr jiàn - 一會兒見/一会儿见 - see you later (the same day)
- ►huí tóu jiàn - 回頭見/回头见 - see you later (the same day)
►lǎo shī
teacher
老師/老师►máng
busy
忙►hěn
very
很►ne
question particle
呢►yě
also
也►nà
so; in that case
那Dialogue
A: ►Laoshi hǎo. Nín máng bù máng?
B: ►Hěn máng. Nǐ ne?
A: ►Wǒ yě hěn máng.
B: ►Na, yī huĭr jiàn le.
A: ►Huí tóu jiàn.A: Hello teacher, are you busy?
B: Very busy, and you?
A: I am also very busy.
B: In that case, I’ll see you later.
A: See you later.A: 老師好, 您忙不忙?
B: 很忙. 你呢?
A: 我也很忙｡
B: 那,一會兒見了｡
A: 回頭見｡A: 老师好, 您忙不忙?
B: 很忙. 你呢?
A: 我也很忙｡
B: 那,一会儿见了｡
A: 回头见｡What is the third Mandarin tone? a) high and flat b) falling c) rising d) rising and falling Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "d". You can review this material in the "Mandarin Tones" lesson. ( more information ) 2Not AnsweredWhat does "nǐ" mean? a) good b) you c) hello d) goodbye Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "b". You can review this material in the "Saying Hello" lesson. ( more information ) 3Not AnsweredHow do you say "good morning" in Mandarin? a) nǐ hǎo b) zǎo ān c) bù hǎo d) hěn hǎo Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "b". You can review this material in the "Mandarin Greetings" lesson. ( more information ) 4Not AnsweredSomeone says "How are you?" and you want to say you are well. You reply… a) nǐ hǎo b) hái hǎo c) bù hǎo d) hěn hǎo Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "d". You can review this material in the "Saying Hello" lesson. ( more information ) 5Not AnsweredHow do you say "hello" in Mandarin? a) nǐ hǎo b) nǐ hǎo ma c) hěn hǎo d) hái hǎo Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "a". You can review this material in the "Saying Hello" lesson. ( more information ) 6Not AnsweredWhat does "hǎo" mean? a) you b) hello c) good d) goodbye Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "c". You can review this material in the "Saying Hello" lesson. ( more information ) 7Not AnsweredHow do you say "goodbye" in Mandarin Chinese? a) nǐ hǎo ma b) hái hǎo c) zài jiàn d) nǐ hǎo Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "c". You can review this material in the "Saying Goodbye" lesson. ( more information ) 8Not AnsweredWhen should you say "zǎo ān"? a) early morning b) late morning c) afternoon d) evening Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "a". You can review this material in the "Mandarin Greetings" lesson. ( more information ) 9Not AnsweredWhat does "hěn máng" mean? a) goodbye b) very bad c) very good d) very busy Your answer is wrong! The correct answer is "d". You can review this material in the "Mandarin Dialog" lesson. ( more information ) 10Not AnsweredWhat does "míng tiān jiàn" mean? a) hello b) see you tomorrow c) see you later d) very good
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