Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, and is one of the official languages of Singapore. In English, it is often just called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In China, it is called Putonghua (普通话), meaning "common speech", while in Taiwan it is referred to as Guoyu (國語), "the national language." It has been the main language of education in China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not quite identical with, the Mandarin dialect of the Beijing area. In Singapore, it is officially referred to as HuaYu (华语).
Note that while the spoken Mandarin in the above places is more or less the same, the written characters are different. Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau all still use traditional characters, whereas Mainland China and Singapore use a simplified derivative. Educated people living in Mainland China or Singapore can still understand traditional character with no problem but not vice versa, for example Taiwanese people may have difficulty recognising some simplified characters.
Note that "dialect" has a different meaning when applied to Chinese from when it is applied to other languages.
Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as, say, Italian and French, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects" - using a pure linguistic definition they are distinct "languages".
All Chinese dialects, in general, use the same set of characters in reading and writing. A Cantonese speaker and a Mandarin speaker cannot talk to each other, but either can generally read what the other writes. Even a speaker of Japanese or Korean will recognise many characters.
While formal written Chinese is the same everywhere, there can be significant differences when the "dialects" are written in colloquial form. For example Cantonese as used in Hong Kong, more informal phrasings are used in everyday speech than what would be written. Thus, there are some extra characters that are sometimes used in addition to the common characters to represent the spoken dialect and other colloquial words.
One additional complication is that mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, a long-debated change completed by the mainland Chinese government in 1956 to facilitate the standardization of language across China's broad minority groups and sub-dialects of Mandarin and other Chinese languages. Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macau and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional characters. In addition, the Dungan language, which is spoken in some parts of neighbouring countries, is considered to be a variant of Mandarin but uses the Cyrillic alphabet instead of Chinese characters.
About one fifth of the people in the world speak some form of Chinese as their native language. It is a tonal language that is related to Burmese and Tibetan. Although Japanese and Korean use Chinese written characters the spoken languages are not related to Chinese. Also, the unrelated Vietnamese language (which uses a distinctive version of the Latin alphabet) language has borrowed many words from Chinese and at one time used Chinese characters as well.
Chinese, like most other Asian languages such as Arabic, is famous for being difficult to learn. While English speakers would initially have problems with the tones and recognizing the many different characters (Chinese has no alphabet), the grammar is very simple and can be picked up very easily. Most notably, Chinese grammar does not have conjugation, tenses, gender, plurals or other grammatical rules found in other major languages such as English or French.
The pronunciation guide below uses Hanyu pinyin, the official romanization of the People's Republic of China. Until recently, Taiwan used the Wade-Giles system, which is quite different, then switched to Tongyong pinyin, only slightly different from Hanyu pinyin, and now officially uses Hanyu pinyin just like the People's Republic.
Pinyin allows very accurate pronunciation of Chinese if you understand how it works, but the way that it uses letters like q, x, c, z and even i is not at all intuitive to the English speaker. Studying the pronunciation guide below carefully is thus essential. After you master the pronunciation you still may not be understood, its time to move on to the next challenge, speaking the accurate tones.
Some pinyin vowels (especially "e", "i", "ü") can be tricky, so it is best to get a native speaker to demonstrate. Also, beware of the spelling rules listed in the exceptions below.
a
as in father; otherwise, pronounced as in "awesome"
a in an
as "a" in "cat" or "back" (just the English short "a" sound)
e
unrounded back vowel (IPA [ɤ]), similar to duh; in unstressed syllables becames a schwa (IPA [ə]), like idea
i
as in see or key; after sh, zh, s, z or r, not really a vowel at all but just a stretched-out consonant sound
Chinese stops distinguish between aspirated and unaspirated, not voiceless and voiced as in English. Aspirated sounds are pronounced with a distinctive puff of air as they are pronounced in English when at the beginning of a word, while unaspirated sounds are pronounced without the puff, as in English when found in clusters.
Place a hand in front of your mouth and compare pit (aspirated) with spit (unaspirated) to see the difference.
Unaspirated
Aspirated
b
as in spot
p
as in pit
d
as in do
t
as in tongue
g
as in skin
k
as in king
j
as in jeer
q
as in cheap
zh
as in jungle
ch
as in chore
z
as in zebra
c
as in rats
Here are the other consonants in Chinese:
m
as in mow
f
as in fun
n
as in none or none
l
as in lease but pronounced like a Spanish "r" in "rojo"
h
as in her
x
as in sheep
sh
as in shoot
r
as in fair, but can be "zh" as in "pleasure"
s
as in sag
ng
as in sing
w
as in wing but silent in wu. Before a, ai, ang, eng, and/or o, this may sound like the English v/ German w.
y
as in yet but silent in yi, yu
If you think that is a fairly intimidating repertoire, rest assured that many Chinese people, particularly those who are not native Mandarin speakers, will merge many of the sounds above (especially q with ch and j with zh).
How do I put my tone marks?
If you are confused by how to put tone marks above the Hanyu Pinyin, follow the steps below:
Always insert tone marks above the vowels. If there is more than one vowel letter, follow the steps below:
(1) Insert it above the 'a' if that letter is present. For example, it is rǎo and not raǒ
(2) If not, insert it above 'o'. For example, guó and not gúo
(3) Insert it above the letter 'e' if the letters 'a' and 'o' are not present. For example, jué and not júe
(4) If only 'i', 'u' and 'ü' are the only present letters, insert it in the letter that occurs last. For example, jiù and not jìu, chuí and not chúi. Note, if the vowel present is ü, the tone mark is put in addition to the umlaut. For example, lǜ
There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation. If you are not used to tonal languages, never underestimate the importance of these tones. Consider a vowel with a different tone as simply a different vowel altogether, and you will realize why Chinese will not understand you if you use the wrong tone — mǎ is to mā as "I want a cake" is to "I want a coke". Be especially wary of questions that have a falling tone, or conversely exclamations that have an "asking" tone (eg jǐngchá, police). In other words, pronounced like does not imply meaning. While Mandarin speakers also vary their tone just like English speakers do to differentiate a statement from a question and convey emotion, this is much more subtle than in English. Do not try it until you have mastered the basic tones.
1. first tone ( ā )
flat, high pitch that is more sung instead of spoken.
2. second tone ( á )
low to middle, rising pitch that is pronounced like the end of a question phrase (Whát?).
3. third tone ( ǎ )
middle to low to high, dipping pitch: for two consecutive words in the third tone, the first word is pronounced as if it is in the second tone. For example, 打扰 dǎrǎo is pronounced as dárǎo.
4. fourth tone ( à )
high to low, rapidly falling pitch that is pronounced like a command (Stop!).
5. fifth tone
neutral pitc that is rarely used by itself (except for phrase particles) but frequently occurring as the second part of a phrase.
To be or not to be?
Chinese does not have words for "yes" and "no" as such; instead, questions are typically answered by repeating the verb. Here are common examples:
Chinese numbers are very regular. While Western numerals have become more common, the Chinese numerals shown below are still used, particularly in informal contexts like markets. The characters in parentheses are generally used in financial contexts, such as writing cheques and printing banknotes.
0
〇 (零) líng
1
一 (壹) yī
2
二 (贰) èr (两 liǎng is used when specifying quantities)
3
三 (叁) sān
4
四 (肆) sì
5
五 (伍) wǔ
6
六 (陆) liù
7
七 (柒) qī
8
八 (捌) bā
9
九 (玖) jiǔ
10
十 (拾) shí
11
十一 shí-yī
12
十二 shí-èr
13
十三 shí-sān
14
十四 shí-sì
15
十五 shí-wǔ
16
十六 shí-liù
17
十七 shí-qī
18
十八 shí-bā
19
十九 shí-jiǔ
20
二十 èr-shí
21
二十一 èr-shí-yī
22
二十二 èr-shí-èr
23
二十三 èr-shí-sān
30
三十 sān-shí
40
四十 sì-shí
50
五十 wǔ-shí
60
六十 liù-shí
70
七十 qī-shí
80
八十 bā-shí
90
九十 jiǔ-shí
For numbers above 100, any "gaps" must be filled in with 〇 líng, as eg. 一百一 yībǎiyī would otherwise be taken as shorthand for "110". A single unit of tens may be written and pronounced either 一十 yīshí or just 十 shí.
100
一百 (壹佰) yī-bǎi
101
一百〇一 yī-bǎi-líng-yī
110
一百一十 yī-bǎi-yī-shí
111
一百一十一 yī-bǎi-yī-shí-yī
200
二百 èr-bǎi or 两百：liǎng-bǎi
300
三百 sān-bǎi
500
五百 wǔ-bǎi
1000
一千 (壹仟) yī-qiān
2000
二千 èr-qiān
or 两千 liǎng-qiān
Numbers starting from 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits starting with 万 wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred ten-thousands" (一百万).
10,000
一万 (壹萬) yī-wàn
10,001
一万〇一 yī-wàn-líng-yī
10,002
一万〇二 yī-wàn-líng-èr
20,000
二万 èr-wàn
50,000
五万 wǔ-wàn
100,000
十万 shí-wàn
200,000
二十万 èr-shí-wàn
1,000,000
一百万 yī-bǎi-wàn
10,000,000
一千万 yī-qiān-wàn
100,000,000
一亿 (壹億) yī-yì
1,000,000,000,000
一兆 yī-zhào
number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
number measure word (路 lù, 号 hào, ...) _____ (huǒ chē, gōng gòng qì chē, etc.)
Measure words are used in combination with a number to indicate an amount of mass nouns, similar to how English requires "two pieces of paper" rather than just "two paper". [1] When unsure, use 个 (ge); even though it may not be correct, you will probably be understood because it is the most common measure word. (One person: 一个人 yīgè rén; two apples: 两个苹果 liǎnggè píngguǒ; note that two of something always uses 两 liǎng rather than 二 èr).
Weekdays in Chinese are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after 星期 xīngqī. In Taiwan, 星期 is pronounced xīngqí (second tone on the second syllable).
Sunday
星期天 xīngqītiān or xīngqīrì (星期日)
Monday
星期一 xīngqīyī
Tuesday
星期二 xīngqīèr
Wednesday
星期三 xīngqīsān
Thursday
星期四 xīngqīsì
Friday
星期五 xīngqīwǔ
Saturday
星期六 xīngqīliù
星期 can also be replaced with 礼拜 lǐbài and occasionally 周 zhōu.
If you are attempting to name a date in the Chinese lunar calendar, add the words ‘农历’ before the name of the month to distinguish it from the months of the solar calendar, although it is not strictly necessary. There are some differences: The words 日(rì)/ 号(hào) are generally not required when stating dates in the lunar calendar; it is assumed. Besides that, the 1st Month is called 正月 (zhèngyuè). If the number of the day is less than 11, the word 初 is used before the value of the day. Besides that, if the value of the day is more than 20, the word 廿 (niàn) is used, so the 23rd day is 廿三 for example.
15th day of the 8th lunar month (the mid-autumn festival)
(农历)八月十五 ( (nónglì) bāyuè shí-wǔ).
1st day of the 1st lunar month
(农历)正月初一 ( (nónglì) zhèngyuè chūyī).
23rd day of the 9th lunar month
( 农历) 九月廿三 ( (nónglì) jiŭ yuè niànsān).
When writing the date, you name the month (number (1-12) + yuè), before inserting the day (number (1-31) + 日(rì)/ 号(hào) ). Note that the usage of 号(hào), which is more often used in spoken language, is more colloquial than that of 日(rì), which is more often used in written documents.
Reading a Chinese Menu
Look for these characters to get an idea of what you're ordering. With help from The Eater's Guide to Chinese Characters (J. McCawley) and using Simplified Chinese.
dīng
丁 (cubed/diced)
piàn
片 (thinly sliced)
sī
丝 (shredded)
kuài
块 (chunk/cut into bite-sized pieces)
qiú
球 (curled)
chăo
炒 (stir-fried)
zhá or zhà
炸 (deep-fried)
kăo
烤 (dry-roasted)
shāo
烧 (roasted w/ sauce)
Can I look at the menu, please?
请给我看看菜谱. qǐng gěi wǒ kànkan càipǔ.
Do you have an English menu?
你有没有英文菜谱？ nǐ yŏu méi yǒu yīngwén càipǔ?
(Listen for...
Yes, we have one. : 有 yǒu - No, we don't. : 没有 méi yǒu)
In most Chinese cities, there are no telephone booths. Instead, small street shops have telephones which can usually be used for national calls. Look for signs like this:
公用电话 Public Telephone
Most cafes are cheaper than in hotels. Many mid-range hotels and chains now offer free wireless or plug-in internet. Those cafes are quite hidden sometimes and you should look for the following Chinese characters:
网吧 Internet Cafe
Can I make international calls here?
可以打国际电话吗? (kěyǐ dǎ guójì diànhuà ma?)
How much is it to America/Australia/Britain/Canada?
Chinese is the most spoken language of the world, with more speakers than the next two, Hindi and Spanish, combined. However, there are still few learners of Chinese in the Western world and you might get weird looks if you say you want to start learning it: "Instead of anger of frustration, the student should instead feel a smug superiority of being ahead of everyone else!"
The first step is to learn to read the romanization with tones. Avoid any phrasebook that does not mark the tones.
For simple sentences, one may be able to get away without tones, but this can cause confusion in more complex situations, so tones are very important. A classic example is the difference between the Chinese characters for "four" (四, sì) and "death" (死, sǐ), different only by tones.
A good idea for practicing is to make Chinese friends online since millions of young people in China also look for somebody to practice English with.
This is a guide phrasebook. It covers all the major topics for traveling without resorting to English. But please Plunge forward and help us make it a star!
