Chinese phrasebook - Traditional
From Wikitravel
Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan, and is one of the four official languages of Singapore. In English, it is often just called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In China, it is called Putonghua (普通話), meaning "common speech", while it Taiwan it is referred to as Guoyu (國語) - "the national language." It has been the only language of education in China since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not quite identical with, the dialect of the Beijing area. Note that while the spoken mandarin in the above places is the same, the written characters are different. In Taiwan and Hong Kong, traditional characters are used, whereas China and Singapore use a simplified derivative.
[edit] Understand
The word "dialect" means something different when applied to Chinese than it does for other languages. Chinese "dialects" are mutually unintelligible, as different as, say, Italian and French, which we would call "related languages" rather than "dialects".
All Chinese dialects do, in general, use the same 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. However, there is a complication. Mainland China and Singapore use simplified characters, developed to facilitate a literacy campaign among the peasants some years back. Hong Kong, Taiwan, and many overseas Chinese still use the traditional 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 has borrowed many words from Chinese.
Travellers headed for Guangdong, Hong Kong or Macau may find Cantonese useful as well as or instead of Mandarin. Those heading for Taiwan or southern Fujian may find the Minnan dialect useful as well.
[edit] Pronunciation guide
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, but has recently officially switched to Tongyong pinyin, which is only slightly different.
[edit] Vowels
- a
- as in father
- e
- as in the hen
- i
- as in ping or key; after sh, zh, or r, as in shirr; after s or z, hold the z and make a vowel of it
- o
- as in saw or sung
- u
- as in soon; but as ü in ju, qu, yu and xu
- ü
- as in French lune or German grün
[edit] Consonants
Chinese stops distinguish aspirated and unaspirated, not voiceless and voiced as in English. So p, t, and k should be pronounced with a puff of air.
- b
- as in ball or spall
- c
- as in rats
- ch
- as in chore
- d
- as in do or stew
- f
- as in fun
- g
- as in gang
- h
- as in her
- j
- as in jeer
- k
- as in king
- l
- as in lease
- m
- as in mow
- n
- as in none
- ng
- as in sing
- p
- as in pit
- q
- as in cheap
- r
- as in genre or fair
- s
- as in sag
- sh
- as in shoot
- t
- as in tongue
- w
- as in wing, but silent in wu
- x
- as in sheep
- y
- as in yet, but silent in yi, yu
- z
- as in red zebra
- zh
- as in jungle
[edit] Exceptions
There are a fairly large number of niggling exceptions to the basic rules above, based on the position of the sound. Some of the more notable ones include:
- -ian
- as -ien, so 天安門 Tian'anmen is pronounced "Tien'anmen"
- wu-
- as u-, so 五百 wubai is pronounced "ubai"
- yi-
- as i-, so 一個 yige is pronounced "ige"
- yü-
- as ü-, so 豫園 Yuyuan is pronounced "ü-üan"
[edit] Tones
There are four tones in Mandarin that must be followed for proper pronunciation.
- 1. first tone ( ā )
- flat, high pitch - more sung instead of spoken
- 2. second tone ( á )
- low to middle, rising - pronounced like the end of a question phrase (Whát?)
- 3. third tone ( ǎ )
- middle to low to high, dipping - if at the end of a sentence or before a pause, it is then followed by a rising pitch (Note: standard pedagogy teaches this tone as a falling, then slightly rising intonation. DO NOT PAY ANY ATTENTION TO THIS. Pronounce third tone as a very low, slightly falling intonation, because if you try to raise the pitch toward the end of it, not only will you sound funny when pronouncing a third tone in the middle of a series of other tones, you may also end up sounding like you're pronouncing the syllable as second tone.)
- 4. fourth tone ( à )
- high to low, falling - Pronounced like a command (Stop!)
5. There is also a fifth tone, the neutral tone, which is used rarely, mostly for phrase particles.
[edit] Phrase list
All phrases shown in here use the traditional characters used in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and other places outside of Mainland China.
[edit] Basics
|
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. Common ones include:
|
- Hello.
- 你好。 Nǐ hǎo.
- How are you?
- 你好嗎？ Nǐ hǎo ma?
- Fine, thank you.
- 很好, 謝謝。 Hěn hǎo, xièxie.
- What is your (first) name?
- 你叫什麼名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
- My name is ______ .
- 我叫 _____ 。 Wǒ jiào ______ .
- Nice to meet you.
- 很高興認識你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.
- Please.
- 請。 Qǐng.
- Thank you.
- 謝謝。 xièxie.
- You're welcome.
- 不客氣。 Bú kèqi.
- Excuse me. (getting attention)
- 請問 qǐng wèn.
- Excuse me. (begging pardon)
- 打擾一下。 Dǎrǎo yixià ; 麻煩您一下, Máfan nǐ le.
- I'm sorry.
- 對不起。 Duìbùqǐ.
- Goodbye
- 再見。 Zàijiàn.
- Goodbye (informal)
- 拜拜。 Bai-bai. (Byebye)
- I can't speak Chinese.
- 我不會說漢語。 Wǒ bú huì shuō hànyǔ.
- Do you speak English?
- 你會說英語嗎？ Nǐ huì shuō yīngyǔ ma?
- Is there someone here who speaks English?
- 這裏有人會說英語嗎？ Zhèlǐ yǒu rén huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
- Help! (in emergencies)
- 救命! Jiù mìng!
- Good morning.
- 早安。 Zǎo ān.
- Good evening.
- 晚上好。 Wǎnshàng hǎo.
- Good night.
- 晚安。 Wǎn ān.
- I don't understand.
- 我聽不懂。 Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
- Where is the toilet?
- 廁所在哪里？ Cèsuŏ zài nǎli?
[edit] Problems
- Leave me alone.
- 不要打擾我。 (búyào dǎrǎo wǒ)
- Don't touch me!
- 不要碰我！ (búyào pèng wǒ!)
- I'll call the police.
- 我要叫員警了。 (wǒ yào jiào jǐngchá le)
- Police!
- 員警！ (jǐngchá!)
- Stop! Thief!
- 住手！小偷！ (zhùshǒu! xiǎotōu!)
- I need your help.
- 我需要你的幫助。 (wǒ xūyào nǐde bāngzhù)
- It's an emergency.
- 這是緊急情況。 (zhèshì jǐnjí qíngkuàng)
- I'm lost.
- 我迷路了。 (wǒ mílù le)
- I lost my bag.
- 我丟了手提包。 (wǒ diūle shǒutíbāo)
- I lost my wallet.
- 我丟了錢包。 (wǒ diūle qiánbāo)
- I'm sick.
- 我生病了。 (wǒ shēngbìng le)
- I've been injured.
- 我受傷了。 (wǒ shòushāng le)
- I need a doctor.
- 我需要醫生。 (wǒ xūyào yīshēng)
- Can I use your phone?
- 我可以打個電話嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ dǎ ge diànhuà ma?)
[edit] Numbers
Chinese numbers are very regular. While Arabic (Western) numerals have become more common, the Chinese numerals shown below are still used, particularly in informal contexts like markets. The character indicated in parentheses is largely used in financial contexts, such as writing cheques and in banknotes.
- 0 〇, 零
- líng
- 1 一 (壹)
- yī
- 2 二 (貳)
- èr
- 3 三 (叄)
- sān
- 4 四 (肆)
- sì
- 5 五 (伍)
- wǔ
- 6 六 (陸)
- lìu
- 7 七 (柒)
- qī
- 8 八 (捌)
- bā
- 9 九 (玖)
- jǐu
- 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-lìu
- 17 十七
- shí-qī
- 18 十八
- shí-bā
- 19 十九
- shí-jǐu
- 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
- lìu-shí
- 70 七十
- qī-shí
- 80 八十
- bā-shí
- 90 九十
- jǐu-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
- 300 三百
- sān-bǎi
- 500 五百
- wǔ-bǎi
- 1000 一千 (壹仟)
- yī-qiān
- 2000 二千
- èr-qiān
Numbers above 10,000 are grouped by in units of four digits, starting with 萬 wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is thus "hundred tenthousands" (一百萬).
- 10,000 一萬
- yī-wàn
- 10,001 一萬〇一
- yī-wàn-líng-yī
- 10,002 一萬〇二
- yī-wàn-líng-èr
- 20,000 二萬
- èr-wàn
- 50,000 五萬
- wǔ-wàn
- 100,000 十萬
- shí-wàn
- 200,0000 二十萬
- èr-shí-wàn
- 1,000,000 一百萬
- yī-bǎi-wàn
- 10,000,000 一千萬
- yī-qiān-wàn
- 100,000,000 一億
- yīyì
- 1,000,000,000,000 一兆
- yīzhào
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- number measure word (lu4 or hao4 etc.) _____ (huo3 che1, gong1 gong4 qi4 chi1, etc. Measure words are used in combination with a number to indicate the count of mass nouns. Check out here for more details.)
- half
- 半 bàn (...)
- less
- 少於 shǎoyū (...)
- more
- 多於 duōyū (...)
[edit] Time
- now
- 現在 xiànzài
- later
- 以後， yǐhòu or shāohòu
- before
- 以前, yǐqián
- morning
- 早上, zǎoshàng
- afternoon
- 下午, xiàwǔ
- evening
- night
- 晚上, wǎnshàng
[edit] Clock time
- What time is it?
- 現在幾點？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
- It is nine in the morning.
- 早上9點鐘。 Zǎoshàng jǐu diǎn zhōng.
- Three-thirty PM.
- 下午3點半. Xiàwǔ sān diǎn bàn.
[edit] Duration
- _____ minute(s)
- _____ 分鐘 fēnzhōng
- _____ hour(s)
- _____ 小時 xiǎoshí
- _____ day(s)
- _____ 天 tiān
- _____ week(s)
- _____ 星期 xīngqī
- _____ month(s)
- _____ 月 yùe
- _____ year(s)
- _____ 年 nián
[edit] Days
- today
- 今天 jīntiān
- yesterday
- 昨天 zuótiān
- tomorrow
- 明天 míngtiān
- this week
- 這個星期 zhège xīngqī
- last week
- 上個星期 shàngge xīngqī
- next week
- 下個星期 xiàge xīngqī
Weekdays in Chinese are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after 星期 xīngqī.
- Sunday
- 星期天 xīngqītiān or xing1 qi1 ri4 or xing1 qi1 qi1
- 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 xīngqīlìu
[edit] Months
Months in Chinese are also easy: starting with 1 for January, just add the number after 月 yuè.
- January
- 一月, yī yuè
- February
- 二月, èr yuè
- March
- 三月, sān yuè
- April
- 四月, sì yuè
- May
- 五月, wŭ yuè
- June
- 六月, liù yuè
- July
- 七月, qī yuè
- August
- 八月, bā yuè
- September
- 九月, jiŭ yuè
- October
- 十月, shí yuè
- November
- 十一月, shí yī yuè
- December
- 十二月, shí èr yuè
Tips: From January to December, you just need to use this pattern: number (1-12) + yuè
[edit] Writing Time and Date
[edit] Colors
- black
- 黑色 hēi sè
- white
- 白色 bái sè
- gray
- 灰色 huī sè
- red
- 紅色 hóng sè
- blue
- 藍色 lán sè
- yellow
- 黃色 huáng sè
- green
- 綠色 lǜ sè
- orange
- 橙色 chéng sè
- purple
- 紫色 zǐ sè
- brown
- 褐色 he sè, 棕色 zōng sè,
- Do you have it in another color?
- 你們有沒有另外顏色? nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu lìngwài yánsè ?
Tips: sè means 'color', therefore, 'hóng sè' is 'red color'(literally). More common for brown and easier to remember is 'coffee color': 咖啡色 kā fēi sè
[edit] Transportation
[edit] Bus and Train
- How much is a ticket to _____?
- 去______的票多少錢 qù _____ de piào duō shǎo qián?
- Do you go to... (the central station)?
- 去不去... (火車站) qù bù qù... (huǒ chē zhàn)
[edit] Directions
- How do I get to _____ ?
- 怎麼去_____ zěnme qù _____?
- ...the train station?
- ...火車站? ...huǒchē zhàn?
- ...the bus station?
- ...汽車總站? ...qìchē zǒngzhàn?
- ...the airport?
- ...飛機場? ...fēijī chǎng?
- street
- 街 jiē; 路 lù
- Turn left.
- 左邊轉彎 zuǒbiān zhuǎnwān
- Turn right.
- 右邊轉彎 yòubiān zhuǎnwān
- left
- 左邊 zuǒbiān
- right
- 右邊 yòubiān
- straight ahead
- 往前走 wǎngqián zǒu
- north
- 北 bĕi
- south
- 南 nán
- east
- 東 dōng
- west
- 西 xī
[edit] Taxi
- Taxi 計程車 chū zū chē
- Take me to _____, please.
- 請開到_____。 qǐng kāidào _____。
[edit] Lodging
|
Common signs
|
- Do you have any rooms available?
- 你們有房間嗎？ Nǐmen yǒu fángjiān ma?
- Does the room come with...
- 有沒有... Yǒu méiyǒu...
- ...bedsheets?
- ...床單？ ...chuángdān?
- ...a bathroom?
- ...浴室？ ...yùshì?
- ...a telephone?
- ...電話？ ...diànhuà?
- ...a TV?
- ...電視？ ...diànshì ?
- I will stay for _____ night(s).
- 我打算住_____夜。 Wǒ dǎsuàn zhù _____ yè.
- Do you have a safe?
- 你們有沒有保險箱？ Nǐmen yǒu méiyǒu bǎoxiǎn xiāng?
- Can you wake me at _____?
- 請明天早上_____叫醒我。 Qǐng míngtiān zǎoshang _____ jiàoxǐng wǒ.
- I want to check out.
- 我現在要走。 Wǒ xiànzài yào zǒu.
[edit] Money
- pay
- 付 fù
- cash
- 現錢 xiàn qián
- credit card
- 信用卡 xìn yòng kǎ
[edit] Eating
- Can I look at the menu, please?
- 請給我看看菜單 qĭng gĕi wŏ kànkan càidān?
- I'm a vegetarian
- 我吃素的 wŏ chī sù de
- breakfast
- 早飯 zǎofàn
- lunch
- 午飯 wǔfàn or zhōngfàn
- supper
- 晚飯 wǎnfàn
- beef
- 牛肉 niúròu
- pork
- 豬肉 zhūròu
- mutton
- 羊肉 yángròu
- chicken
- 雞 jī
- fish
- 魚 yú
- cheese
- 乳酪 nǎilào
- eggs
- 雞蛋 jīdàn
- bread
- 麵包 miànbāo
- noodles
- 麵條 miàntiáo
- fried rice
- 炒飯 chǎofàn
- dumpling
- 餃子 jiǎozi
- rice
- 米飯 mĭfàn
- coffee
- 咖啡 kāfēi
- black coffee: 黑咖啡 hēi kāfēi
- milk
- 牛奶 niúnǎi
- sugar
- 糖 táng
- tea (drink)
- 茶 cha
- green tea
- 綠茶 lǜ chá
- scented tea
- 花茶 huāchá
- black tea
- 紅茶 hóngchá
- juice
- 水果 shuǐguǒ fruit; 汁 zhī juice
- water
- 水 shuĭ
- natural mineral water
- 礦泉水 kuàngquán shuǐ
- beer
- 啤酒 píjiŭ
- red/white wine
- 紅/白 葡萄 酒 hóng/bái pŭtáo jiŭ
- It was delicious.
- 好吃極了。 (hǎochī jí le)
- The check, please.
- 請結帳。 (qǐng jiézhàng)
[edit] Bars
- Do you serve alcohol?
- 有沒有賣酒？ (yǒu méiyǒu mài jiǔ?)
- Is there table service?
- 有沒有餐桌服務？ (yǒu méiyǒu cānzhuō fúwù?)
- A beer/two beers, please.
- 請給我一杯/兩杯啤酒。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìbēi/liǎngbēi píjiǔ)
- A glass of red/white wine, please.
- 請給我一杯紅/白葡萄酒。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìbēi hóng/bái pútáojiǔ)
- A pint, please.
- 請給我一品脫。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpǐntuō)
- A bottle, please.
- 請給我一瓶。 (qǐng gěi wǒ yìpíng)
- _____ (hard liquor) and _____ (mixer), please.
- 請給我_____和_____。 (qǐng gěi wǒ _____ hé _____)
- whiskey
- 威士卡 (wēishìjì)
- vodka
- 伏特加 (fútèjiā)
- rum
- 蘭姆酒 (lánmǔjiǔ)
- water
- 水 (shuǐ)
- club soda
- 蘇打水 (sūdǎshuǐ)
- tonic water
- 通甯水 (tōngníngshuǐ)
- orange juice
- 柳橙汁 (liǔchéngzhī)
- Coke (soda)
- 可樂 (kělè)
- Do you have any bar snacks?
- 有沒有吧臺點心？ (yǒu méiyǒu bātái diǎnxīn?)
- One more, please.
- 請再給我一個。 (qǐng zài gěi wǒ yígè)
- Another round, please.
- 請再來一輪。 (qǐng zàilái yìlún)
- When is closing time?
- 幾點打烊？ (jǐdiǎn dǎyáng?)
- Where is the toilet?
- 廁所在那裏 (cèsuǒ zài nàli?)
[edit] Shopping
- Do you have this in my size?
- 有沒有我的尺寸？ (yǒu méiyǒu wǒde chǐcùn?)
- How much is this?
- 這個多少錢？ (zhège duōshǎo qián?)
- That's too expensive.
- 太貴了。 (tài gùi le)
- Would you take _____?
- _____元可以嗎？ (_____ yuán kěyǐ ma?)
- expensive
- 貴 (gùi)
- cheap
- 便宜 (piányí)
- I can't afford it.
- 我帶的錢不夠。 (wǒ dài de qián búgòu)
- I don't want it.
- 我不想要。 (wǒ bùxiǎng yào)
- You're cheating me.
- 你欺騙我。 (nǐ qīpiàn wǒ) Use with caution!
- I'm not interested.
- 我沒有興趣。 (wǒ méiyǒu xìngqù)
- OK, I'll take it.
- 我要買這個。 (wǒ yào mǎi zhège)
- Can I have a bag?
- 請給我袋子。 (qǐng gěi wǒ dàizǐ)
- Do you ship (overseas)?
- 可以郵寄到海外嗎？ (kěyǐ yóujì dào hǎiwài ma?)
- I need...
- 我要_____ (wǒ yào _____)
- ...toothpaste.
- 牙膏 (yágāo)
- ...a toothbrush.
- 牙刷 (yáshuā)
- ...tampons.
- 衛生棉條 (wèishēng miántiáo)
- ...soap.
- 香皂 (xiāngzào)
- ...shampoo.
- 洗髮精 (xǐfǎjīng)
- ...pain reliever. (e.g., aspirin or ibuprofen)
- 鎮痛劑 (zhèntòngjì)
- ...cold medicine.
- 感冒藥 (gǎnmòuyào)
- ...stomach medicine.
- 胃腸藥 (wèichángyào)
- ...a razor.
- 剃刀 (tìdāo)
- ...an umbrella.
- 雨傘 (yu3sǎn)
- ...sunblock lotion.
- 防曬油 (fángshàiyóu)
- ...a postcard.
- 明信片 (míngxìnpiàn)
- ...postage stamps.
- 郵票 (yóupiào)
- ...batteries.
- 電池 (diànchí)
- ...writing paper.
- 紙 (zhǐ)
- ...a pen.
- 筆 (bǐ)
- ...English-language books.
- 英文書 (yīngwén shū)
- ...English-language magazines.
- 英文雜誌 (yīngwén zázhì)
- ...an English-language newspaper.
- 英文報紙 (yīngwén bàozhǐ)
- ...a Chinese-English dictionary.
- 漢英字典 (hànyīng zìdiǎn)
- ...an English-Chinese dictionary.
- 英漢字典 (yīnghàn zìdiǎn)
[edit] Driving
- I want to rent a car.
- 我想要租車。 (wǒ xiǎngyào zūchē)
- Can I get insurance?
- 我可以買保險嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ mǎi bǎoxiǎn ma?)
- stop (on a street sign)
- 停 (tíng)
- one way
- 單行道 (dānxíngdào)
- yield
- 讓路 (rànglù)
- no parking
- 禁止停車 (jìnzhǐ tíngchē)
- speed limit
- 速度限制 (sùdù xiànzhì)
- gas (petrol) station
- 加油站 (jiāyóuzhàn)
- petrol
- 汽油 (qìyóu)
- diesel
- 柴油 (cháiyóu)
[edit] Authority
- I haven't done anything wrong.
- 我沒有作錯事。 (wǒ méiyǒu zuòcuò shì)
- It was a misunderstanding.
- 這是誤會。 (zhè shì wùhuì)
- Where are you taking me?
- 你帶我去哪里？ (nǐ dài wǒ qù nǎlǐ?)
- Am I under arrest?
- 我被捕了嗎？ (wǒ bèibǔle ma?)
- I am an American/Australian/British/Canadian citizen.
- 我是 美國/澳洲/英國/加拿大 公民。 (wǒ shì měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà gōngmín)
- I want to talk to the American/Australian/British/Canadian embassy/consulate.
- 我希望跟 美國/澳洲/英國/加拿大 的 大使館/領事館 聯繫。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà de dàshǐguǎn/lǐngshìguǎn liánxì)
- I want to talk to a lawyer.
- 我希望跟律師聯繫。 (wǒ xīwàng gēn lǜshī liánxì)
- Can I just pay a fine now?
- 我可以只付罰款嗎？ (wǒ kěyǐ zhǐ fù fákuǎn ma?)
[edit] Telephone & Internet
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Telephone & Internet In most Chinese cities telephone booths don't exist. Instead, small street shops have telephones which can usually be used for national calls and cost around 0.6RMB for a city-call. Look for signs like
Don't go online in hotels since most common cafes are cheaper. Usually you pay 10RMB in advance for a card. Prices per hour from 1RMB to 4RMB. Those cafes are quite hidden sometimes and you should look for the following Chinese characters:
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- Can I make international calls here?
- 可以打國際電話嗎? (kěyǐ dǎ guójì diànhuà ma?)
- How much is it to America/Australia/Britain/Canada?
- 到 美國/澳洲/英國/加拿大 是多少錢? (dào měiguó/àozhōu/yīngguó/jiānádà shì duōshǎo qián?)
- Where can I find an Internet cafe?
- 那裏有網吧? (nǎlǐ yǒu wǎng ba?)
- How much is it per hour?
- 一小時是多少錢? (yī xiǎoshí shì duōshǎo qián?)
[edit] Learning more
Chinese is the most spoken language of the world, with more speakers than the next two, English 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. So here is a nice quote from the Hindi Phrasebook (the 4th most spoken, yet seldom learnt language): "Instead of anger of frustration, the student should instead feel a smug superiority of being ahead of everyone else...!"
Advice: The first step is to learn to properly read the romanization with tones! There are still many sites with small Chinese phrase chapters which don't use tones for romanization (pinyin tones). Stay away from those, learning that is useless. 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.
- Chinese (Wikibooks.org): Free lessons providing detailed grammar explanations, audio samples and stroke order animations.
