Basic Mandarin – 105 Simple Phrases To Make Your Life Easier

Basic Mandarin – 105 Hugely Useful Phrases To Learn

Learn all the basic mandarin you’ll ever need right here with LTL Mandarin School.

As you scroll down the page of basic mandarin why no listen to the audio? This playlist contains all the basic mandarin sentence you’ll need to get around China!

Basic Mandarin Greetings

• Hello: 你好 – nǐ hǎo
• I am: 我是 – wǒ shì
• How are you?: 你好吗 – nǐ hǎo ma
• I’m good thanks: 我很好的谢谢 – wǒ hěn hǎo xiè xiè
• Have you eaten?: 你吃了吗 – nǐ chī le ma
• Nice to meet you: 很高兴认识你 – hěn gāo xìng rèn shi nǐ
• What is your name?: 你叫什么名字 – nǐ jiào shén me míng zì？
• My name is: 我叫 – wǒ jiào
• My friend’s name is: 我朋友叫 – wǒ péngyǒu jiào
• I’m from X: 我来自 X – wǒ lái zì X
• Where are you from?: 你来自哪里 – nǐ lái zì nǎ li
• Goodbye: 再见 – zài jiàn

Check out all the other ways to say hello in Mandarin.

Learn how to say Hello in Chinese.

Thanks in Mandarin

• Please: 请 – qǐng
• Thank you: 谢谢 – xiè xiè
• You’re welcome: 不客气 – bú kè qì
• I’m sorry: 对不起 – duì bu qǐ
• Excuse me: 打扰一下 – dǎ rǎo yí xià
• Yes: 是 – shì
• No: 不是 – bù shì
• I’m good thanks: 我很好谢谢 – wǒ hěn hǎo xiè xiè
• And you?: 你呢 – nǐ ne

Time in Chinese

• Good morning (early morning): 早上好 – zǎo shàng hǎo
• Good morning (late morning): 上午好 – shàng wǔ hǎo
• Good afternoon (only to be used around midday): 中午好 – zhōng wǔ hǎo
• Good afternoon: 下午好 – xià wǔ hǎo
• Good evening: 晚上好 – wǎn shàng hǎo
• Goodnight: 晚安 – wǎn ān

Asking Questions in Chinese

• Where is X?: X在哪 – X zài nǎ
• How do I get to X?: 怎么去X – zěn me qù
• How far is X?: X 有多远 – X yǒu duō yuǎn
• Can you show me on a map?: 你能在地图上给我看看吗 – nǐ néng zài dì tú shàng gěi wǒ kàn kan ma？
• Can you write that down?: 你能把它写下来吗 – nǐ néng bǎ tā xiě xià lái ma？
• How much does it cost?: 它的价格是多少 – tā de jià gé shì duō shǎo？
• What is this?: 这是什么 – zhè shì shén me
• What time is it?: 现在几点 – xiàn zài jǐ diǎn
• Do you have X?: 你有 X 吗 – nǐ yǒu X ma
• Do you have anything cheaper?: 你们有便宜一点的吗 – nǐ men yǒu pián yi yì diǎn de ma
• Do you like?: 你喜欢 X 吗 – nǐ xǐ huan X ma
• What is the best X?: 最好的X是什么 zuì hǎo de X shì shénme
• How do you say X?: X 怎么说 – X zěn me shuō ？
• What is fun to do in Beijing? 北京哪里好玩儿 Běijīng nǎ lǐ hǎo wán er
• What do you recommend?: 你有什么建议 – nǐ yǒu shén me jiàn yì
• Where can I X? 我在哪里可以 X – wǒ zài nǎ li kě yǐ X

Basic Mandarin Numbers

Want to go all the way to a million? Listen to all the numbers 

Learn the numbers in Chinese here.

Places in Chinese

Vehicles in Chinese

Airplane: 飞机 – fēi jī
Train: 火车 – huǒ chē
Taxi: 出租车 – chū zū chē
Car: 车 – chē
Bus: 公共汽车 – gōng gòng qì chē

Check out our useful tips for learning a language

Directions in Chinese

Left: 左边 – zuǒ biān
Right: 右边 – yòu biān
Straight: 直 – zhí
Backwards: 向后 – xiàng hòu

Learn the directions in Chinese here.

Likes and Dislikes in Chinese

• I like: 我喜欢 – wǒ xǐ huān
• I don’t like: 我不喜欢 – wǒ bù xǐ huān
• I’d like to go to X: 我想去 X – wǒ xiǎng qù X
• I’m allergic to X: 我对 X 过敏 – wǒ duì X guò mǐn

Ordering in Chinese

• I would like X: 我想 X – wǒ xiǎng X
• Can I have X?: 你们有X吗？nǐmen yǒu X ma?
• Do you speak English?: 你会说英语吗 – nǐ huì shuō yīng yǔ ma
• Menu, please: 请给我菜单 – qǐng gěi wǒ cài dān
• Bill please: 买单 – mǎi dān
• This: 这 – zhè
• That: 那 – nà

Make sure your pronouncing your initials and finals correctly.

Food in Chinese

• Noodles: 面条 – miàn tiáo
• Rice: 米饭 – mǐ fàn
• Chicken: 鸡肉 – jī ròu
• Beef: 牛肉 – niú ròu
• Pork: 猪肉 – zhū ròu
• Vegetarian: 素食者 – sù shí zhě

Basic Mandarin tip: Expressing that you are vegetarian or vegan can be difficult in China. A good way to be understood is to say you are Buddhist (佛教) fó jiào. Typically people will understand your diet if you say this.

Chinese Menus Explained – How to Read a Chinese Menu + The Complete Cheat Sheet

Become an Expert on How to Read Chinese Menus Probably one of the most basic skills in China is being able to sit down at a restaurant and order food! Yet it’s never quite as easy as we hope! Everyone…

Drinks in Chinese

Water: 水 – shuǐ
Coffee: 咖啡 – kā fēi
Cola: 可乐 – kě lè
Beer: 啤酒 – pí jiǔ

Basic Mandarin tip: gānbēi (干杯) means “dry cup”, or to finish your drink. So be careful to use the term loosely. Also when clinking glasses, be sure your glasses are at even level as high will indicate you believe yourself to be of higher status and lower will be interpreted as the opposite.

Find out the most popular traditional Chinese dishes here.

Misunderstandings in Chinese

• Repeat, please: 请再说一遍 qǐng zài shuō yībiàn
• More slowly, please: 请慢嗲 – qǐng màn diē
• I don’t understand: 我不明白 – wǒ bù míng bái
• I’m sorry, I don’t speak Mandarin: 对不起, 我不会说汉语 duìbùqǐ, wǒ bù huì shuō hànyǔ
• What does X mean?: X 是什么意思 – X shì shén me yì si

Help in Chinese

• Help: 帮助 – bāng zhù
• Caution: 谨慎 – jǐn shèn
• Danger: 危险 – wēi xiǎn
• Emergency: 紧急 – jǐn jí
• Fire: 火 – huǒ

Want all these basic mandarin phrases on flashcards?

Check out our official Pinterest account.

If you want to dig deeper into your Chinese let’s get started on some grammar structures and techniques.

• 1 – Basic Grammar with LTL.
• 2 – Complete Guide to Chinese Grammar with Saporedicina.

Basic Mandarin FAQs

Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Mandarin School why not join our mailing list. We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools! Sign up below and become part of our ever growing community!