You do not need fluent Mandarin to travel well in China — but a handful of phrases changes everything. Start with ni hao (你好) for hello, xie xie (谢谢) for thank you, and duoshao qian (多少钱) for "how much?", and you can greet, thank, and shop your way from Beijing to Chengdu.
Outside big hotels and tourist sites, English thins out fast, so a few phrases are more than good manners here — they are how things get done. The effort is repaid instantly: Chinese people are famously delighted when a visitor tries even one word.
The essentials
These six do the heavy lifting everywhere. Chinese is a tonal language, so each syllable has a melody — the lessons linked below teach every phrase with audio, which is the fastest way to get the tones into your ear.
你好
ni hao
Hello
谢谢
xie xie
Thank you
不客气
bu keqi
You're welcome
对不起
duibuqi
Sorry
没关系
mei guanxi
It's okay / no worries
没问题
mei wenti
No problem
To be extra polite with elders or officials, upgrade ni hao to nin hao (您好) — same greeting, respectful "you." It is the verbal equivalent of a small bow, and it never goes unnoticed.
Eating out
Two habits make Chinese restaurants easy. First: you call the server — a clear fuwuyuan! (服务员) across the room is normal and polite, not rude. Second: pointing at the menu, or at the next table's food, is a completely acceptable way to order.
服务员！
fuwuyuan!
Server! (calling the waiter)
我要这个
wo yao zhege
I want this one (pointing)
不辣
bu la
Not spicy
好吃！
hao chi!
Delicious!
买单
maidan
The check, please
Maidan (买单) — "the check, please" — comes with a plot twist: in China, friends fight for the honor of paying. If a local insists on treating you, one polite protest is fine, but letting them win graciously — then treating next time — is how the game is played.
Shopping and markets
Numbers rule the market, and sellers will happily type prices into a calculator or phone for you. Learn to count to ten — our Chinese numbers guide takes ten minutes — and these phrases finish the job.
多少钱？
duoshao qian?
How much is it?
太贵了！
tai gui le!
Too expensive!
便宜一点吧
pianyi yidian ba
A little cheaper, please
不要，谢谢
bu yao, xie xie
No thanks (to persistent vendors)
That last one matters more than it looks: a friendly, firm bu yao (不要), "don't want," is how you wave off touts without a fuss.
When you get stuck
China runs on smartphones — payment, menus, taxis, everything — so the words around helping and understanding earn their keep fast.
听不懂
ting bu dong
I don't understand (what I hear)
你会说英语吗？
ni hui shuo yingyu ma?
Do you speak English?
请再说一遍
qing zai shuo yi bian
Please say that again
洗手间在哪里？
xishoujian zai nali?
Where is the restroom?
Mandarin's four tones mean the same syllable can be several different words — the classic example is ma, which can mean mother, horse, hemp, or scold depending on the melody. Do not let that scare you off: context rescues beginners constantly, and locals meet effort with patience. When a phrase misfires, smile, slow down, and point. Our guide to Chinese tones makes the four melodies click.
Keep learning Chinese
Ten phrases open doors; a hundred start friendships — and Mandarin grammar is far friendlier than its reputation, with no verb conjugations or plurals to memorize. Keep going with our free essential Chinese phrases, then practice speaking with audio and spaced repetition in the Pretalk app — a few minutes a day is enough to land in Beijing sounding confident.
