250+ Useful Chinese Words to Survive and Thrive in Chinese-speaking Countries
Knowing just a few words can get you farther than you think.
It may not make you an expert on one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, but you won’t need to rely as heavily on a translation app when you travel to a Chinese-speaking region or use the language with some friends.
That’s why I’ve gathered all the most practical and important vocabulary for basic conversations, money, food, recreational activities and more—suited for travelers and beginners alike!
All the words are listed in Simplified Chinese, which is used in mainland China and Malaysia, and has a link on the pinyin to make sure that you’re pronouncing each word correctly.
Contents
- Chinese Greetings and Conversation Basics
- Chinese Words for Travel
- Chinese Numbers and Money
- Chinese Food Words
- Shopping and Recreation in Chinese
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Chinese Greetings and Conversation Basics
Basic Greetings, Farewells and More
你好 (nǐ hǎo) — Hello
您好 (nín hǎo) — Hello (polite)
你好吗？(nǐ hǎo ma) — How are you?
欢迎 (huān yíng) — Welcome
谢谢 (xiè xie) — Thank you
没关系 (méi guān xi) — No problem
早上好 (zǎo shàng hǎo) — Good morning
下午好 (xià wǔ hǎo) — Good afternoon
晚上好 (wǎn shàng hǎo) — Good evening
再见 (zài jiàn) — Goodbye
明天见 (míng tiān jiàn) — See you tomorrow
Question Words
谁？(shuí) — Who?
什么？(shén me) — What?
什么时候？(shén me shí hòu) — When?
在哪里？(zài nǎ lǐ) — Where?
为什么？(wèi shén me) — Why?
怎么？(zěn me) — How?
几点钟？(jǐ diǎn zhōng) — What time?
多少？(duō shǎo) — How much?
Simple Action Words (Verbs)
是 (shì) — To be
叫 (jiào) — To call oneself
有 (yǒu) — To have
找 (zhǎo) — To look for
需要 (xū yào) — To need
要 (yào) — To want (an object)
想 (xiǎng) — To want (something intangible i.e. sleep)
帮 (bāng) — To help
知道 (zhī dào) — To know
明白 (míng bai) — To understand
迷路 (mí lù) — To be lost
睡觉 (shuì jiào) — To sleep
买 (mǎi) — To buy
付 (fù) — To pay
来 (lái) — To come
去 (qù) — To go
打电话 (dǎ diàn huà) — To call on the phone
住 (zhù) — To live
离开 (lí kāi) — To leave
回来 (huí lái) — To come back
Simple Subject Pronouns
- 我 (wǒ) — I
- 你 (nǐ) — you
- 他／她／它 (tā) — he/she/it
- 们 (men) — pluralizes the above pronouns
- 我们 (wǒ men) — we
- 你们 (nǐ men) — plural you, y’all
- 他们 (tā men) — they, them
- 这个 (zhè gè) — this
- 那个 (nà gè) — that
Chinese Words for Travel
Modes of Transport
车 (chē) — Car
出租车 (chū zū chē) — Taxi
公共汽车 (gōng gòng qì chē) — Bus
地铁 (dì tiě) — Subway
火车 (huǒ chē) — Train
自行车 (zì xíng chē) — Bicycle
电动自行车 (diàn dòng zì xíng chē) — e-Bike
船 (chuán) — Boat
渡轮 (dù lún) — Ferry
飞机 (fēi jī) — Plane
Important Locations
厕所 (cè suǒ) — Restroom
酒店 (jiǔ diàn) — Hotel
旅馆 (lǚ guǎn) — Hostel
出租车站 (chū zū chē zhàn) — Taxi stand
机场 (jī chǎng) — Airport
地铁站 (dì tiě zhàn) — Subway station
火车站 (huǒ chē zhàn) — Train station
公共汽车总站 (gōng gòng qì chē zǒng zhàn) — Bus terminal
渡轮码头 (dù lún mǎ tóu) — Ferry terminal
警察局 (jǐng chá jú) — Police station
医院 (yī yuàn) — Hospital
诊所 (zhěn suǒ) — Clinic
银行 (yín háng) — Bank
邮局 (yóu jú) — Post office
旅行社 (lǚ xíng shè) — Travel agency
美国大使馆 (měi guó dà shǐ guǎn) — U.S. Embassy
Directions and Navigation
北 (běi) — North
南 (nán) — South
东 (dōng) — East
西 (xī) — West
左转 (zuǒ zhuǎn) — Left turn
右转 (yòu zhuǎn) — Right turn
一直走 (yì zhí zǒu) — Keep going (straight)
掉头 (diào tóu) — U-turn
前面 (qián miàn) — In front
后面 (hòu mian) — Behind
对面 (duì miàn) — Across/Opposite
旁边 (páng biān) — Next to
里面 (lǐ miàn) — Inside
外面 (wài miàn) — Outside
这里 (zhè lǐ) — Here
Chinese Numbers and Money
Chinese Numbers
一 (yī) — one
二 (èr) — two
两 (liǎng) — two (when talking about a pair or both items in question)
三 (sān) — three
四 (sì) — four
五 (wǔ) — five
六 (liù) — six
七 (qī) — seven
八 (bā) — eight
九 (jiǔ) — nine
十 (shí) — ten
十一 (shí yī) — 11
十五 (shí wǔ) — 15
二十 (èr shí) — 20
一百 (yī bǎi) — 100
一百一 (yī bǎi yī) — 101
一百五十五 (yī bǎi wǔ shí wǔ) — 155
一千 (yī qiān) — 1,000
一万 (yī wàn) — 10,000
Common Currencies
元 (yuán) — Chinese yuan; unit of currency
分 (fēn) — Cents
人民币 (rén mín bì) — Renminbi (RMB), China’s official currency; “people’s currency”
港币 (gǎng bì) — Hong Kong dollars
澳门元 (ào mén yuán) — Macau patacas
台币 (tái bì) — Tawainese dollars
新加坡元 (xīn jiā pō yuán) — Singapore dollars
美元 (měi yuán) — U.S. dollars
欧元 (ōu yuán) — Euros
日元 (rì yuán) — Japanese yen
英镑 (yīng bàng) — Great British pounds
加元 (jiā yuán) — Canadian dollars
澳元 (ào yuán) — Australian dollars
At the Bank
护照 (hù zhào) — Passport
自动取款机 (zì dòng qǔ kuǎn jī) — ATM
货币兑换 (huò bì duì huàn) — Currency exchange
账户 (zhàng hù) — Bank account
存款 (cún kuǎn) — To deposit money
取钱 (qǔ qián) — To withdraw money
Making Payments
买单 (mǎi dān) — To pay the bill
AA制 (AA zhì) — To split the bill (although not very common in China)
钱 (qián) — Money
现金 (xiàn jīn) — Cash
零钱 (líng qián) — Change
# 块钱 (kuài qián) — Pieces of money, similar to “bucks”
毛 (máo) — Fraction of a monetary unit, another way to say “cents”
借记卡 (jiè jì kǎ) — Debit card
信用卡 (xìn yòng kǎ) — Credit card
国际卡 (guó jì kǎ) — International card
支付宝 (zhī fù bǎo) — Alipay
微信支付 (wēi xìn zhī fù) — WeChat Pay
Apple 支付 (Apple zhī fù) — Apple Pay
发票 (fā piào) — Invoice
Chinese Food Words
At the Restaurant
餐厅 (cān tīng) — Restaurant
快餐 (kuài cān) — Fast food restaurant
咖啡馆 (kā fēi guǎn) — Cafe
预订 (yù dìng) — Reservation
# 位 (wèi) — Table for # of people (lit. # of seats)
房间 (fáng jiān) — (Private) Room
吃 (chī) — To eat
喝 (hē) — To drink
饿 (è) — To be hungry
口渴 (kǒu kě) — To be thirsty
用餐 (yòng cān) — For dine-in
外卖 (wài mà) — For takeout
点菜 (diǎn cài) — To order
打包 (dǎ bāo) — To pack (for takeout)
On the Menu
食物 (shí wù) — Food
饮料 (yǐn liào) — Drinks
菜单 (cài dān) — Menu
早餐 (zǎo cān) — Breakfast
午餐 (wǔ cān) — Lunch
晚餐 (wǎn cān) — Dinner
小吃 (xiǎo chī) — Snacks
开胃菜 (kāi wèi cài) — Appetizers
甜点 (tián diǎn) — Dessert
美食 (měi shí) — Delicacies
肉 (ròu) — Meat
蔬菜 (shū cài) — Vegetables
鸡肉 (jī ròu) — Chicken
牛肉 (niú ròu) — Beef
猪肉 (zhū ròu) — Pork
鱼 (yú) — Fish
虾 (xiā) — Shrimp
鸡蛋 (jī dàn) — Egg
豆腐 (dòu fu) — Tofu
菠菜 (bō cài) — Spinach
花椰菜 (huā yē cài) — Broccoli
蘑菇 (mó gu) — Mushroom
辣椒 (là jiāo) — Chili
白菜 (bái cài) — Cabbage
米饭 (mǐ fàn) — Rice
面 (miàn) — Noodles
饺子 (jiǎo zi) — Dumplings
点心 (diǎn xīn) — Dimsum
水 (shuǐ) — Water
可乐 (kě lè) — Coke
百事可乐 (bǎi shì kě lè) — Pepsi
雪碧 (xuě bì) — Sprite
七喜 (qī xǐ) — 7 Up
橙汁 (chéng zhī) — Orange juice
苹果汁 (píng guǒ zhī) — Apple juice
茶 (chá) — Tea
葡萄酒 (pú tao jiǔ) — Wine
啤酒 (pí jiǔ) — Beer
鸡尾酒 (jī wěi jiǔ) — Cocktail
Special Diets, Allergies and Other Requests
素食 (sù shí) — Vegan/Vegetarian
无乳制品 (wú rǔ zhì pǐn) — Dairy-free
无麸质 (wú fū zhì) — Gluten-free
辣酱 (là jiàng) — Hot sauce
微辣 (wēi là) — Mildly spicy
辣 (là) — Spicy
特辣 (tè là) — Extremely spicy
三分熟 (sān fēn shú) — Rare
四分熟 (sì fēn shú) — Medium rare
五分熟 (wǔ fēn shú) — Medium
七分熟 (qī fēn shú) — Medium well
全熟 (quán shú) — Well done
热 (rè) — Hot
冰 (bīng) — Iced/Cold
Shopping and Recreation in Chinese
Shops
商店 (shāng diàn) — Shop
购物中心 (gòu wù zhōng xīn) — Shopping center
百货公司 (bǎi huò gōng sī) — Department store
市场 (shì chǎng) — Market
超市 (chāo shì) — Supermarket
咖啡店 (kā fēi diàn) — Coffeeshop
面包店 (miàn bāo diàn) — Bakery
便利商店 (biàn lì shāng diàn) — Convenience store
药房 (yào fáng) — Pharmacy
书店 (shū diàn) — Bookstore
电子商店 (diàn zǐ shāng diàn) — Electronics store
Shopping Essentials
手机 (shǒu jī) — Cellphone
SIM 卡 (SIM kǎ) — SIM card
手机充电器 (shǒu jī chōng diàn qì) — Cellphone charger
电池 (diàn chí) — Batteries
无线网 (wú xiàn wǎng) — Wi-Fi
肥皂 (féi zào) — Soap
洗发水 (xǐ fà shuǐ) — Shampoo
护发素 (hù fā sù) — Conditioner
洗手液 (xǐ shǒu yè) — Hand sanitizer
洗面奶 (xĭ miàn năi) — Facial cleanser
化妆水 (huà zhuāng shuǐ) — Lotion
除臭剂 (chú chòu jì) — Deodorant
牙刷 (yá shuā) — Toothbrush
牙膏 (yá gāo) — Toothpaste
薄纸 (báo zhǐ) — Tissue
衣服 (yī fu) — Clothes
鞋子 (xié zi) — Shoes
化妆品 (huà zhuāng pǐn) — Makeup
票 (piào) — Ticket
Entertainment
电影院 (diàn yǐng yuàn) — Cinema
剧院 (jù yuàn) — Theater
运动场 (yùn dòng chǎng) — Sports arena
博物馆 (bó wù guǎn) — Museum
游乐园 (yóu lè yuán) — Amusement park
动物园 (dòng wù yuán) — Zoo
水族馆 (shuǐ zú guǎn) — Aquarium
公园 (gōng yuán) — Park
夜市 (yè shì) — Night market
美食街 (měi shí jiē) — Food street
酒吧 (jiǔ bā) — Bar
夜总会 (yè zǒng huì) — Nightclub
卡拉OK酒吧 (kǎ lā OK jiǔ bā) — Karaoke bar
水疗中心 (shuǐ liáo zhōng xīn) — Spa
沙龙 (shā lóng) — Salon
游泳池 (yóu yǒng chí) — Swimming pool
That was a lot to go through. But you’ll definitely find all these words very useful, whether you’re navigating the streets of Shanghai or wandering in your local Chinatown!
Now all that’s left to do is to get out there and start using the language! And you don’t always need to be in the country to be able to do that. This can be as simple as ordering your next dish at your favorite Chinese restaurant in Mandarin or throwing these words in your next conversation with your language partner.
You can even include these words in your learning program, like FluentU—where you can also hear the words in context through authentic videos, create vocabulary lists with flashcards and take personalized quizzes to learn them.
Whatever you do, don’t just read this post and move on. Learn these words and don’t forget to actually use them!