Chinese phrases for travelers, sorted by when you need them

Five Chinese phrases carry most of a trip: nǐ hǎo (hello), xièxie (thanks), duōshao qián (how much), zhège (this one), and tīngbudǒng (I don't understand). Everything below is grouped by the moment you'll need it — arrival, taxi, hotel, restaurant, shop, trouble.

How to read this list

Every entry has three parts: hanzi, pinyin with tone marks, and a literal gloss. The gloss pays off later — once 多少钱 reads as "much-few money," 多少人 duōshao rén (how many people) becomes a pattern, not a new phrase.

Chinese isn't written with letters, so there's no Chinese alphabet to fall back on, and pinyin's consonants don't map to English ones — q, x, zh are the usual ambushes. A pinyin chart is the best ten minutes of prep before you fly.

Two sound changes are baked in below: two third tones in a row turn the first into a second tone (你好 is written nǐ hǎo, said "ní hǎo"), and 不 bù drops to bú before a fourth tone — 不是 bú shì, 不要 bú yào.

The five Chinese phrases that do the most work

• 你好 nǐ hǎo [you good] — hello, at any hour; 您好 nín hǎo is the respectful version, for elders and staff you're asking a favor of.
• 谢谢 xièxie [thank thank] — thanks, neutral second syllable. 不客气 bú kèqi [not polite] is the reply.
• 多少钱？duōshao qián [much-few money] — how much? Point first, ask second; vendors often punch the number into a phone, which solves the problem for you.
• 这个 zhège [this item] — this one. Half of ordering and shopping is 这个 plus a finger; 我要这个 wǒ yào zhège is "I want this."
• 听不懂 tīngbudǒng [hear-not-understand] — I don't understand what I'm hearing. It beats "I don't speak Chinese," since it invites a slower retry. Its partner: 看不懂 kànbudǒng, "I can't read that."

Get the pitch roughly right on those five and people will work with you. The Chinese tones are worth learning first — mā, má, mǎ, and mà are four different words.

Arrival: the phrases that buy you time

• 请问 qǐngwèn [please ask] — excuse me, may I ask… open every question with it.
• 不好意思 bù hǎoyìsi [not good meaning] — sorry, for bumping or interrupting; 对不起 duìbuqǐ is for a real apology, not for squeezing past on the subway.
• 你会说英文吗？nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma [you can speak English?]
• 请再说一遍 qǐng zài shuō yí biàn [please, say it again] and 说慢一点 shuō màn yìdiǎn [speak slow a-little].
• Mandarin has no all-purpose "yes" — you answer by echoing the verb: 有吗？gets 有 yǒu or 没有 méiyǒu; 好 hǎo covers most of "OK."

Taxis, Didi, and getting around

Show, don't pronounce: screenshot your hotel's Chinese name and address and hand the phone over — place names punish beginners hardest.

• 去这里 qù zhèlǐ [go here] — said while showing the address.
• 请打表 qǐng dǎ biǎo [please hit meter] — licensed taxis meter by default; this settles it before you pull away.
• 在这里停 zài zhèlǐ tíng [at here stop] — the driver's 到了 dào le means "we're here."
• 机场 jīchǎng (airport), 火车站 huǒchēzhàn [fire-vehicle station], 地铁站 dìtiězhàn [ground-iron station].
• ……在哪里？zài nǎlǐ [at where] — the all-purpose "where is…"; in the north you'll hear 在哪儿 zài nǎr instead.

At the hotel

• 我有预订 wǒ yǒu yùdìng [I have reservation]
• 护照 hùzhào [protect certificate] — your passport, out at check-in since hotels register foreign guests.
• Wi-Fi 密码是多少？mìmǎ shì duōshao [secret code is how-much]
• 几点退房？jǐ diǎn tuìfáng [what hour return-room] — what time is checkout.
• 可以寄存行李吗？kěyǐ jìcún xíngli ma [can store luggage?]

How to order food in Chinese

Calling across the room is normal here, not rude: 服务员！fúwùyuán gets a server, then 点菜 diǎn cài [order dishes] says why.

• 有英文菜单吗？yǒu Yīngwén càidān ma [have English menu?] — plenty of places have photo or QR menus instead, often better anyway.
• 我要这个 wǒ yào zhège — pointing at the photo does the rest.
• 不要辣 bú yào là [not want spicy] — 微辣 wēi là is "mild," and in Sichuan and Hunan, mild is still a real number.
• 我不吃肉 wǒ bù chī ròu [I not eat meat] or 我吃素 wǒ chī sù [I eat vegetarian]. Broth and lard turn up in dishes that look meat-free, so name what you can't eat, not the category.
• 我对花生过敏 wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn [I toward peanut allergic] — swap in your allergen, written in characters too.
• 买单 mǎidān [buy bill] — the check; 结账 jiézhàng does the same job. 打包 dǎbāo [pack wrap] is a takeaway box.

How to say water in Chinese

水 shuǐ, third tone, a dip in the middle of your range. Asking for 水 alone usually gets you 热水 rè shuǐ [hot water] or tea — the default, not a health trend. 冰水 bīng shuǐ [ice water] is the request for cold, though many kitchens don't keep any. Bottled is 矿泉水 kuàngquánshuǐ [mineral-spring water]; 一瓶水 yì píng shuǐ is a bottle, 一杯水 yì bēi shuǐ a glass.

How to say bathroom in Chinese

洗手间 xǐshǒujiān [wash-hand-room] is the polite everyday word. 卫生间 wèishēngjiān [hygiene room] is what most signs say. 厕所 cèsuǒ [toilet place] is blunter but understood everywhere. The full question: 洗手间在哪里？xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ.

On the doors: 男 nán (men), 女 nǚ (women). One more to know: 纸 zhǐ (paper), often missing in public stalls.

Shopping, prices, and paying

Numbers first: yī, èr, sān, sì, wǔ, liù, qī, bā, jiǔ, shí (one to ten), then arithmetic — 十一 shíyī is 11, 二十 èrshí is 20, 三十五 sānshíwǔ is 35. Spoken prices use 块 kuài, written ones 元 yuán — same currency.

• 太贵了 tài guì le [too expensive already]
• 便宜一点 piányi yìdiǎn [cheap a-little] — for markets, not shops with price tags.
• 我看看 wǒ kànkan [I look look] — just browsing.
• 不用了，谢谢 búyòng le, xièxie [no-need, thanks] — the polite refusal.
• 可以刷卡吗？kěyǐ shuākǎ ma [can swipe card?] — mobile payment via 微信 Wēixìn or 支付宝 Zhīfùbǎo is the norm; small vendors may lack both a card terminal and change.

When something goes wrong

• 救命！jiùmìng [save life] — a shout for genuine emergencies only.
• 帮帮我 bāngbang wǒ [help help me] — for everything else.
• 我迷路了 wǒ mílù le [I lost-road] — I'm lost.
• 我不舒服 wǒ bù shūfu [I not comfortable] — I feel ill. Then 医院 yīyuàn [heal courtyard] or 药店 yàodiàn [medicine shop].
• 我的手机丢了 wǒ de shǒujī diū le [my hand-machine lost]
• Emergency numbers in mainland China: 110 police, 120 ambulance, 119 fire.

A pocket set of Chinese phrases

Twenty entries that cover an ordinary week. Screenshot this table.

English	Hanzi	Pinyin	Literal
Hello	你好	nǐ hǎo	you good
Thank you	谢谢	xièxie	thank thank
Sorry / excuse me	不好意思	bù hǎoyìsi	not good meaning
May I ask…	请问	qǐngwèn	please ask
I don't understand	听不懂	tīngbudǒng	hear-not-understand
Say it again, please	请再说一遍	qǐng zài shuō yí biàn	please again say one time
Do you speak English?	你会说英文吗？	nǐ huì shuō Yīngwén ma	you can speak English?
How much?	多少钱？	duōshao qián	much-few money
Too expensive	太贵了	tài guì le	too expensive already
This one	这个	zhège	this item
I want this	我要这个	wǒ yào zhège	I want this
Water	水	shuǐ	water
Hot water	热水	rè shuǐ	hot water
Not spicy	不要辣	bú yào là	not want spicy
The check	买单	mǎidān	buy bill
Where's the bathroom?	洗手间在哪里？	xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ	wash-hand-room at where
Go here (show address)	去这里	qù zhèlǐ	go here
Stop here	在这里停	zài zhèlǐ tíng	at here stop
I'm lost	我迷路了	wǒ mílù le	I lost-road
Help!	救命！	jiùmìng	save life

Keeping this list on a webpage has a catch: the moment you need it is the moment you can't reach it. Roaming drops, home translation apps are often unreachable on mainland networks, and China's app stores behave differently once you land. The same set stored offline in Chinese Phrasebook, a Chinese phrasebook app for iPhone, is the version that still works at the taxi window with one bar of signal.

FAQ

How do you say water in Chinese?

水 shuǐ, with a dipping third tone. Alone, it usually gets you hot water or tea, the default drink; specify 冰水 bīng shuǐ for cold or 矿泉水 kuàngquánshuǐ for bottled. To ask for a bottle: 我要一瓶水 wǒ yào yì píng shuǐ.

Do I have to get the tones right to be understood?

Not perfectly, but they're not optional. Context rescues most mistakes in a restaurant or shop, where there are only so many things you could mean — it rescues far less with place names and numbers, which is why a written address beats saying one.

Can I get by with English in China?

In international hotels, airports, and parts of Shanghai and Beijing, often yes. In taxis, neighborhood restaurants, small shops, and smaller cities, usually not. The basic Chinese phrases here aren't about fluency — they're about the daily exchanges where English isn't available.

Is pinyin enough, or do I need characters?

Pinyin gets you speaking; characters get you reading menus, signs, and doors. Recognizing perhaps thirty — 男, 女, 出口 (exit), 入口 (entrance), 水, 茶, 面, 饭 — removes most of the daily friction.