Mandarin Chinese Phrasebook: 50 Most Useful Expressions For Beginners

A list of 50 common phrases and expressions in Mandarin Chinese with English translation and examples.

51 words in this list

你好 (Nǐ hǎo) → Hello

🗣️ 你好，我叫李明。 (Hello, my name is Li Ming.)

不客气 (Bù kè qì) → You're welcome

🗣️ A: 谢谢你。B: 不客气。 (A: Thank you. B: You're welcome.)

我 (Wǒ) → I/me

🗣️ 我是学生。 (I am a student.)

去 (Qù) → To go

🗣️ 我们去公园。 (Let's go to the park.)

喝 (Hē) → To drink

🗣️ 我想喝一杯咖啡。 (I want to drink a cup of coffee.)

买 (Mǎi) → To buy

🗣️ 我要去买一件衬衫。 (I want to buy a shirt.)

再见 (Zài jiàn) → Goodbye

🗣️ 再见，我们明天见。 (Goodbye, see you tomorrow.)

对不起 (Duì bù qǐ) → Sorry

🗣️ 对不起，我迟到了。 (Sorry, I'm late.)

你 (Nǐ) → You

🗣️ 你好吗？ (How are you?)

想 (Xiǎng) → To want/to think

🗣️ 我想吃饭。 (I want to eat.)

看 (Kàn) → To look/to watch

🗣️ 我喜欢看电影。 (I like watching movies.)

学习 (Xué xí) → To study

🗣️ 我正在学习中文。 (I am studying Chinese.)

卖 (Mài) → To sell

🗣️ 他在卖自行车。 (He is selling bicycles.)

发邮件 (Fā yóu jiàn) → To send an email

🗣️ 我给老师发了一封邮件。 (I sent an email to the teacher.)

听音乐 (Tīng yīn yuè) → To listen to music

🗣️ 我喜欢在晚上听音乐。 (I like to listen to music in the evening.)

谢谢 (Xiè xiè) → Thank you

🗣️ 谢谢你的帮助。 (Thank you for your help.)

他/她/它 (Tā/tā/tā) → He/she/it

🗣️ 他是我的朋友。 (He is my friend.)

你们 (Nǐ men) → You (plural)

🗣️ 你们想做什么？ (What do you guys want to do?)

我们 (Wǒ men) → We/us

🗣️ 我们一起去吧。 (Let's go together.)

来 (Lái) → To come

🗣️ 你什么时候来？ (When are you coming?)

写 (Xiě) → To write

🗣️ 我写了一封信。 (I wrote a letter.)

吃 (Chī) → To eat

🗣️ 你吃过中国菜吗？ (Have you tried Chinese food?)

听见 (Tīng jiàn) → To hear

🗣️ 我听见了一个声音。 (I heard a sound.)

找 (Zhǎo) → To look for

🗣️ 我在找我的钱包。 (I'm looking for my wallet.)

开 (Kāi) → To open/to drive

🗣️ 他开着车去上班。 (He drives to work.)

旅游 (Lǚ yóu) → To travel

🗣️ 我们计划去旅游。 (We plan to travel.)

吸烟 (Xī yān) → To smoke

🗣️ 吸烟对健康有害。 (Smoking is harmful to health.)

骑车 (Qí chē) → To ride a bike

🗣️ 他经常骑车上班。 (He often rides his bike to work.)

没关系 (Méi guān xì) → It's okay

🗣️ A: 对不起。B: 没关系。 (A: Sorry. B: It's okay.)

请 (Qǐng) → Please

🗣️ 请给我一杯水。 (Please give me a glass of water.)

他们/她们/它们 (Tā men/tā men/tā men) → They/them

🗣️ 他们在哪里？ (Where are they?)

有 (Yǒu) → To have

🗣️ 我有一本书。 (I have a book.)

说 (Shuō) → To speak/to say

🗣️ 你会说中文吗？ (Do you speak Chinese?)

喜欢 (Xǐ huān) → To like

🗣️ 我喜欢吃水果。 (I like eating fruit.)

睡觉 (Shuì jiào) → To sleep

🗣️ 我很困了，想去睡觉。 (I'm very tired and want to go to sleep.)

看见 (Kàn jiàn) → To see

🗣️ 我看见了一只猫。 (I saw a cat.)

关 (Guān) → To close/to turn off

🗣️ 你把电视关了吗？ (Did you turn off the TV?)

做 (Zuò) → To do/to make

🗣️ 我正在做饭。 (I am cooking.)

购物 (Gòu wù) → To go shopping

🗣️ 我喜欢去购物中心购物。 (I like to go shopping at the mall.)

游泳 (Yóu yǒng) → To swim

🗣️ 夏天我喜欢去游泳。 (I like to go swimming in the summer.)

对不起，请问 (Duì bù qǐ, qǐng wèn) → Excuse me

🗣️ 对不起，请问去邮局怎么走？ (Excuse me, how do I get to the post office?)

是 (Shì) → To be

🗣️ 我是老师。 (I am a teacher.)

听 (Tīng) → To listen

🗣️ 你听得懂吗？ (Do you understand what you're hearing?)

爱 (Ài) → To love

🗣️ 我爱我的家人。 (I love my family.)

工作 (Gōng zuò) → To work

🗣️ 他每天都要去工作。 (He goes to work every day.)

打电话 (Dǎ diàn huà) → To make a phone call

🗣️ 我要给他打电话。 (I want to give him a call.)

跑步 (Pǎo bù) → To run

🗣️ 我每天早上都会去跑步。 (I go for a run every morning.)

看电影 (Kàn diàn yǐng) → To watch a movie

🗣️ 我们周末去看电影吧！ (Let's go watch a movie on the weekend!)

喝酒 (Hē jiǔ) → To drink alcohol

🗣️ 他不喜欢喝酒。 (He doesn't like to drink alcohol.)

看书 (Kàn shū) → To read a book

🗣️ 我喜欢在床上看书。 (I like to read in bed.)

玩 (Wán) → To play

🗣️ 我们一起去玩吧！ (Let's go play together!)

Learn with glot

You didn't try learning this list of vocabulary yet.

Thanks for visiting and have the bestest day! 👋