Instant Chinese: A Mandarin Chinese Phrasebook & Dictionary

232 Pages·2016·7.57 MB·English

by  Jiageng Fan

Contents

Preface

PART 1:
Lists of Words/Expressions
1 Hello
2 Thank You
3 Sorry / Excuse Me
4 Please
5 I
6 My
7 You
8 Yes / No
9 Names
10 We
11 Speak
12 Understand
13 Who?
14 What?
15 When?
16 Where?
17 Why?
18 How?
19 This
20 That
21 Write
22 Address
23 Introductions
24 Family
25 Age
26 Go
27 Come
28 Toilet
29 Money
30 Credit Cards
31 Want
32 Need
33 Airport
34 Tip
35 Taxi
36 Bus
37 Subway
38 Train
39 Walk / Stroll
40 Hotel
41 Room Service
42 Numbers
43 Counting Things
44 Counting People
45 Time
46 Days
47 Weeks
48 Months
49 Years
50 Drink
51 Bar
52 Eat
53 Dim Sum
54 Peking Duck
55 Like / Don’t Like
56 Pay
57 Have
58 Don’t Have
59 Telephone
60 Cell Phone
61 Computer
62 Internet / E-mail
63 Seasons
64 Weather
65 Meet / Meeting
66 Buy
67 Shopping
68 Gifts
69 Cost / Price
70 Newsstand
71 Post Office
72 Sightseeing
73 See
74 Travel Agent
75 Martial Arts
76 Peking (Beijing) Opera
77 Emergency
78 Ill / Sick
79 Medicine
80 Doctor
81 Dentist
82 Hospital
83 Ambulance
84 Police
85 Embassy
86 Lost
87 Barber Shop
88 Beauty Parlor
89 Student
90 Read
91 Mistake
92 Rest
93 Rent
94 Bicycle
95 Street
96 Directions
97 Books
98 Business
99 Great Wall of China
100 Goodbye
PART 2
Additional Vocabulary
China’s Provinces
China’s Autonomous Regions
Major Cities in China
40 Places in China You Mustn’t Miss
Famous Places in Beijing
Famous Landmarks near Beijing
Famous Shopping Districts in Beijing
Famous Places in Shanghai
10 Most Well-Known Chinese Personalities
Important Festivals in China
Important Signs
Other Countries in Chinese
Opposites
Words A to Z

Preface

In 1949 the newly established Chinese government issued an edict making
Mandarin the national language of the country and mandating that it be taught in
all schools. Today, virtually most Chinese speak Mandarin Chinese, known as
putonghua (puu-toong-whah) or “the common language,” as their first or second
language.
This book uses English phonetics to represent the syllables making up
Mandarin Chinese, making it possible for total newcomers to the language to
communicate quickly and easily on a basic level without any previous
introduction to the language.
In addition, each Chinese word is given its tone in pinyin—this is to enable
those with a basic knowledge of Spoken Chinese to say the words more
accurately, if they wish. However, for those who know nothing about tones, the
phonetic versions presented here are close enough to the “correct” pronunciation
that the meaning is generally understandable.
With eight major “dialects” in China [some are actually different enough to be
called languages!], the Chinese are used to coping with a variety of accents and
variations in the tonal quality of speakers. They are especially tolerant of
foreigners who make an effort to speak Chinese, and go out of their way to help
them.
Here are a number of important introductory terms to get you started, keeping
in mind that the phonetics are designed to be pronounced as English:

China
Zhōngguó (Johng-gwoh) 中国
Chinese Language
Hànyǔ (Hahn-yuu) 汉语
or Zhōngwén (Johng-wern)* 中⽂
Chinese (person)
Zhōngguórén (Johng-gwoh-wren) 中国⼈
Beijinger
Běijīngrén (Bay-jeeng-wren) 北京⼈
Shanghaiese
Shànghǎirén (Shanghai-wren) 上海⼈
Overseas Chinese
Huá Qiáo (Hwah Chiaow) 华侨
Hong Kong
Xiāng Gǎng (She-ahng Gahng) ⾹港
Kowloon
Jiǔlóng (Jow-lohng) 九龙
Macao
Àomén (Ow-mern) 澳门

*Hànyǔ is the literary term for the Chinese language; Zhōngwén is the term generally used in ordinary
speech.