The Mandarin Chinese is the official language of China continental and Taiwan, and is one of the official languages of Singapore. In English, it is usually called "Mandarin" or "Chinese". In china, it is called Putonghua (普通话), which means "common speech", while in Taiwan it is referred to as Guoyu (國語), "the national language". It has been the "primary language of education in China" (excluding Hong Kong Y Macau) since the 1950s. Standard Mandarin is close to, but not identical with, the Mandarin dialect of the area of Beijing.
Note that while the Mandarin spoken in the places above is more or less the same, the written characters are different. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau still use traditional characters, while mainland China and Singapore use a simplified derivative. However, an educated person living in mainland China or Singapore can still understand traditional characters but not necessarily vice versa (Taiwanese people may have difficulty recognizing some simplified characters).
How to read
The syllable in Mandarin has two parts, one initial (in blue in the example) and a final (in red). Green indicates the tone (Mandarin has 4 tones and a neutral tone, which is not written).
The first box below shows the initial parts and the second how the vowels are read and the special readings of some final parts:
Tones
The Mandarin Chinese it's a tonal language. Tones are marked by using graphic accents over one vocal not medial.
- The first tone is represented by a macron (ˉ) over the vowel:
- (ɑ̄) ā ō ē ī ū ǖ
- The second tone is marked with an acute accent (ˊ):
- (ɑ́) á ó é í ú ǘ
- The third tone is represented by a caron (ˇ), a mark slightly different from the brief [(˘) which is not weevil], although this use is relatively common on the Internet.
- (ɑ̌) ǎ ǒ ě ǐ ǔ ǚ
- The fourth tone is symbolized by a grave accent (ˋ):
- (ɑ̀) à ò è ì ù ǜ
- The fifth tone, or neutral tone, is represented by a normal vowel without graphic accents:
- (ɑ) a o and i u ü
- (ɑ) a o and i u ü
- (In some cases, this is also written with a period before the syllable; for example, · ma.)
Since many typefaces used on a computer lack accents such as hyphen or inverted circumflex, a common convention is to indicate the number corresponding to the tone just after each syllable (for example, "tóng" (tong with rising tone) is you would write "tong2"). The digit is numbered in the order indicated above, with one exception: the "fifth tone", in addition to having the number 5, may not be indicated or indicated with a 0, as in the interrogative particle ma0 (吗 / 嗎).
The pinyin vowels are arranged in the following order: a, o, e, i, u, ü. In general, the tonal mark is placed on the vowel that appears before in the order indicated. Liú is a superficial exception whose true pronunciation is lióu, and as the or precedes the i, the u (that contracts to or).
In Chinese you have to be careful with the tones due to the homophony of each one: 妈 mā (mom), 麻 má (hemp), 马 mǎ (horse), 骂 mà (curse) and 吗 ma (question mark)[?](
hear).
Phrases
All phrases shown here use the simplified characters used in China continental and Singapore. Look at her traditional chinese guide for a version using the traditional characters still used in Taiwan, Hong Kong Y Macau.
Basic expressions
- Hello
- 你好. Nǐ hǎo.
- How are you?
- 你 好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma?身体 好吗? Shēntǐ hǎo ma?
- Fine thanks.
- 很好, 谢谢。 Hěn hǎo, xièxie.
- May I ask what your name is?
- 请问 你 叫 什么 名? Qǐngwèn nǐjiào shěnme ming?
- What is your name?
- 你 叫 什么 名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme minagzi?
- My name is _____.
- 我 叫 _____。 Wǒ jiào ______.
- Nice to meet you.
- 很 高兴 认识 你。 Hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ.
- Please.
- 请。 Qǐng.
- Thanks.
- 谢谢。 Xièxiè.
- No problem.
- 不客气。 Bú kèqi.
- Sorry. (receiving attention)
- 请问 qǐng wèn
- Sorry. (asking forgiveness)
- 打扰 一下。 Dǎrǎo yixià;麻烦 您 了, Máfán nín le.
- Sorry.
- 对不起。 Duìbùqǐ.
- It's okay. (polite response to "I'm sorry")
- 没关系. Méiguānxi.
- Goodbye.
- 再见。 Zàijiàn
- Goodbye. (informal)
- 拜拜。 Bai-bai
- I can not speak Chinese.
- 我 不会 说 中文。 Wǒ bu huì shuō zhōngwén.
- Speak English?
- 你 会 说 英语 吗？ Nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
- Is there anyone here who speaks English?
- 这里 有人 会 说 英语 吗？ Zhèlĭ yǒu rén hùi shuō Yīngyǔ ma?
- Help! (in emergencies)
- 救命！ Jiùmìng!
- Good Morning.
- 早安。 Zǎo'ān.
- Good night. (greeting)
- 晚上 好。 Wǎnshàng hǎo.
- Good night. (firing)
- 晚安。 Wǎn'ān.
- I do not understand.
- 我 听 不懂。 Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
- Where is the bathroom?
- 厕所 在 哪里？ Cèsuǒ zài nǎli?
- Where is the bathroom? (politely)
- 洗手间 在 哪里？ Xǐshǒujiān zài nǎli?
Problems
- Leave me alone.
- 不要 打扰 我。 (buyào dǎrǎo wǒ)
- I do not want it! (useful for people who come trying to sell you something)
- 我 不要 (wǒ buyào!)
- Do not touch me!
- 不要 碰 我！ (owào pèng wǒ!)
- I'll call the police.
- 我 要 叫 警察 了。 (wǒ yào jiào jǐngchá le)
- Policeman!
- 警察！ (jǐngchá!)
- Tall! Thief!
- 住手！ 小偷！ (zhùshǒu! Xiǎotōu!)
- I need your help.
- 我 需要 你 的 帮助。 (wǒ xūyào nǐde bāngzhù)
- Is an emergency.
- 这 是 紧急 情况。 (zhèshì jǐnjí qíngkuàng)
- I'm lost.
- 我 迷路 了。 (wǒмlù le)
- I lost my backpack.
- 我 丟 了 手提包。 (wǒ diūle shǒutíbāo)
- I lost my wallet.
- 我 丟 了 钱包。 (wǒ diūle qiánbāo)
- I'm sick.
- 我 生病 了。 (wǒ shēngbìng le)
- I have injured myself.
- 我 受伤 了。 (wǒ shòushāng le)
- I need a doctor.
- 我 需要 医生。 (wǒ xūyào yīshēng)
- Can I use your phone?
- 我 可以 打 个 电话 吗？ (wǒ kěyǐ dǎ ge diànhuà ma?)
Numbers
Chinese numbers are very regular. While western numbers have become more common, the Chinese numerals shown below are still used, particularly in informal contexts like markets. The characters in parentheses are generally used in financial contexts, such as check writing or banknote printing.
- 0 〇 (零)
- ling
- 1 一 (壹)
- yī
- 2 二 (贰)
- èr (两 liǎng used when specifying quantity)
- 3 三 (叁)
- saint
- 4 四 (肆)
- Yes
- 5 五 (伍)
- wǔ
- 6 六 (陆)
- liù
- 7 七 (柒)
- what
- 8 八 (捌)
- bā
- 9 九 (玖)
- hee
- 10 十 (拾)
- shí
- 11 十一
- shí-yī
- 12 十二
- shí-èr
- 13 十三
- shí-sān
- 14 十四
- shí-sì
- 15 十五
- shí-wǔ
- 16 十六
- shí-liù
- 17 十七
- shí-qī
- 18 十八
- shí-bā
- 19 十九
- shi-hee
- 20 二十
- èr-shí
- 21 二十 一
- èr-shí-yī
- 22 二 十二
- èr-shí-èr
- 23 二十 三
- èr-shí-sān
- 30 三十
- sān-shí
- 40 四十
- yes-shí
- 50 五十
- wǔ-shí
- 60 六十
- liù-shí
- 70 七十
- qī-shí
- 80 八十
- bā-shí
- 90 九十
- hee-shi
For numbers over 100, any can be filled with 〇 ling, as an example 一百 一 yībǎiyī otherwise it would be taken as an abbreviation for "110". A single unit of ten can be written and pronounced 一 十 yīshí or just 十 shí, either one.
- 100 一百 (壹佰)
- yī-bǎi
- 101 一百 〇 一
- yī-bǎi-ling-yī
- 110 一百 一 十
- yī-bǎi-yī-shí
- 111 一百 一 十一
- yī-bǎi-yī-shí-yī
- 200 二百
- èr-bǎi or 两百 ： liǎng-bǎi
- 300 三百
- sān-bǎi
- 500 五百
- wǔ-bǎi
- 1000 一千 (壹仟)
- yī-qiān
- 2000 二千
- èr-qiān or 两千 ： liǎng-qiān
Numbers starting from 10,000 are grouped into four-digit units starting with 万 wàn (ten thousand). "One million" in Chinese is therefore "one hundred thousand-thousand" (一 百万).
- 10,000 一 万 (壹萬)
- yī-wàn
- 10,001 一 万 〇 一
- yī-wàn-ling-yī
- 10,002 一 万 〇 二
- yī-wàn-ling-èr
- 20,000 二万
- èr-wàn
- 50,000 五万
- wǔ-wàn
- 100,000 十万
- shí-wàn
- 200,000 二 十万
- èr-shí-wàn
- 1,000,000 一 百万
- yī-bǎi-wàn
- 10,000,000 一 千万
- yī-qiān-wàn
- 100,000,000 一 亿 (壹 億)
- yī-yì
- 1,000,000,000,000 一 兆
- yī-zhào
- number _____ (train, bus, etc.)
- number of measure word (路 lù, 号 hào, ...) _____ (huǒ chē, gōng gòng qì chē, etc.)
Measure words are used in combination with a number to indicate a number of mass nouns, similar to how English requires "two pieces of paper "instead of just" two papers ". When unsure, use 个 (ge), although it may not be correct, you will probably be understood because it is the most common measure word. (One person: 一个 人 yīgè rén; two apples: 两个 苹果 liǎnggè pintguǒ; note that two of something always uses 两 liǎng instead of 二 èr).
- half
- 半 bàn
- less than
- 少於 shǎoyú
- more than
- 多於 duōyú
- more
- 更 gèng
Weather
- now
- 现在 xiànzài
- after
- 以后 ， yǐhòu or shāohòu
- before
- 以前, yǐqián
- morning
- 早上, zǎoshàng
- midday
- 中午, zhōngwǔ
- afternoon
- 下午, xiàwǔ
- night
- 晚上, wǎnshàng
- midnight
- 半夜 bànyè or 午夜 (wǔyè)
Clock time
- What time is it?
- 现在 几点？ Xiànzài jǐ diǎn?
- It's nine in the morning.
- 早上 9 点钟。 Zǎoshàng jǐu diǎn zhōng.
- Three thirty PM.
- 下午 3 点 半. Xiàwǔ sān diǎn bàn.
- 3
- 38 PM. : 下午 3 点 38 分 Xiàwǔ sāndiǎn sānshíbā fēn.
Duration
- _____ minutes)
- _____ 分钟 fēnzhōng
- _____ hours)
- _____ 小时 xiǎoshí
- _____ days)
- _____ 天 tiān
- _____ weeks)
- _____ 星期 xīngqī
- _____ months)
- _____ 月 yùe
- _____ years)
- _____ 年 nián
Days
- today
- 今天 jīntiān
- Yesterday
- 昨天 zuótiān
- before yesterday
- 前天 qiăntiān
- morning
- 明天 mingtiān
- day after tomorrow
- 后天 hòutiān
- this week
- 这个 星期 zhège xīngqī
- In the past week
- 上个星期 shàngge xīngqī
- next week
- 下个星期 xiàge xīngqī
Chinese days of the week are easy: starting with 1 for Monday, just add the number after 星期 xīngqī. In Taiwan it is pronounced xīngqí (second tone on the second syllable).
- Sunday
- 星期天 xīngqītiān or xīngqīrì (星期日)
- Monday
- 星期一 xīngqīyī
- Tuesday
- 星期二 xīngqīèr
- Wednesday
- 星期三 xīngqīsān
- Thursday
- 星期四 xīngqīsì
- Friday
- 星期五 xīngqīwǔ
- Saturday
- 星期六 xīngqīliù
星期 can also be replaced with 礼拜 lǐbài and occasionally with 周 zhōu.
Months
Chinese months are easy too: starting with 1 for January, just add the number before 月 yuè.
- January
- 一月, yī yuè
- February
- 二月, èr yuè
- March
- 三月, sān yuè
- April
- 四月, yes yuè
- may
- 五月, wŭ yuè
- June
- 六月, liù yuè
- July
- 七月, qī yuè
- August
- 八月, bā yuè
- September
- 九月, hee yuè
- October
- 十月, shí yuè
- November
- 十一月, shí yī yuè
- December
- 十二月, shí èr yuè
From January to December, you only need to use this pattern: number (1-12) yuè.