chē-zhàn
| to Shanghai | 去上海qù shàng-hăi |
| There is…/ There are… | 有…yŏu… |
| There isn’t…/ There aren’t any… | 没有…méi-yŏu… |
| When? | 什么时候?shén-me shí-hou? |
| At what time…? | 什么时间…?shén-me shí-jiān…? |
| today | 今天jīn-tiān |
| tomorrow | 明天míng-tiān |
| Can I…? | 我能…吗?wŏ néng … ma? |
| smoke | 抽烟chōu-yān |
| taste it | 尝尝它cháng-chang tā |
| How does this work? | 如何使用?rú-hé shĭ-yòng? |
| What does this mean? | 这是什么意思?zhè-shì shén-me yì-sī? |
Celebrations
| l’d like to wish you… | 我祝愿您…wŏ zhù-yuàn nín … |
| Happy Birthday! | 生日快乐！ shēng-rì kuài-lè! |
| Happy Anniversary! | 纪念日快乐！ jì-niàn-rì kuài-lè! |
| Merry Christmas! | 圣诞快乐！shèng-dàn kuài-lè! |
| Happy New Year! | 新年快乐!xīn-nián kuài-lè! |
| Happy Easter! | 复活节快乐！fù-huó-jié kuài-lè! |
| Have a good trip! | 一路顺风！yī-lù-shùn-fēng! |
Making friends
Chinese family names are placed first, followed by the given name. For instance, in the name ‘Zhao Li,’ ‘Zhao’ is the family name, ‘Li’ the given name. Family names usually consist of one character, whereas given names can have either one or two characters.
Chinese people call their close friends and family members by their given names.
For example, ‘Ma Wenli’ may be addressed by close friends as ‘Wenli.’
| FACE TO FACE |
| 你叫什么名字?nĭ jiào shén-me míng-zi?What’s your name? |
| 我叫…wŏ jiào…My name is… |
| 你是哪里人?nĭ shì nă-li rén?Where are you from? |
| 我是英国人, 我来自伦敦wŏ shì yīng-guó-rén, wŏ lái zì lún-dūnI am English, from London |
| 很高兴认识你！hĕn gāo-xìng rèn-shi nĭ!Pleased to meet you! |
| How old are you? | 你多大了?nĭ duō-dà le? |
| I’m … years old | 我 … 岁了wŏ … suì le |
| England/English | 英格兰/英格兰的yīng-gé-lán/yīng-gé-lán de |
| Scotland/Scottish | 苏格兰/苏格兰的sū-gé-lán/sū-gé-lán de |
| Wales/Welsh | 威尔士/威尔士的wēi-ěr-shì/wēi-ěr-shì de |
| Ireland/Irish | 爱尔兰/爱尔兰的ài-ěr-lán/ài-ěr-lán de |
| USA/American | 美国/美国的měi-guó/měi-guó de |
| Australia/Australian | 澳大利亚/澳大利亚的ào-dà-lì-yà/ào-dà-lì-yà de |
| Where do you live? | 你住在哪儿?nĭ zhù-zài năr? |
| Where do you live? (plural) | 你们住在哪儿?nĭ-men zhù-zài năr? |
| I live in London | 我住在伦敦wŏ zhù-zài lún-dūn |
| We live in Glasgow | 我们住在格拉斯哥wŏ-men zhù-zài gé- lā-sī-gē |
| I’m at school | 我在上学wŏ zài shàng-xué |
| I work | 我在工作wŏ zài gōng-zuò |
| I’m retired | 我退休了wŏ tuì-xiū le |
| I’m… | 我…wŏ… |
| single | 单身dān-shēn |
| married | 结婚了jié-hūn le |
| divorced | 离婚了lí-hūn le |
| I have… | 我有…wŏ yŏu… |
| a boyfriend | 一位男朋友yī-wèi nán-péng-you |
| a girlfriend | 一位女朋友yī-wèi nǚ-péng-you |
| a partner | 一位伴侣yī-wèi bàn-lǚ |
| I have…children | 我有 … 孩子wŏ yŏu … hái-zi |
| I have no children | 我没有孩子wŏ méi-yŏu hái-zi |
| Let me introduce you to my friends | 让我把你介绍给我的朋友们ràng wǒ bǎ nǐ jiè-shào gěi wǒ de péng-you-men |
| I’d like you to meet my husband | 我想让你认识一下我 的丈夫wǒ xiǎng ràng nǐ rèn-shi yī-xià wǒ de zhàng-fu |
| This is Janet | 这是珍妮特zhè shì Zhēn-ní-tè |
| I’m here… | 我在这里…wŏ zà zhè-lĭ... |
| on holiday | 度假dù-jià |
| on business | 公务gōng-wù |
| for the weekend | 过周末guò zhōu-mò |
Work
In formal situations you should address Chinese people by their family name or full name and the appropriate courtesy title. Unlike English, professional, social, and family titles always follow the name.
| Mr Liu | 刘先生 | Liú xiān-sheng |
| Mr Li Nan | 李楠先生 | Lǐ Nán xiān-sheng |
| Mrs Liu | 刘夫人 | Liú fū-rén |
| Miss Liu | 刘小姐 | Liú xiǎo-jiě |
| Ms Liu | 刘女士 | Liú nǔ-shì |
| Dr Ma | 马医生 | Mǎ yī-shēng |
| Professor Xu | 徐教授 | Xú jiào-shòu |
| What do you do? | 你干什么工作?nĭ gàn shén-me gōng-zuò? |
| Do you like your job? | 你喜欢你的工作吗?nĭ xĭ-huan nĭ de gōng-zuò ma? |
| I’m… | 我是…wŏ shì… |
| a doctor | 一名医生yī míng yī-shēng |
| a manager | 一名经理yī míng jīng-lĭ |
| I work from home | 我在家里工作wŏ zài jīa-lĭ gōng-zuò |
| I’m self-employed | 我是自谋职业者wŏ shì zì-móu-zhí-yè-zhĕ |
Weather
| 天气预报tiān-qì yù-bào | weather forecast |
| 多变的气候duō biàn de qì-hòu | changeable weather |
| fine | 好hăo |
| bad | 坏huài |
| cloudy | 多云duō-yún |
| It’s sunny | 天晴tiān-qíng |
| It’s raining | 下雨xià-yǔ |
| It’s snowing | 下雪xià-xuě |
| It’s windy | 刮风guā-fēng |
| What a lovely day! | 天气真好！tiān-qì zhēn hăo! |
| What awful weather! | 天气真糟糕！tiān-qì zhēn zāo-gāo! |
| What will the weather be like tomorrow? | 明天天气会怎么样呢?míng-tiān tiān-qì huì zén-me-yàng ne? |
| Do you think it’s going to rain? | 你认为天会下雨吗?nĭ rèn-wéi tiān huì xià-yǔ ma? |
| It’s very hot/cold today | 今天很热/冷jīn-tiān hĕn rè/lĕng |
| Do you think there will be a storm? | 你认为会刮风暴吗?nĭ rèn-wéi huì guā-fēng-bào ma? |
| Do you think it will snow? | 你认为会下雪吗?nĭ rèn-wéi huì xià-xuě ma? |
| Will it be foggy? | 会有雾吗?huì yŏu-wù ma? |
| What is the temperature? | 气温是多少?qì-wēn
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