Collins Gem

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Internet (#litres_trial_promo)

Practicalities

Money (#litres_trial_promo)

Paying (#litres_trial_promo)

Luggage (#litres_trial_promo)

Repairs (#litres_trial_promo)

Laundry (#litres_trial_promo)

Complaints (#litres_trial_promo)

Problems (#litres_trial_promo)

Emergencies (#litres_trial_promo)

Health

Pharmacy (#litres_trial_promo)

Doctor (#litres_trial_promo)

Dentist (#litres_trial_promo)

Eating out

Eating places (#litres_trial_promo)

At a tea house (#litres_trial_promo)

In a restaurant (#litres_trial_promo)

Dietary requirements (#litres_trial_promo)

Spirits and liqueurs (#litres_trial_promo)

Menu reader

Reference

Measurements and quantities (#litres_trial_promo)

Numbers (#litres_trial_promo)

Days and months (#litres_trial_promo)

Time (#litres_trial_promo)

Time phrases (#litres_trial_promo)

Public holidays (#litres_trial_promo)

Signs and notices (#litres_trial_promo)

Pronouncing place names (#litres_trial_promo)

Grammar

Dictionary

English – Mandarin (#litres_trial_promo)

A – C

D – F

G – I

J – L

M – O

P – R

S – U

V – Z

LIFELINE words and phrases

About the Publisher

Pronouncing Mandarin (#ulink_098e4311-c11c-5ff5-8ca5-45eaef154b6d)

It is not easy for foreigners to pronounce Mandarin Chinese, so in this phrasebook we have used standard Latin phonetic sounds to keep it simple. Mandarin is not written using an alphabet, but by various strokes (such as

,

). Written Chinese is based on these ‘characters’ rather than words. The standard Mandarin Chinese pronunciation system (called ‘pinyin’) is based on consonants and vowels which look just like English words. By converting a pinyin character (each representing the sound of the Chinese character) into the standard Latin phonetic sound, English/European language speakers will be able to pronounce pinyin easily.

The system of conversion is as follows:

Intonation

There are five tones used when pronouncing Mandarin; to make it easier for you to remember them, we have placed the diacritics on top of the vowel in each pinyin to indicate the flat tone (—), the rising tone (´), the musical long tone (˘), the strong tone (`), whilst no diacritic means a quiet tone.

In order to make it easier for you to understand these tones, the following examples are supplied. These will give you some idea of how to pronounce the four basic tones in Mandarin:

Top ten tips (#ulink_6816e2a4-d1e2-591a-9156-a81dbb72fd6e)

1 Chinese people show great respect for the wisdom and experience of their elders. The senior people present will usually initiate the greetings, and you should greet the oldest, most senior person before any others.

2 Do not stick your chopsticks into a bowl of rice. It reminds Chinese people of the incense sticks they burn when they bury their dead.

3 Avoid sharing a pear with loved ones. The word for pear-sharing sounds the same as the term for to separate (fēn-lí), and can hint at a break-up or a lifelong separation.

4 Business cards should be held in both hands when they are being offered or received. When receiving another person’s card, you should take the time to look at it attentively before putting it away.

5 Be aware of the Chinese fear of losing face. For example, do not call a restaurant manager a fú-wù;-yuán (waiter/waitress), or anything else below their true status.

6 It is rude to refuse any consumable item being offered to you (including cigarettes). If you do not accept a cigarette you have to come up with a good reason to avoid offending anyone!

7 Tipping is still not expected in most restaurants and hotels, however attitudes towards tipping are changing.

8 Most Chinese women continue using their maiden names even after marriage, but they may indicate their marital status by using 太太 (tài-tai) or 夫人 (fū-rén) with their husband’s name.

9 In a formal situation you should always exchange business cards and shake hands with the most important person first and then work down, to avoid anyone losing face.

10 Whistling and pointing with the index finger are taboo gestures in China.

Talking to people (#ulink_69c17508-38d8-5544-b82a-64ca3a46456c)

Hello/goodbye, yes/no (#ulink_4f417f21-68fc-54da-bf51-97e05dc7585c)

It is very important to use the appropriate form of greeting in China. As with other cultures, the way that you greet somebody will depend on whether you know them or if they are a stranger. The most common greeting which can be used at any time, to anyone, is 你好(nǐ hǎo).

The form 您好(nín hǎo) is more formal and should be used when you want to show particular respect.

Key phrases (#ulink_eaf44759-4c45-5ad8-9f70-086a2cdf3924)

Celebrations (#ulink_d78b1765-510b-59f1-a0e6-3569a5369da8)

Making friends (#ulink_f74e73d4-3a2f-5e11-9441-5d6d73fe4a8a)

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.’

Work (#ulink_f3f831fe-5deb-51e6-9a49-67c811db51b7)

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.

Weather (#ulink_2522ba3c-8278-530a-a0e7-db6643a121bd)

Getting around (#ulink_b49e7a41-0c26-5456-8757-5dfc4c709bd9)

Asking the way (#ulink_f3b24702-e7e2-5d51-ac7a-de610c6fb169)

If you want to attract the attention of someone you do not know – for example, in the street – you say 请问 (qǐng-wèn).

Bus and coach (#ulink_c18325b9-e2a5-57ca-8768-25891b79aa29)

Buses are the most common form of short-distance travel in China. They are also great for inter-city/province travel, as there is a very advanced motorway system in China. Compared to train and plane tickets, bus tickets are cheap. In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, there are combination travel cards, such as 一卡通 (yī-kǎ-tōng), which can be used to take buses, taxis, and on the metro.

Metro (#ulink_e57e7f11-2de8-5cc7-ab93-a82b9aeb9ab9)

There are 38 cities in China with underground systems. Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou have the longest underground lines in China. Security is very strict, passengers need to have their bags/suitcases scanned at the entrance. The earliest train is around 5 am, and the latest 11 pm. The fare is calculated by the distance, but considered cheap in general given the size of the cities. In big cities like Beijing and Shanghai, travel cards, such as 一卡通 (yī-kǎ-tōng), can be used.

Train (#ulink_3c0569e7-b068-5c2d-9964-5944428e7d9f)

Trains are the most common form of long-distance travel in China. There are two ways of buying tickets: on the national website or at ticket offices in streets and stations.

There are three types of tickets: hard seat, hard bunk and soft bunk. A hard seat ticket is often cheap, about half the price of hard bunk, while a soft bunk ticket is about the same as a plane ticket.

The system is nationalised, it is called China Railway. In the last ten years, China has built over 20,000km of 250km/h High Speed Railways. There are 8 S-N and 8 E-W routes, the trains are normally called CRH-xxx. The tickets for these trains are more expensive.

On trains, if a child is no taller than 1.2 metres, the ticket is free; between 1.2–1.5 metres, it’s half price; over 1.5 metres, it’s full price.

Taxi (#ulink_9431108d-f489-5c1a-a33e-bb27ff1b647c)

Chinese taxis are cheap, convenient and operate on meters. It is not advised to take a taxi in major cities at rush hour, as bad traffic can result in large bills. The basic fee is 10-15rmb for 3kms in most cities. There is no need to tip. There are taxi stands at stations, airports and major hotels but taxis can also be hailed from the roadside. There are a number of popular taxi apps in China that can be pre-booked or called for immediate use.

Boat and ferry (#ulink_a84ed214-11f5-5cc5-9813-8bddda42f7b6)

Boat and ferry transportation is hardly used by Chinese citizens, since the country has a vast inland territory. Most of the time, on a body of water, there will be several bridges.

Air travel (#ulink_edf54502-86c6-5271-95b4-839c6a72914b)

The three busiest airports in China are Beijing Capital International Airport, Shanghai Pudong International Airport, and Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport.

When buying plane tickets, note that children are categorised by their age: below 2 (free), between 2 and 12 (half price), then older than 12 (full price).

Customs control (#ulink_aa90ec1a-43a4-55a7-9dd2-72bafbac1d59)

Visitors to the mainland of the People’s Republic of China must obtain a visa from one of the Chinese diplomatic missions, unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. ID is essential when travelling, you need it to buy train/plane tickets and book hotels.

It is sometimes possible to spend up to three days in China as a stop-over without acquiring a visa. This suits those in transit only, as the visitor is not permitted to leave the city in which they’ve entered China.