你好 nǐ hǎo Hello
早上好 zǎoshang hǎo Good morning
下午好 xiàwǔ hǎo Good afternoon
晚上好 wǎnshang hǎo Good evening
晚安 wǎn'ān Good night
再见 zàijiàn Goodbye
回头见 huítóu jiàn See you later
好久不见 hǎojiǔ bú jiàn Long time no see
你好吗？ nǐ hǎo ma How are you?
我很好 wǒ hěn hǎo I'm fine
2. Politeness
Chinese Transliteration English
谢谢 xièxie Thank you
不客气 bú kèqi You're welcome
请 qǐng Please
对不起 duìbuqǐ Sorry
不好意思 bù hǎoyìsi Excuse me / Sorry
没关系 méi guānxi It's okay / No problem
麻烦你了 máfan nǐ le Sorry to trouble you
辛苦了 xīnkǔ le Thanks for your hard work
3. Introducing Yourself
Chinese Transliteration English
我叫…… wǒ jiào … My name is …
我的名字是…… wǒ de míngzi shì … My name is …
我是……人 wǒ shì … rén I'm from …
我来自…… wǒ láizì … I'm from …
我住在…… wǒ zhù zài … I live in …
很高兴认识你 hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ Nice to meet you
你叫什么名字？ nǐ jiào shénme míngzi What's your name?
你来自哪里？ nǐ láizì nǎlǐ Where are you from?
你几岁？ nǐ jǐ suì How old are you?
4. Questions
Chinese Transliteration English
这是什么？ zhè shì shénme What is this?
那是什么？ nà shì shénme What is that?
谁？ shéi Who?
在哪里？ zài nǎlǐ Where is it?
为什么？ wèishénme Why?
怎么样？ zěnmeyàng How is it?
怎么做？ zěnme zuò How do I do it?
多少钱？ duōshao qián How much?
现在几点？ xiànzài jǐ diǎn What time is it now?
你在做什么？ nǐ zài zuò shénme What are you doing?
5. Yes / No / Agreement
Chinese Transliteration English
是 shì Yes / Is
不是 bú shì No / Is not
对 duì Correct
不对 bú duì Incorrect
好 hǎo Okay / Good
可以 kěyǐ Can / Okay
不可以 bù kěyǐ Can't / Not allowed
有 yǒu Have / There is
没有 méiyǒu Don't have / There isn't
我同意 wǒ tóngyì I agree
6. Everyday Conversation
Chinese Transliteration English
你在干什么？ nǐ zài gàn shénme What are you doing?
你去哪儿？ nǐ qù nǎr Where are you going?
我回家 wǒ huí jiā I'm going home
等一下 děng yíxià Wait a moment
等我一下 děng wǒ yíxià Wait for me
快一点 kuài yìdiǎn Hurry up
慢一点 màn yìdiǎn Slow down
没事 méi shì It's fine / Nothing
当然 dāngrán Of course
真的？ zhēn de Really?
7. Feelings
Chinese Transliteration English
我很开心 wǒ hěn kāixīn I'm very happy
我不开心 wǒ bù kāixīn I'm unhappy
我很累 wǒ hěn lèi I'm very tired
我很饿 wǒ hěn è I'm very hungry
我很生气 wǒ hěn shēngqì I'm very angry
我很害怕 wǒ hěn hàipà I'm very scared
我很担心 wǒ hěn dānxīn I'm very worried
我很紧张 wǒ hěn jǐnzhāng I'm very nervous
我很兴奋 wǒ hěn xīngfèn I'm very excited
我觉得很好 wǒ juéde hěn hǎo I feel very good
8. Likes & Dislikes
Chinese Transliteration English
我喜欢 wǒ xǐhuan I like it
我不喜欢 wǒ bù xǐhuan I don't like it
我很喜欢 wǒ hěn xǐhuan I really like it
我最喜欢这个 wǒ zuì xǐhuan zhège I like this one the most
我不太喜欢 wǒ bú tài xǐhuan I don't really like it
你喜欢吗？ nǐ xǐhuan ma Do you like it?
我喜欢这个 wǒ xǐhuan zhège I like this
我觉得不错 wǒ juéde búcuò I think it's pretty good
9. Family & People
Chinese Transliteration English
家人 jiārén Family
爸爸 bàba Father / Dad
妈妈 māma Mother / Mom
哥哥 gēge Older brother
姐姐 jiějie Older sister
弟弟 dìdi Younger brother
妹妹 mèimei Younger sister
朋友 péngyou Friend
同学 tóngxué Classmate
老师 lǎoshī Teacher
10. School
Chinese Transliteration English
学校 xuéxiào School
学生 xuésheng Student
老师 lǎoshī Teacher
教室 jiàoshì Classroom
书 shū Book
笔 bǐ Pen
作业 zuòyè Homework
考试 kǎoshì Exam
课程 kèchéng Course / Class
下课 xiàkè Class is over
11. Food & Drink
Chinese Transliteration English
吃饭 chīfàn Eat / Have a meal
喝水 hē shuǐ Drink water
水 shuǐ Water
茶 chá Tea
咖啡 kāfēi Coffee
米饭 mǐfàn Cooked rice
好吃 hǎochī Delicious
不好吃 bù hǎochī Not tasty
我饿了 wǒ è le I'm hungry
我吃饱了 wǒ chī bǎo le I'm full
我想吃这个 wǒ xiǎng chī zhège I want to eat this
12. Shopping
Chinese Transliteration English
这个多少钱？ zhège duōshao qián How much is this?
太贵了 tài guì le It's too expensive
便宜一点可以吗？ piányi yìdiǎn kěyǐ ma Can it be cheaper?
有别的吗？ yǒu bié de ma Do you have another one?
我要这个 wǒ yào zhège I want this one
我不要了 wǒ bú yào le I don't want it anymore
有大一点的吗？ yǒu dà yìdiǎn de ma Do you have a bigger one?
有小一点的吗？ yǒu xiǎo yìdiǎn de ma Do you have a smaller one?
可以刷卡吗？ kěyǐ shuākǎ ma Can I pay by card?
13. Directions & Travel
Chinese Transliteration English
怎么去？ zěnme qù How do I get there?
在哪里？ zài nǎlǐ Where is it?
左转 zuǒ zhuǎn Turn left
右转 yòu zhuǎn Turn right
一直走 yìzhí zǒu Go straight
地铁站在哪里？ dìtiě zhàn zài nǎlǐ Where is the subway station?
公共汽车站在哪里？ gōnggòng qìchē zhàn zài nǎlǐ Where is the bus stop?
我迷路了 wǒ mílù le I'm lost
离这里远吗？ lí zhèlǐ yuǎn ma Is it far from here?
14. Time
Chinese Transliteration English
今天 jīntiān Today
昨天 zuótiān Yesterday
明天 míngtiān Tomorrow
现在 xiànzài Now
等一下 děng yíxià In a moment
早上 zǎoshang Morning
中午 zhōngwǔ Noon
下午 xiàwǔ Afternoon
晚上 wǎnshang Evening / Night
星期一 xīngqīyī Monday
15. Weather
Chinese Transliteration English
今天天气很好 jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo The weather is very good today
很热 hěn rè It's hot
很冷 hěn lěng It's cold
下雨了 xià yǔ le It's raining
刮风了 guā fēng le It's windy
天晴了 tiān qíng le The weather has cleared up
阴天 yīntiān Cloudy weather
很潮湿 hěn cháoshī It's very humid
16. Phone & Internet
Chinese Transliteration English
你的电话号码是多少？ nǐ de diànhuà hàomǎ shì duōshao What's your phone number?
有无线网络吗？ yǒu wúxiàn wǎngluò ma Is there Wi-Fi?
我没有网络 wǒ méiyǒu wǎngluò I don't have internet
我的手机没电了 wǒ de shǒujī méi diàn le My phone is out of battery
给我发消息 gěi wǒ fā xiāoxi Send me a message
给我打电话 gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà Call me
我给你发消息 wǒ gěi nǐ fā xiāoxi I'll message you
我马上回复你 wǒ mǎshàng huífù nǐ I'll reply to you soon
17. Problems & Emergencies
Chinese Transliteration English
救命！ jiùmìng Help!
帮帮我！ bāngbang wǒ Help me!
有问题 yǒu wèntí There's a problem
我不舒服 wǒ bù shūfu I don't feel well
我受伤了 wǒ shòushāng le I'm injured
医院在哪里？ yīyuàn zài nǎlǐ Where is the hospital?
报警！ bàojǐng Call the police!
我的手机不见了 wǒ de shǒujī bú jiàn le My phone is missing
请帮我 qǐng bāng wǒ Please help me
18. Common Conversational Expressions
Chinese Transliteration English
是吗？ shì ma Really?
是的 shì de Yes / That's right
好吧 hǎo ba Alright
好了 hǎo le Okay / That's enough
算了 suàn le Forget it / Never mind
没关系 méi guānxi It's okay
不知道 bù zhīdào I don't know
当然了 dāngrán le Of course
没问题 méi wèntí No problem
太好了 tài hǎo le That's great!
太棒了 tài bàng le That's awesome!
不可能 bù kěnéng Impossible
19. Useful Sentence Patterns
Chinese Transliteration English
我想…… wǒ xiǎng … I want to …
我不想…… wǒ bù xiǎng … I don't want to …
我可以……吗？ wǒ kěyǐ … ma Can I …?
我会…… wǒ huì … I can / know how to …
我不会…… wǒ bú huì … I can't / don't know how to …
我喜欢…… wǒ xǐhuan … I like …
我需要…… wǒ xūyào … I need …
我想要…… wǒ xiǎng yào … I want …
你可以……吗？ nǐ kěyǐ … ma Can you …?
怎么……？ zěnme … How do I …?
我觉得…… wǒ juéde … I think …
我不知道…… wǒ bù zhīdào … I don't know …
20. Short Natural Dialogue
A: 你好！你叫什么名字？
Transliteration: nǐ hǎo! nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?
English: Hello! What's your name?
B: 我叫小明。你呢？
Transliteration: wǒ jiào Xiǎomíng. nǐ ne?
English: My name is Xiaoming. And you?
A: 我叫小华。很高兴认识你。
Transliteration: wǒ jiào Xiǎohuá. hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.
English: My name is Xiaohua. Nice to meet you.
B: 我也很高兴认识你。你去哪儿？
Transliteration: wǒ yě hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ. nǐ qù nǎr?
English: Nice to meet you too. Where are you going?
A: 我要回家。你呢？
Transliteration: wǒ yào huí jiā. nǐ ne?
English: I'm going home. And you?
B: 我要去吃饭。
Transliteration: wǒ yào qù chīfàn.
English: I'm going to eat.
A: 好的，拜拜！
Transliteration: hǎo de, báibái!
English: Okay, bye!
B: 拜拜！
Transliteration: báibái!
English: Bye!