Learn 20 travel phrases you should know
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| Welcome to Chinese Top Words! My name is Rui. Today, we’re going to cover 20 Travel Phrases You Should Know. Let’s get started! |
| 1. 我可以要一张地图吗？(Wǒ kěyǐ yào yì zhāng dìtú ma?) “Could I get a map?” |
| Map, map. If you use your hand gesture enough as in Chinese, we’ll know what do you want, yeah. |
| 2. 你会讲英语吗？(Nǐ huì jiǎng Yīngyǔ ma?) “Do you speak English?” |
| So when you see 吗 (ma) at the end of a Chinese sentence, you will know this is a sentence for asking a question. |
| 什么什么吗？(Shénme shénmema?) “What, what ‘ma’?” |
| 3. 有没有从机场进入市区的巴士？(Yǒu méiyǒu cóng jīchǎng jìnrù shìqū de bāshì?) |
| “Is there a bus from the airport to the city?” |
| So in China, since we have our big population, especially in the airport or in a train station, sometimes we need to line up for the taxi. So it may be a very useful sentence when you get to the China for the first time. |
| 4. Wi-Fi是免费的吗？(Wi-Fi shì miǎnfèi de ma ?) “Is the Wi-Fi free?” |
| Another common question is, “What is the Wi-Fi password?” Wi-Fi的密码是什么？(Wi-Fi de mìmǎ shì shénme?) |
| 5. 今晚有房间吗？ (jīnwǎn yǒu fángjiān ma?) “Do you have any vacancies tonight?” |
| So different from English, we put the time in front of a sentence, instead of at the end of a sentence. |
| So, 今晚 (jīnwǎn) means “tonight”. |
| 6. 我可以换一个其他的房间吗？ (Wǒ kěyǐ huàn yí gè qítā de fángjiān ma?) |
| “Could I move to a different room?” |
| So when you’re not satisfied with the room, maybe it’s filled with smoke smell, you can use this sentence, 我可以换一个其他的房间吗？无烟房。(Wǒ kěyǐ huàn yí gè qítā de fángjiān ma? Wú yān fáng.) |
| 无烟房 (Wú yān fáng) means “non-smoking room”. |
| 7. 我有预定。 (Wǒ yǒu yùdìng.) “I have a reservation.” |
| You can use it in a restaurant or in a hotel. |
| 8. 可以给我们看一下菜单吗？ (kěyǐ gěi wǒmen kàn yíxià càidān ma?) “Could we have the menu, please?” |
| 菜 (cài) means dishes, 单 (dān) means list. So a list of dishes, it means “menu” in English. |
| 9. 你有什么推荐吗？ (nǐ yǒu shénme tuījiàn ma?) “Do you have any recommendations?” |
| So speaking of Chinese dishes, my favorite one is “tomato fried eggs”, 西红柿炒鸡蛋 (xīhóngshì chǎo jīdàn). I strongly recommend it. Please try it. |
| 10. 可以给我结帐吗？ (kěyǐ gěi wǒ jiézhàng ma?) “Could I have the check?” |
| So in China, when you go to a restaurant, go have a dinner especially with your close friends or your family, one special… one Chinese specific situation might happen, like, everybody will fight for check. |
| “Could I have the check?” 我可以结帐吗？(wǒ kěyǐ jiézhàng ma?) is not so often heard, but instead, it’s like, “I want the check!” 我要结帐！(Wǒ yào jiézhàng!) |
| Yeah, in China, people like paying for their close friends and family. |
| 11. 我对花生过敏。 (Wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn.) “I'm allergic to peanuts.” |
| Among my friends and my family, I never heard anybody is allergic to anything. I guess we were born strong. |
| 12. 请给我一杯水。 (qǐng gěi Wǒ yì bēi shuǐ.) “Water, please.” |
| I would recommend you to say 请给我一杯冰水。 (qǐng gěi Wǒ yì bēi bīng shuǐ.) Because in China, many people like hot water, me too. I like hot water. So if you do not add 冰(bīng); 冰(bīng)means “ice,” so 冰水(bīng shuǐ) means “ice water”. So if you don’t add that, you’ll probably get a hot water. |
| 13. 这个多少钱？ (zhège duō shǎo qián?) “How much is this?” |
| So if you go shopping in China, if it’s not department store, usually the price is not written on the product. So the merchants would offer different prices depending on the people. You have to always ask and always negotiate. Otherwise, you will get overcharged. But, also enjoy the fun of negotiating the price. |
| 14. 我要10个这个。 (Wǒ yào shí ge zhège.) “I'd like ten of these.” |
| If you feel this sentence is too long for you, you can say 这个我要10个 (Zhège wǒ yào shí ge.) or you can say 10个 (shíge). This is a Chinese way of showing 10. |
| 15. 你能给我打个折吗？ (nǐ néng gěi Wǒ dǎ ge zhé ma?) “Could you give me a discount?” |
| So, like what I have said before, In China, negotiating price is very common except in the department store. So this could be very useful. |
| 16. 能刷信用卡吗？ (néng shuā xìnyòng kǎ ma?) “Do you take credit card? “ |
| In China, personally, I don’t use credit cards often. I just use my cash or like an account in my phone so I just show my phone. It’s like Apple Pay. It’s very easy and convenient. |
| 17. 火车站在哪里？ (huǒchēzhàn zài nǎlǐ?) “Where is the train station?” |
| So we put “where” at the end of the sentence in Chinese. So, be careful, reverse the order. |
| 18. 请问，车费是多少？ (qǐngwèn, chēfèishì duōshao?) “Excuse me, what's the fare?” |
| Usually, you use this sentence when you take a taxi. So when you get to the destination, you can ask the taxi driver, 请问，车费是多少？ (qǐngwèn, chēfèishì duōshao?) |
| 19. 能不能帮我拍张照？ (néngbùnéng bāng wǒ pāi zhāng zhào?) |
| “Could you take a picture of me please?” |
| Instead of asking this favor in a question, you can also say 请帮我拍张照。 (Qǐng bāng wǒ pāi zhāng zhào.) “Please take a picture for me.” |
| 20. 这是去机场的巴士吗？ (zhè shì qù jīchǎng de bāshì ma?) “Is this the right bus for the airport?” |
| Thank you for watching Chinese Top Words today. I’m happy to show with you the useful words when you’re travelling in China. Don’t forget to like our video and subscribe to our channel. And don’t forget to check out our ChineseClass101.com. I’ll be there waiting for you! Bye! |
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