Random Chinese I’ve Learn after 4 years in #China

Hey guys!

So I was watching a Shanghai film the other night, and was really excited when I found myself recognizing several words here are there.

I can’t say that I’m anywhere close to beginner, but this year one of my new year’s resolutions is to improve my spoken (and written) Chinese. So I thought I’d keep track of some of the words I know. 🙂 Also, because I’m learning Chinese as I need it, I thought it would give other people an idea of the Chinese you might want to learn first. I’m putting the characters on here as I learn them. So if a character is here, I actually recognize that character.

Numbers (The first thing I learned in Chinese were the numbers because of when I want to pay for stuff).
My Name 🙂 = 奥利维亚 (Olivia | Ào lì wéi yǎ)
Phrases
- I Want = Wǒ yào (我要)
- I am . . . = Wǒ shì (Wǒ shì Meiguoren = I am American)
  - I = Wǒ (我)
  - We = Wǒmen
  - You (你) = Ní (Nín = formal)
  - You (plural) = Nímen
- I love you = Wǒ ài nǐ ♥
- and = hé
- ?? = . . . . . . . . me? (if you hear “ma” at the end of a sentence, it usually means it’s a question. 😛
- Why? = Wèishéme
- Yes = Duì (pronounced dway)
- No = Méiyǒu
- I Understand = Wǒ míngbái
- I Don’t Understand = Wǒ bù míngbái or Tīng bù dǒng (literally “Hearing but not understanding”)
- Understand or Not Understand? = dǒng bù dǒng (use this a lot with my students)
- Good? = Hǎo
- Bad? = bù Hǎo
- Good or Bad? =Hǎo Bù Hǎo
- Good Morning = Zǎoshang hǎo
- Good Night! = Wǎn’ān
- Good Bye = Baibai or Zàijiàn
- Hello = Nǐ hǎo
- Sorry! = Duìbùqǐ (pronounced Duay boo chee)
- No Problem / don’t worry about it = Méiguānxì
- It’s good. It’s fine = 没事。(used if someone made a mistake, but you are ignoring it. Or, in my experience, generally it means “okay, okay”).
- Thank You = Xièxiè
- You’re Welcome = Bié kèqì
- I Know = Wǒ zhīdào
- I Don’t Know = Wǒ bù zhīdào
- I Like = Wǒ xǐhuān
- I Don’t Like = Wǒ bù xǐhuān
- I’m hungry = Wǒ èle
- I’m tired = Wǒ lèile
- I’m cold = hěn lěng
- Happy New Year = Xīnnián kuàilè\
- Chinese (language) = Zhōngwén
People
- Mother = Mǔqīn (most often “mama” though by children)
- Father = Fùqīn (slang is “baba” by children)
- Male = Nán (男) — especially important for forms or bathrooms 😛
- Female = Nǚ (女)
- Baby = Bǎobǎo or bebe
- Child = Háizi
- Grandma = Nǎinai
- Grandpa = Yéyé
- Brother = Gēgē
- Sister = Mèimei
- American = Měiguó rén (Ren means “people” — added to most country names for the people).
- Teacher = Lǎoshī (Wǒ shì Lǎoshī = I am a teacher) . . . . .
  - Business = Shāngyè . . .
  - Law = fǎlǜ
  - So I say Wǒ shì shāngyè hé fǎlǜ Lǎoshī
- Foreigner = Wàiguó rén or wàijiāo (wàijiāo is more common in my experience)
  - Sometimes (often) we are called lǎowài. A long time ago, it was the Chinese word for “foreign devil” and had negative connotations. Today, it’s generally all in good fun depending on how much they like you 😛 It’s just slang in modern language.
Countries
- America = Měiguó
- China = Zhōngguó
- Korea = Hánguó
- Japan = Rìběn
- Greece = Xīlà
- Middle East = Zhōngdōng
- Egypt = Āijí
- France = Fàguó
- Ireland = Ài’ěrlán
Directions
- Go Straight = Zhí zǒu.
- Turn Left = Zuǒ Zhuǎn
- Turn Right = Yòu Zhuǎn
Food
- One of them = Yi gè
- Two of them = liǎng gè
- Cup = Bēi
- Iced = Bīng
- One Iced Coca Cola = Yi Bei Bīng Cola
- Lipton Tea (black tea) = Hóngchá
- Water = Shuǐ (pronounced “shuay”
- Coffee = Kāfēi
- Latte = Kāfēi Ná tiě (sounds like “cafe natee uh”)
- Chicken = Jīròu
- Pork = Zhūròu
- Beef = Niúròu
- Mutton = Yángròu
- Fish = Yú
- Steamed Buns = Bāozi
- Dumplings = Jiǎozi
- Small = Xiǎo (小)
- Middle = Zhōng (中)
- Large = Dà (大)
- “A big cola” = da bei bing cola”
- To Go . . . = Dài zǒu