Use this page to quickly learn some basic Chinese words and common Chinese phrases. If you are serious about learning Chinese then start at The Chinese Language page where you will find free language videos for learning the alphabet, numbers, Chinese greatings, apologizing and Chinese listening skills for absolute beginners.
When you are more confident, you can move onto English to Chinese grammar where we have listed useful Chinese videos and information to get you started. You will learn about diacritical marks, Chinese pronunciation, nouns, masculine and feminine and the rules of stress.
Chinese word list for everyday conversation
Here's a list of common Chinese phrases that will help you communicate whilst travelling in Italy. Your trip will be much more enjoyable if you have a basic Chinese vocabulary and the locals will appreciate your efforts.
English |
Chinese |
|---|---|
| Good morning, Mr.Wang | 王先生，您早 Wáng sian sheng nín zǎo |
| How are you? | 您好嗎？ nín hǎo må |
| you | 你 nǐ |
| good, well, fine, all right, hello | 好 hǎo |
| Hello | 您好 nín hǎo |
| Are you all right? | 好嗎？ hǎo må |
| You're welcome | Prego |
| Here is | Qui è... |
| Here are | Ecco... |
| There is | C'è... |
| There are | Ci sono... |
| Hello/Good morning/afternoon | Ciao / Buon giorno / pomeriggio |
| Hello/Good evening | Ciao / buona sera |
| Goodbye | addio |
| Good night | Buona notte Buonanotte! Good night! |
| How are you? / How are you feeling? | Come stai? / Come ti senti? |
| Very well, thanks | Molto bene grazie |
| Excuse me | Scusami Mi scusi! Excuse me!, Pardon! Scusi! Excuse me!, Sorry!, Pardon!, Say! |
| Do you speak English? | Lei parla inglese? |
| Can you help me? | Mi potete aiutare? |
| I don't understand. | Non capisco |
| I don't know. | Non lo so |
| Could you please write it down | Potresti scriverlo per favore |
| Sorry | scusate Scusa! Sorry! Scusi! Excuse me!, Sorry!, Pardon!, Say! |
| Leave me alone! | Lasciami solo! Mi lasci in pace. Leave me in peace. |
| Where? | Dove? |
| When? | Quand? |
| How? | Quando? |
| Why? | Perché? |
| Who? | Chi? |
| Which? | Quale? |
| Where is...? | Dov'è...? |
| How much? | Quanto? |
| How many? | Quanti? |
| What's that? | Cos'è quello? Che cos'è quello? What's that? |
| I'd like... | Mi piacerebbe... |
| I want... | Voglio... |
| I like it. | mi piace |
| I don't like it. | Non mi piace |
| OK | va bene |
| Agreed | Concordato convenuto / pattuito |
| That's fine. | Va bene |
| I love you | ti amo |
Chinese measurements
English Word |
Chinese Word |
|---|---|
| Centimeter | Centimetro (0.39 in.) |
| Meter | metro (3.28 feet) |
| Kilometer | le kilomètre (0.621 mile) |
| Liter | Chilometro (1.75 pints) |
| Gram | Grammo (0.0352 oz.) |
| Kilogram | Chilogrammo (2.20 lbs) |
Chinese Colors (US) / Colours (UK)
The below English Chinese translations show colors and there pronunciation with links to Chinese lessons by Lya and ChinesePod101. You can watch all the Chinese videos here: Chinese Colors | Tutorial Videos.
English Word |
Chinese Word |
|---|---|
| Beige | beige |
| Black | Nero |
| Blue | Blu |
| Brown | Marrone |
| Green | verde |
| Grey | Grigio |
| Orange | arancia |
| Pink | Rosa |
| Purple | Viola |
| Red | Rosso |
| Yellow | Giallo |
| White | bianca |
| Dark | Buio |
| Light | Luce |
Chinese words for saying the time
English Phrase |
Chinese Phrase |
|---|---|
| Time | Tempo |
| What time is it? | Che ore sono? |
| It is a quarter to two | Sono le due meno un quarto |
| 1am | l'una in punto |
| 1:05 | cinque minuti dopo |
| 2:10 | le due e dieci |
| 3:15 | le tre e un quarto |
| 4:30 | quattro e mezza |
| 5:35 | cinque e trentacinque |
| 11:25 am | venticinque minuti prima |
| noon | mezzogiorno |
| midnight | mezzanotte |
| today | oggi |
| morning | mattina |
| afternoon | pomeriggio |
| evening | sera |
| night | notte |
| tonight | stasera |
| an hour ago | un'ora fa |
| a long time ago | tanto tempo fa |
| not so long ago | non molto tempo fa |
| next month | il prossimo mese |
| next summer | la prossima estate |
| next year | l'anno prossimo |
| this weekend | questo fine settimana |
| soon | presto |
| yesterday | ieri |
| the day before yesterday | l'altro ieri |
| that day | quel giorno |
| at that moment | al momento |
| tomorrow | Domani |
| the day after tomorrow | il giorno dopo domani |
Chinese words for weather
English Phrase |
Chinese Phrase |
|---|---|
| Weather | Tempo metereologico |
| What's the weather like? | Che tempo fa? |
| The weather is nice | Il tempo è bello |
| It's warm | È caldo |
| It is foggy | È nebbioso |
| It is sunny | C'è il sole |
| It is windy | C'è vento |
| It's cold | Fa freddo |
| The weather is bad | Il tempo è brutto |
| It rains / It's raining | Piove / Sta piovendo |
| It snows / It's snowing | Nevica / Nevica |
| It is cloudy | È nuvoloso |
Learn Chinese words with native speakers
You will learn Chinese words faster when you listen to native speakers. These videos and lessons have been developed by Chinese speaking teachers in a fun and friendly way. You will find your ability to remember essential words improves with every lesson and your pronunciation will being to flow much more naturally. We have included speaking exercises were ever possible. Listening to conversations in real life situations that you will expect to find whilst travelling around Chinese speaking countries will be your greatest asset.
Common Chinese words
The advantage of learning the most common Chinese words first is that you will have a better chance of understanding parts of the conversations going on around you, helping you to pick up more Chinese word patterns.
To become fluent in Chinese you will need to learn around 5% of all available words which equates to 10,000 words. We can break this down into smaller steps: Learning just 100 of the most common words will enable you to understand half of the words you can expect to read in a book or online in a blog. Learn 1000 words and you will start to understand 75% of what you read.
Now concider, when you learn a word, how many words which sound similar are related?
On average, for every word you learn you will be able to work out 50 other words. Suddenly the world is a smaller place!
:)