Start communication in Chinese with these popular words
China – the land of dragons, of Buddhist monks, of Shaolin temples, of kung fu, of the giant panda, of the Great Wall of China, of Beijing, of momos or dumplings, of river Li, of world-famous spicy Chinese cuisine, of the Terracotta Warriors, of world-famous silk, and a lot more
What has not been mentioned in the above paragraph is the language of China – the Chinese. A language that has enthralled and fascinated the world for centuries and over.
For nonnative speakers of the Chinese language, it is a foreign language. If one wishes to learn the Chinese language for ease of communication with native Chinese people but does not have time to develop one’s Chinese language reading and writing skills, one can still hope to be able to communicate in the language. How? By learning to speak the basic Chinese words or learning the basic or core Chinese vocabulary.
Let us see a few words which are essential to strike conversation in Chinese with a Chinese person, or to survive a situation while in China
Popular Chinese words
- Hello Nǐ hǎo
- Good morning zǎoshang hǎo
- Good afternoon xiàwǔ hǎo
- Good evening wǎnshàng hǎo
- Good night wǎn’ān
- Goodbye zàijiàn
- My name is wǒ de míngzì shì
- I am from wǒ láizì
- I need to wǒ xūyào
- What’s your name nǐ jiào shénme míngzì
- Water shuǐ
- Oxygen Yǎng
- Bag bāo
- Time shíjiān
- Hand-watch shǒubiǎo
- Mobile phone yídòng diànhuà
- Police beat jǐngchá ōudǎ
- Teacher lǎoshī
- Student xuéshēng
- School xuéxiào
- Passport hùzhào
- Airport fēijī chǎng
- Travel lǚxíng
- Milk Niúnǎi
- Egg dàn
- Bread miànbāo
- Fish yú
- Veggies shūcài
- Meat ròu
- House fángzi
- Hotel jiǔdiàn
- Bus gōnggòng qìchē
- Train huǒchē
If one is acquainted with at least the above words in Chinese, one stands a chance to survive if caught in a difficult situation in China. It is always advisable to keep this basic core Chinese vocabulary handy while traveling to China or while staying there for quite some period of time.
Learning Chinese is an added advantage for non-native speakers. It opens many areas or career opportunities for an individual. Apart from archaeology, philology, and teaching, many other spheres, too, are available to explore for connoisseurs of the Chinese language as a foreign language.