8 important words

I decided to come up with a list of words and phrases that you really need to know whenever visiting (or living in) China.

1. 你好 (ni2 hao3)  "Hello." You will hear this everywhere in China, it is literally "you good?" or "how are you?" 

2. 谢谢 (xie4 xie5) “Thanks.” After "hello" this is probably one of the most commonly heard words. The Chinese say this a lot, and when I say a lot I mean "xie xie xie xie xie..."

3. 多小钱 (duo1 xiao3 qian2) "How much does this cost." This is a great little phrase heard all over China. It literally means "lot, little money?" or "a lot or a little money?"

4. 对不起 (dui4 bu4 qi3) "Sorry." This one explains itself. Yes, bets are you will be using this one more than you would like, (especially if you didn't know this word before you read this list!) All those different tones can get you into trouble at times...

5. 这是什么 (zhe4 shi4 shen2me5) "What is this?" You may want to ask this before eating anything that looks suspicious, unless you're an adventurous one. They eat some very interesting things in China. I was once at a wedding and after eating a very odd looking piece of meat was told it was duck tongue, I thought it was tofu!

6. 厕所在哪里 (ce4suo3 zai3 na3li5) "Where is the restroom?" This one you will most likely need at some point or another. Literally "toilet at where?" you will also likely need to buy your own toilet paper, either at the toilet (for a much higher price) or you can buy small packets of toilet tissue at a grocery store to keep in your bag when needed.

  

7. 我听不懂 (Wo3 ting1 bu4 dong3) "I don't understand." If you didn't already know most or all of the words on this list you will definitely need this! This is the clue for people to either slow down or find another form of communication.

8. 不好意思 (bu4 hao3 yi4si5) "Excuse me." In a country with this many people the crowds can get huge, this will help with getting people to move over a bit or let you through. This is not so much the attention getting "excuse me" but rather a "please move."

Bicyclist near XinTianDi in Shanghai.