Survival Chinese — the 30 phrases you'll actually use

You don't need to learn Chinese to visit China — you need about thirty phrases and the confidence to point at them. Most menus are photo menus, most signs have English, and translation apps fill the rest. This page is the survival kit: what to say, how to say it, and when it's better to just point.

Every phrase below has a tap-to-play button next to it — listen, then say it back out loud a couple of times. The recording is a slow, clear native voice; the pinyin shows you the tones.

The five-minute sound crash course

Chinese is tonal: the same syllable said with a different pitch means a different word. It's the part that scares people — and the part you can mostly skip, because pointing and context cover your mistakes. But spend two minutes on the four tones and your few phrases will land much more often.

Three sounds worth a glance before you go:

• x — like "sh" in "she", but with the tongue flat and the corners of your mouth pulled back (xiè = "shyeh").
• q — like "ch" in "cheese", same flat-tongue position (qián = "chyen").
• zh — like "j" in "judge", but with the tongue tip curled back (zhàn = "jahn").

1. Greetings & basics

2. Numbers & prices

Prices are the highest-frequency vocabulary you'll use. The numbers one to ten are enough for most bills.

3. Getting around

4. Food & ordering

5. Hotel & practical

6. Emergencies

Cultural notes — the scaffolding that makes the phrases land

• Point + 这个 beats speaking. In a restaurant, shop or taxi, point at the item and say zhè ge ("this one"). It works almost everywhere and covers a hundred phrases you didn't learn.
• You don't need "please" everywhere. Direct requests like wǒ yào zhè ge ("I want this one") are normal, not rude. Adding qǐng (请, "please") is polite but optional.
• 块 kuài means yuan. Locals rarely say "yuan" — they say kuài. "Ten yuan" is shí kuài. On a menu or price tag you'll see ¥ or 元; on a voice, you'll hear kuài.
• Show the characters. If your pronunciation isn't landing, just show this page or type the characters into a translation app — reading is more reliable than speaking for a first-timer.
• 卫生间 is the polite word for toilet. cè suǒ (厕所) also works and is more casual. Either one gets you pointed to the right door.

The bottom line

Learn 你好, 谢谢, 多少钱, 这个, 卫生间 — five phrases and the four tones — and you've covered most of daily travel. Everything else you can point at, type, or show. The goal isn't to speak Chinese; it's to never be stuck.