Chinese Language

You can travel through China without knowing Chinese language at all. All travel guides speak English, also in the big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong English is very well spoken. However, I always recommend learning some phrases and a couple of words in Mandarin. Locals like when tourists can speak their language. 

In China the official language is Mandarin, but there are so many more live languages that people in China are speaking.

The most common languages spoken in China include:

1. Mandarin Chinese (Putonghua): Mandarin is used by over 70% of China’s population. 
2. Cantonese (Yue): Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong and Macau, and that makes over 70 million Cantonese speakers in China. Cantonese is one of a few dying languages in China.
3. Shanghainese (Wu): Spoken mainly in the Shanghai municipality and surrounding areas in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
4. Min Chinese: Includes several dialects such as Hokkien and Teochew, spoken primarily in Fujian province and by many Chinese communities in Southeast Asia.
5. Hakka (Kejia): Spoken by the Hakka people in several provinces, including Guangdong, Jiangxi, and Fujian. There are around 36.8 million Hakka speakers in China.
6. Xiang (Hunanese): Spoken in Hunan province.
7. Gan: Spoken in Jiangxi province and some neighboring areas.
8. Tibetan: Spoken by the Tibetan people in Tibet Autonomous Region and parts of Sichuan, Qinghai, and Gansu provinces.
9. Uighur: Spoken by the Uighur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.
10. Mongolian: Spoken by the Mongolian people in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Phrases in Mandarin that you can learn before travel to China:

Hello. 你好。 Nǐhǎo. 

Goodbye. 再见。 Zàijiàn. 

How are you? 你好吗？ Nǐhǎo ma? 

Fine. And you? 好。你呢？ Hǎo. Nǐ ne? 

Excuse me. (to get attention)劳驾。 Láojià. (to get past) 借光。 Jièguāng. 

Sorry. 对不起。 Duìbùqǐ. 

Yes./No. 是。/不是。 Shì./Bùshì. 

Please … 请…… Qǐng … 

Thank you. 谢谢你。 Xièxie nǐ. 

You’re welcome. 不客气。 Bù kèqi. 

What’s your name? 你叫什么名字？ Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi? 

My name is … 我叫…… Wǒ jiào …

Do you speak English? 你会说英文吗？ Nǐ huìshuō Yīngwén ma? 

I don’t understand. 我不明白。 Wǒ bù míngbái

How much is this? 这个多少钱?  Zhège duōshǎo qián?

I want to buy this… 我想要买这个东西…Wǒ xiǎng yāomǎi zhège dōngxī…