Essential Mandarin Chinese Phrasebook & Dictionary. Catherine Dai

      

      Contents

       Introduction

       Pronunciation guide

       Basic grammar

       1. The Basics

       1.1 Personal details

       1.2 Today or tomorrow?

       1.3 What time is it?

       1.4 One, two, three…

       1.5 The weather

       1.6 Here, there...

       1.7 What does that sign say?

       1.8 Legal holidays

       2. Meet and Greet

       2.1 Greetings

       2.2 Asking a question

       2.3 How to reply

       2.4 Thank you

       2.5 I’m sorry

       2.6 What do you think?

       3. Small Talk

       3.1 Introductions

       3.2 I beg your pardon?

       3.3 Starting/ending a conversation

       3.4 A chat about the weather

       3.5 Hobbies

       3.6 Invitations

       3.7 Paying a compliment

       3.8 Intimate comments/ questions

       3.9 Congratulations and condolences

       3.10 Arrangements

       3.11 Being the host(ess)

       3.12 Saying good-bye

       4. Eating Out

       4.1 At the restaurant

       4.2 Ordering

       4.3 The bill

       4.4 Complaints

       4.5 Paying a compliment

       4.6 Requests

       4.7 Drinks

       4.8 The menu

       5. Getting Around

       5.1 Asking directions

       5.1 Traffic signs

       5.3 The car

       5.4 The gas station

       5.5 Breakdowns and repairs

       5.6 Bicycles/mopeds

       5.7 Renting a vehicle

       5.8 Getting a lift

       6. Arrival and Departure

       6.1 General

       6.2 Immigration and Customs

       6.3 Luggage

       6.4 Tickets

       6.5 Information

       6.6 Airports

       6.7 Subways

       6.8 Long-distance trains

       6.9 Buses

       6.10 Taxis

       7. A Place to Stay

       7.1 General

       7.2 Hotels/hostels/budget accommodations

       7.3 Requests

       7.4 Complaints

       7.5 Departure

       8. Money Matters

       8.1 Banks

       8.2 Settling the bill

       9. Mail, Phone and Internet

       9.1 Mail

       9.2 Telephone

       9.3 Internet/email

       10. Shopping

       10.1 Shopping conversations

       10.2 Food

       10.3 Clothing and shoes

       10.4 At the hairdresser

       11. Tourist Activities

       11.1 Sightseeing

       11.2 Places of interest

       11.3 Going out

       11.4 Nightlife

       11.5 Cultural Performances

       11.6 Booking tickets

       12. Sports Activities

       12.1 Sporting questions

       12.2 By the waterfront

       12.3 In the snow

       13. Health Matters

       13.1 Calling a doctor

       13.2 What’s wrong?

       13.3 The consultation

       13.4 Medications and prescriptions

       13.5 At the dentist

       14. Emergencies

       14.1 Asking for help

       14.2 Lost items

       14.3 Accidents

       14.4 Theft

       14.5 Missing person

       14.6 The police

       ENGLISH-MANDARIN CHINESE DICTIONARY

      Introduction

      Welcome to the Tuttle Essential Language series, covering all of the most popular Asian languages. These books are basic guides to communicating in the language. They’re concise, accessible and easy to understand, and you’ll find them indispensable on your trip abroad to get you where you want to go, pay the right prices and do everything you’re planning to do.

      Each guide is divided into 14 themed sections and starts with a pronunciation guide which explains the phonetic pronunciations of all the words and sentences you’ll need to know, and a basic grammar guide which will help you construct basic sentences in the language. At the end of this book is an extensive English–Mandarin Chinese dictionary.

      Throughout the book you’ll come across boxes with a _{beside them. These are designed to help you if you can’t understand what your listener is saying to you. Hand the book over to them and encourage them to point to the appropriate answer to the question you are asking.}

      Other boxes in the book—this time without the _{symbol—give listings of themed words with their English translations beside them.}

      For extra clarity, we have put all phonetic pronunciations of the Mandarin Chinese terms in bold.

      This book covers all