Collins Gem. Collins Dictionaries

is based on these ‘characters’ rather than words. The standard Mandarin Chinese pronunciation system (called ‘pinyin’) is based on consonants and vowels which look just like English words. By converting a pinyin character (each representing the sound of the Chinese character) into the standard Latin phonetic sound, English/European language speakers will be able to pronounce pinyin easily.

      The system of conversion is as follows:

Consonants
Pinyin	Phonetic sound	Converting example
b, d, f, g, j, l, m, n, p, s, t, w, y	pronounced the same as in English	băo→bao(宝, treasure)
c	similar to ts in boots	cí→tsi(词, word/s)
h	similar to ch in Scottish loch	hē→he(喝, to drink)
q	similar to ch in chip	qīng→ching(清, clear)
r	similar to r in red	rén→ren(人, person/people)
x	similar to sh in she	xī→she(西, west)
z	like ds in kids	zāi→dsai(灾, disaster)
zh	like j in joke	zhōng→jong(中, middle)

Vowels
Pinyin	Phonetic sound	Converting example
a	like a in Zara	mā→ma(妈, mum)
e	like e in her without the sound of r	hē→he(喝, to drink)
i	like ee in bee	mĭ→mi(米, rice)
o	like the sound of war	wŏ→war(我, I/me)
u	like oo in spoon	lù→loo(路, road)
ü	like the sound of letter u , followed by ee in bee	ǜ→chu-ee(去, to go)
ai	like the sound of I	ài→l(爱, love)
ei	like the sound of letter a	mĕi→may(美, beautiful)
ao	like ou in ouch	lăo→lou(老, old)

      Intonation

      There are five tones used when pronouncing Mandarin; to make it easier for you to remember them, we have placed the diacritics on top of the vowel in each pinyin to indicate the flat tone (—), the rising tone (´), the musical long tone (˘), the strong tone (`), whilst no diacritic means a quiet tone.

      In order to make it easier for you to understand these tones, the following examples are supplied. These will give you some idea of how to pronounce the four basic tones in Mandarin:

Mandarin pinyin	English sounds
mā	pronounced like ‘ma’ in the first syllable of ‘marmalade’
má	pronounced like ‘ma’ in ‘mass’ but with a slightly rising tone
mă	pronounced like ‘mar’ in ‘marquee’ but holding this sound for slightly longer
mà	pronounced like ‘mar’ in the first syllable of ‘marmalade’

       Top ten tips

      1 Chinese people show great respect for the wisdom and experience of their elders. The senior people present will usually initiate the greetings, and you should greet the oldest, most senior person before any others.

      2 Do not stick your chopsticks into a bowl of rice. It reminds Chinese people of the incense sticks they burn when they bury their dead.

      3 Avoid sharing a pear with loved ones. The word for pear-sharing sounds the same as the term for to separate (fēn-lí), and can hint at a break-up or a lifelong separation.

      4 Business cards should be held in both hands when they are being offered or received. When receiving another person’s card, you should take the time to look at it attentively before putting it away.

      5 Be aware of the Chinese fear of losing face. For example, do not call a restaurant manager a fú-wù;-yuán (waiter/waitress), or anything else below their true status.

      6 It is rude to refuse any consumable item being offered to you (including cigarettes). If you do not accept a cigarette you have to come up with a good reason to avoid offending anyone!

      7 Tipping is still not expected in most restaurants and hotels, however attitudes towards tipping are changing.

      8 Most Chinese women continue using their maiden names even after marriage, but they may indicate their marital status by using 太太 (tài-tai) or 夫人 (fū-rén) with their husband’s name.

      9 In a formal situation you should always exchange business cards and shake hands with the most important person first and then work down, to avoid anyone losing face.

      10 Whistling and pointing with the index finger are taboo gestures in China.

       Talking to people

Hello/goodbye, yes/no

      It is very important to use the appropriate form of greeting in China. As with other cultures, the way that you greet somebody will depend on whether you know them or if they are a stranger. The most common greeting which can be used at any time, to anyone, is 你好(nǐ hǎo).

      The form 您好(nín hǎo) is more formal and should be used when you want to show particular respect.

Please	请qĭng
Thanks(very much)	(多)谢(duō)-xiè
You’re welcome!	不客气!bù kè-qì!
Yes	是shì
No	不是bù-shì
Yes, please	好, 谢谢hăo, xiè-xie
No, thanks	不, 谢谢bù, xiè-xie
OK!	好！hăo!
Sir/Mr…	…先生…xiān-sheng
Madam/Ms…	…女士…nǚ-shì
Mrs…	…太太…tài-tai
Miss…	…小姐…xiăo-jiĕ
Hello	你好nĭ-hăo
Hi!	嗨！hēi!
Hello! (usually on the phone)	喂！wèi!
Goodbye	再见zài-jiàn
See you later	一会儿见yī-huìr jiàn
Bye!	再会！zài-huì!
See you at seven	7点见qī-diǎn jiàn
See you on Monday!	星期一见！ xīng-qī-yī jiàn!
Good morning!	早上好！ zǎo-shang hǎo!
Morning!	早！zǎo!
Good evening/Goodnight	晚安wăn ān
See you tomorrow	明天见míng-tiān jiàn
Excuse me!/Sorry!	对不起！ duì-bù-qĭ!
Excuse me! (to get past in a crowd)	请让一让！qĭng ràng-yī-ràng!
How are you?	你好吗?nĭ hăo ma?
How have you been?	最近身体怎么样?zuì-jìn shēn-tǐ zěn-me-yàng?
Fine, thanks	很好, 谢谢hěn hǎo, xiè-xie
Great!	棒极了！ bàng jí le!
So-so	一般yī-bān
And you?	你呢?nĭ ne?
Long time no see!	好久不见！hǎo-jiǔ bù jiàn!
How are you doing?	最近还好吗? zuì-jìn hái hǎo ma?
I don’t understand	我不明白wŏ bù míng-bai
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