Culture Index Chinese

Basic Chinese Cultural Notes

The most common greetings in Chinese are (n ho, hello) and (nn ho, how do you do?).

is the polite form used when talking to older people, superiors, customers and so on.

(zoshng ho, good morning) and (wnshng ho, good evening) are used in the morning or in the evening respectively.

(hunyng, welcome) is commonly used to welcome somebody.

In shops and restaurant the expression (hunyng gungln, welcome) can often be heard.

When meeting somebody after a long time (ho ji b jin, long time no see) can be added to the greetings or .

On the telephone (wi, hello) is the most common greeting.

Greetings 1 of 1

The most common goodbyes are the following:

zijin goodbye

mngtin jin see you tomorrow

mnzu goodbye take care

wn'n good night

1 of 1 Goodbyes

Names1 of 1In Chinese the surname proceeds the given name. The surname normally consists of a single syllable (character).Common surnames are:

Given names normally consist of one or two characters. Unlike surnames, given names come in a much greater variety. Here are some well known names:

Chinese people sometimes adapt their names to the Western fashion of first names preceeding the surname. It can then be difficult to decide which is which, but looking for common surnames can help.

Li Wang Zhang Zhao Chen Yang Wu Liu Huang Zhou Xu Zhu Lin Sun Ma Hu Zheng Guo Xiao Xie He Xu Song Shen Luo Han Deng Liang Ye Gao

Mao Zedong Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Founder of the Peoples Republic of China

Zhou Enlai First Prime Minister of the Peoples Republic of China Deng Xiaoping Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for the opening up of

China after 1978

Lu Xun famous Chinese writer (Lu Xun is his pen name, his real name was (Zhou Shuren))

Yao Ming famous Chinese basketball player Sun Zhongshan better known as Sun Yatsen, the father of the Chinese Republic Tang Wei famous Chinese actress Cheng Long better known as Jackie Chan - film star Li An known as Ang Lee, famous film director

Asking for a name1 of 2

In a formal situation you enquire after someones name by saying:

More informally you can also say:

Or if the context is clear:

If you just want to give your surname, you can say:

If you want to give your full name you can say:

In reply you can say in a formal situation:

? nn guxng What is your name? (literally: what is your honourable surname?)

? n jio shnme mngzi What is your name ?

...? n sh You are ...?

w xng wng My surname is Wang.

w jio wng xiolng My name is Wang Xiaolong.

mingu xng wng My surname is Wang. (literally: my worthless surname is Wang.)

Asking for a name2 of 2

Or you can combine the two:

If you give your own name you can easily ask after the other persons name by saying

NB: (xng) is used to ask for and give a surname. ( jio) is used to ask for and give first names or full names.

The simplest answer of course is:

w xng wng jio wng xiolng

I am Wang, Wang Xiaolong.

, ? w sh wng xiolng, n ne?

I am Wang Xiaolong and you are ...?

w sh wng xiolng I am Wang Xiaolong.

xinsheng Mr Mr Wang sh Ms (formal) Ms Wang (formal) titai Mrs Mrs Wang xioji Miss Miss Wang

losh Teacher Teacher Wang shfu Master Master Wang (used for craftsman, taxidrivers etc.) jngl Manager Manager Wang jioshu Professor Professor Wang mshu Secretary Secretary Wang

Forms of addressThe general form of address is the persons surname followed by his or her title.The generic titles are:

It is common to add the job title after a persons name. The job title can also be used as a form of address by itself. Common titles are:

When addressing friends it is common to use their surname preceeded by or depending on their age relative to yours.

1 of 1

y aunty bf uncle

xio young (young) Wang lo old (old) Wang

Introductions1 of 1To introduce another person you can use the following expression:

for example:

, [Name] [Title] rng w li jisho yxi, zh sh ... Let me introduce ...

, [Name] [Title] rng w li jisho jisho, zh sh ... Let me introduce ...

, rng w li jisho yxi, zh sh l losh

Let me introduce teacher Li.

, rng w li jisho jisho, zh sh wng jngl

Let me introduce manager Wang.

NB: If you introduce yourself dont use a title after your name.

Dont say: w sh wng jngl I am Manager Wang.

Say instead:

w xng wng. w sh dlng gngs de jngl

My surname is Wang. I am the Manager of the Dalong company.

Polite expressions1 of 1In a formal situation you enquire after someones name by saying:

start an enquiry qngwn Excuse me, may I ask

to catch somebody's attention

dibuq excuse, sorry

dibuq mfn n sorry to bother you

dibuq d ro le n sorry to disturb you

say thank you xixie thank youafter being thanked , b kqi, b yng xi dont mention it

to apologize

dibuq sorry

(stronger) zhn boqin apologies

to reply to an apology mi wnt no problem

mi gunxi it doesnt matter

after a complement nlnl not at all (lit. where?)

nn gujing le you are flattering me

(n sh n de ba?) That is yours, isn't it?

(b yo lun zu a) Don't go too far!

In Chinese a number of sentence final particles are used to soften the tone of a request:

Good wishes and congratulations1 of 1

ITo express good wishes you can say / (zhh n/nn) followed by the occasion:

To wish somebody good look you can use (dj):

To congratulate somebody you can say gngxgngx. To congratulate somebody on occasion of a specific event you can say (qngzh) followed by the event:

zhn xnnin kuil Happy New Year

zhn shngdn kuil Merry Christmas

zhn shngr kuil Happy Birthday

kiy dj Good luck with your new business

qngzh by Congratulations on your graduation

qngzh jihn Congratulations on your marriage

yye paternal grandfather ninai paternal grandmother loye maternal grandfather lolao maternal grandmother

shshu father's younger brother shm wife of father's younger brother

bf father's older brother bm wife of father's older brother

gm paternal aunt gfu husband of paternal aunt

y maternal aunt yfu husband of maternal aunt

jijiu maternal uncle jimu wife of maternal uncle

bba father mma mother

w I

ddi younger brother mimei younger sister

gge older brother jijie older sister

hizi child, children

n'r daughter rzi son

Relationship terms in Chinese are quite complex.

Family1 of 1

Education1 of 2

shxu Mathematics jngj Economics

kxu The sciences jnrng Finance

huxu Chemistry gunl Management

wl Physics lsh History

shngw Biology dl Geography

jsunj Computing wnxu Literature

yxu Medicine yngwn English

Chinese education begins with primary school (xioxu) and then continues to middle and high school (zhngxu) and finally university (dxu)

Students are generally called (xusheng). Teachers are called (losh) or ( jiosh). A professor is called ( jioshu).

Commen subjects are:

Education2 of 2

xusheng Students

, jiosh, losh Lecturer

jioshu Professor

xush xuwi B.A.

shush xuwi Masters

bsh xuwi PhD

There are many universities ( dxu) in China. Amongst the most famous ones are:

bijng dxu Beijing University

qnghu dxu Tsinghua University (in Beijing)

rnmn dxu People's University (in Beijing)

jitng dxu Jiaotong University (in Shanghai)

Research is called (ynji)

Professions1 of 1

losh teacher

jioshu professor

msh secretary

gngrn worker

yshng doctor

hshi nurse

shngrn businessman

kuiji accountant

sj driver

jsh mechanic

gngchngsh engineer

Some of the more common professions are:

Chinese Festivals1 of 1

Festival Simplified Chinese

Pinyin Date Description

Spring Festival , xnnin, Day 1 of lunar month 1 Chinese New Year

Lantern Festival

yunxioji Day 15 of lunar month 1 Lantern parades, lion dancing

Qingming Festival

qngmngji 104 days after winter solstice

visiting and cleaning ancestral graves

Dragon Boat Festival

dunwji Day 5 of lunar month 5 dragon boat racing, eating rice wraps, commemorating Qu Yuan

Double Seven Festival

qx 1Day 7 of lunar month 7 related to the story of and (Zhi N,Ni Lng)

Mid-autumn Festival

zhngqiji Day 15 of lunar month 8 Mooncakes, Legend of (chng, the Lady on the Moon)

There are a number of traditional Chinese festivals. Below are the most common ones.

Chinese Zodiac1 of 1

..., 1996,2008, 2020, ... sh rat

..., 1997,2009, 2021, ... ni ox

..., 1998,2010, 2022, ... h tiger

..., 1999,2011, 2023, ... t rabbit

..., 2000,2012, 2024, ... lng dragon

..., 2001,2013, 2025, ... sh snake

..., 2002,2014, 2026, ... m horse

..., 2003,2015, 2027, ... yng sheep

..., 2004,2016, 2028, ... hu monkey

..., 2005,2017, 2029, ... j rooster

..., 2006,2018, 2030, ... gu dog

..., 2007,2019, 2031, ... zh pig

There are a number of traditional Chinese festivals. Below are the most common ones.

Language and People1 of 1

zhngwn Chinese language

hny Chinese language (lit. language of the Han people)

guy Chinese language (lit. national language)

huy Chinese language

ptnghu Standard Mandarin (lit. common language)

gungdnghu Cantonese

, yngwn, yngy English

, fwn, fy French

, dwn, dy German

ydlywn, ydly Italian

To say where somebody is from add (rn) to the name of the country.Examples:

To ask what country somebody is from, say ? (n sh n gu rn) What country are you from?

The names of languages are normally formed by adding (wn) or (y) to the name of the country.Examples:

zhnggurn Chinese migurn American

ynggurn English xnxlnrn New Zealander

Ethnic groups1 of 1

Ethnic group Simplified Chinese

Size Location

Han 1300 Million all of China

Zhuang 18 Million Southern provinces

Manchu 11 Million same as Han

Hui 10 Million Northern and Western China, mainly Muslims

Miao 9 Million Southern China, especially Yunnan

Uyghurs 9 Million Xinjiang

Yi 4 Million Southern China

Tujia 8 Million Hubei, Hunan

Mongols 6 Million Northern China

Tibetan 5-10 Million Western China

China recognizes 56 ethnic groups. The biggest by far are the Han, which make up about 92% of the Chinese population and just under 20% of the world population.

The table below lists the larger ethnic groups, their approximate size and geographical location.

Chinese currency1 of 1

The standard Chinese currency is (rnmnb).

The official designation of the notes and coins are:

In spoken Chinese you will often hear (kui) for Yuan and (mo) for Jiao.

Before 1947 many Chinese banks (ynhng) and other organisations issued their own notes, so there are a large number of old Chinese banknotes in existence, although not in circulation.

yun Yuan

jio 1/10 of a Yuan

fn 1/10 of a Jiao

Tea and Drinks1 of 1

China is famous for its many different types of tea (ch).

Some of the common types of tea are:

Tea comes in a pot (h) and is drank in cups (bi).

Other drinks are:

l ch green tea

hng ch black tea

mlihu ch jasmine tea

jhu ch chrysanthemum tea

lngjng ch dragon well tea

wlng ch Oolong tea

kfi coffee

rshu hot water

kungqunshu mineral water

Where to get food and drink1 of 1

There are a number of locations where you can get food and drink from:

A waiter or waitress is usually called: (fwyun). A waitress may also be called (xiojie), however in some parts of China using is considered impolite. The cook is called (chsh).

Many Chinese restaurants have private rooms for smaller parties. These rooms are called: (bojin) separate room.

fndin restaurant (incidentially can also mean hotel)

jib bar

chgun teahouse

cntng dining hall

kfigun caf

kuicndin fast food restaurant

Chinese dishes1 of 2

A Chinese meal normally consists of a number of dishes shared between everbody, not a series of courses. Parties in a restaurant often sit around a turntable (zhunpn) with everbody helping themselves to the food from the dishes placed on the turntable. Chinese food is eaten with chopsticks (kuizi) rather than knife and fork , (do, ch).

There are a very large number of dishes, some of the best known are:

mp dufu stir fried tofu in hot sauce

gngbo jdng spiced diced chicken

tng u lotus root with sugar

bijng koy Beijing roast duck

shu zh y fish filets in hot chilli oil

hu gu ru double-cooked pork slices

fnqi cho dn tomato with fried egg

chnjun spring roll

Chinese dishes2 of 2

Ingredients: Seasoning:

ru meat l hot, spicy

niru beef ljio pepper

jru chicken sun sour

zhru pork tngc sweet and sour

y fish c vinegar

du beans tng sugar

shci vegetables yn salt

mfn rice xin salty

mintio noodles

You may also look out for the following characters to give you a clue:

Hotel1 of 2

A hotel is called (fndin) or (bngun) - guest house.

The range of rooms are:

You check in at reception (qinti fw), where you fill in the registration form (dngjbio), and are told your room number (fngjin hom) and given your room key/card / (yoshi /k).

dnrn jin single room

shungrn jin double room

biozhn jin standard room

hohu tojin luxury suite

kngtio Air-conditioning

dinsh Television

dinhu telephone

rshu hot water (in a thermos flask)

zocn breakfast

ysh bathroom

Typical facilities are:

Paying1 of 2

You can either pay by cash (xinjn) or credit card (xnyngk).

The bill is called (zhngdn) and you call for the bill by either saying (midn) or ( jizhng).

After paying you will receive a receipt (fpio) or (shuj).

tends to be a small or automatically produced receipt, while is used for a more substantial, especially produced receipt. Sellers pay tax based on .

Bargain and discounts1 of 2

In China it is normal to haggle over prices in markets (shchng) and similar places but not in modern department stores (bihudin).

To give a discount is called (dzh). The discount given is expressed as the amount remaining not the amount taken off the price:

a 20% discount would be , a 60% discount would be .

To say that something is to expensive use ! (ti gu le)

(gu) is expensive,

(pinyi) is inexpensive/bargain.

Measurements1 of 2

Both traditional Chinese measurements and metric measurements are in common use. Metric measurements usually use the prefix , traditional measurements use no prefix or the prefix (meaning market).

gngfn gram

ling 50 grams

jn half a kilogram

gngjn kilogram

dn 50 kilograms

() (gng)dn ton

shm 0.0667 hectares

gngm 100 square metre

shqng 6.6667 hectares

gngqng hectare

Common Chinese measurements

Weight

Area

.../cont

Measurements2 of 2

shfn 1/3 centimetre

gngfn 1 centimetre

shch 1/3 metre

gngch metre

shzhng 3 1/3 metre

shl 1/2 kilometre

gngl kilometre

shng litre

du 10 litre

Common Chinese measurements (Cotinued)

Length

Volume

Buildings1 of 1

There are a number of traditional and modern types of buildings in China.

The number of floors are counted from 1, so is the ground floor, is the first floor etc. Floor thirteen is often omitted.

A floor is called (lu) or (cng). is also used for the number of a building. (t zh ling ho lu) means She lives in Building No.2.

s h yun courtyard house (traditional house in Beijing)

sh k mn stone gate house (traditional house in Shanghai)

htong alley

d sh high-rise

Public Places1 of 1

Common public places are:

yuj post office

gngyun park

dngwyun zoo

bwgun museum

shzhngtng town hall

pichsu police station

huchzhn train station

chzhn bus station

yyun hospital

csu toilet

Towns1 of 1

Common public places are:

The names of non Chinese cities are usually transcriptions of their original names:

bijng Beijing (capital, administrative centre)

shnghi Shanghai (commercial centre)

xinggng Hongkong (commercial centre) nnjng Nanjing (former capital)

whn Wuhan (big industrial centre) tinjn Tianjin (port to the west of Beijing)

x'n Xian (ancient capital) gungzhu Guangzhou, Canton

hngzhu Hangzhou (famous for its tea and gardens)

szhu Suzhou (the 'Venice' of China)

qngdo Qingdao (famous for its beer) chngqng Chongqing (biggest city in the world)

chngd Chengdu (capital city of Sichuan province)

lndn London niyu New York

hushngdn Washington bl Paris

bln Berlin zhjig Chicago

lum Rome dngjng Tokyo

hnchng Seoul

Administrative regions1 of 2

Provinces: shng

Autonomous regions: zzhq

Directly governed cities: zhxish

Special administrative regions: tbixngzhngq

nhu Anhui fjin Fujian gns Gansu gungdng Guangdong

(Canton)

hinn Hainan hbi Hebei

hilngjing Heilongjiang hnn Henan

hbi Hubei hnn Hunan

jings Jings jln Jilin

lionng Liaoning qnghi Qinghai

shnx Shaanxi shndng Shandong

shnx Shanxi schun Sichuan

tiwn Taiwan ynnn Yunnan

zhjing Zhejiang

The names of non Chinese cities are usually transcriptions of their original names:

Provinces

Administrative regions2 of 2

gungxzhungzzzhq Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

nimnggzzhq Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region

nngxihuzzzhq Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

xnjingwiw'rzzhq Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region

xzngzzhq Tibet Autonomous Region

Autonomous Regions

Municipalities under central control

Special administrative regions

bijng Beijing tinjn Tianjin

xinggng Hongkong omn Macau

zhnggu China

ynggu England, Britain fgu France dgu Germany migu United States gu Russia hngu Korea

odly Australia

xnxln New Zealand rbn Japan ydl Italy i'rln Ireland xbny Spain xnjip Singapore rudin Schweden rush Switzerland yunn Vietnam

Countries1 of 1

Country names are either formed by adding (gu)to a syllable sounding similar to the countrys actual name, or the Chinese name is a transcription of the countrys name:

To ask what country somebody is from, say:? (n sh n gu rn) What country are you from?

Continents1 of 1

yzhu Asia

fizhu Africa mizhu America uzhu Europe

The names of continents end in (zhu).

End of Basic Chinese Grammar - Index

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