50 Basic Chinese Phrases Flashcards
zǎo shang hǎo
Good morning
zǎo shang (早上) – morning
zǎo (早) – early
shang (上) – up/above (used here to indicate “morning” as a time of day)
Zǎo shang hǎo, nǐ chī zǎofàn le ma?
Good morning, have you had breakfast?
xià wǔ hǎo
Good afternoon
xià wǔ (下午) – afternoon
xià (下) – down/after
wǔ (午) – noon
Pinyin: Xià wǔ hǎo, wǒmen jīntiān sān diǎn kāihuì.
English: Good afternoon, we have a meeting at 3 o’clock today.
kāi huì (开会) – to have a meeting
kāi (开) – to open / to hold (a meeting)
huì (会) – meeting
wǎn shàng hǎo
Good evening
wǎn shàng (晚上) – evening
wǎn (晚) – late / evening
shàng (上) – up/above (used here to indicate time of day)
Pinyin: Wǎn shàng hǎo, nǐ jīntiān guò dé hěn hǎo ma?
English: Good evening, did you have a good day today?
guò dé (过得) – to spend (a period of time, like a day)
guò (过) – pass / experience
dé (得) – used to form the complement of a verb
hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn
Long time no see
hǎo (好) – good
jiǔ (久) – long (used to describe a long time)
bù (不) – not
jiàn (见) – to see
Pinyin: Hǎo jiǔ bù jiàn, nǐ zhēn de hěn huānyíng!
English: Long time no see, you really look great!
zhēn de (真的) – really
zhēn (真) – real / true
de (的) – particle used to modify the following adjective or noun
hěn (很) – very
huānyíng (欢迎) – welcome
huān (欢) – happy
yíng (迎) – to greet
nǐ zài gàn shénme
What are you doing
nǐ (你) – you
zài (在) – at / in / doing (indicating ongoing action)
gàn (干) – to do / to work
shénme (什么) – what
wǒ xiàn zài zhèng zài gōng zuò.
I am working right now
zhèngzài (正在) – currently / in the process of
xiàn zài (现在) – now / right now
nǐ zuì jìn máng ma
English: Have you been busy lately?
Breakdown:
nǐ (你) – you
zuì jìn (最近) – lately / recently
zuì (最) – most / the most
jìn (近) – near / recent
máng (忙) – busy
ma (吗) – question particle (used to turn a statement into a yes/no question)
Wǒ hěn máng, jīntiān zhèngzài zhíyè kǎo shì.
I’ve been really busy, today I’m taking a professional exam.
hěn máng
Very busy
bù tài máng nǐ ne
Not very busy and you ?
míng tiān jiàn
See you tomorrow.
wǒ yě shì
Me too
Pinyin: Nǐ shì nǎ lǐ rén?
Pinyin: Nǐ shì nǎ lǐ de?
English: Where are you from?
English: Where are you from? (more casual)
zěn me le
What happened?
xiàn zài jǐ diǎn le
What time is it now
xiàn zài shì qī diǎn zhōng
It’s 7 o’clock now.
jīn tiān yǒu shén me jì huà
Do you have any plans for today?
wǒ men qù nǎr
Where are we going?
jīn tiān tiān qì zěn me yàng
How’s the weather today?
jīn tiān jǐ hào
What’s the date today?
jīn tiān sì yuè yī hào
Today is April 1st.
jīn tiān xīng qī jǐ
What day of the week is it today?
jīn tiān xīng qī yī
Today is Monday.
wǒ xū yào bāng máng
I need help.
fēi cháng gǎn xiè nǐ
Thank you very much.
xiāng xìn wǒ
Trust me / Believe me.
