Travel is where a small phrasebook pays for itself. You do not need grammar drills to buy a ticket or ask for directions — you need the right sentence at the right moment. These 25 phrases cover the real moments of a trip: arriving, moving around, paying, eating, and asking for help. Every phrase includes tone-marked pinyin, because the tone marks tell you exactly how to say it, and pinyin is the pronunciation you can rely on.
Hello, please, and thank you
- 你好！(nǐ hǎo) — hello.
- 早上好！(zǎoshang hǎo) — good morning.
- 谢谢！(xièxie) — thank you.
- 不客气。(bú kèqi) — you're welcome.
- 请问…… (qǐngwèn) — excuse me, may I ask… (the best way to start any question).
- 对不起。(duìbuqǐ) — sorry, excuse me.
Getting around
- 洗手间在哪儿？(xǐshǒujiān zài nǎr?) — where is the restroom?
- 去火车站怎么走？(qù huǒchēzhàn zěnme zǒu?) — how do I get to the train station?
- 地铁站在哪儿？(dìtiězhàn zài nǎr?) — where is the subway station?
- 我要打车。(wǒ yào dǎchē) — I want to take a taxi.
- 请慢一点说。(qǐng màn yìdiǎn shuō) — please speak more slowly.
- 你会说英语吗？(nǐ huì shuō Yīngyǔ ma?) — do you speak English?
Money and prices
- 多少钱？(duōshao qián?) — how much is it?
- 太贵了。(tài guì le) — that's too expensive.
- 可以刷卡吗？(kěyǐ shuākǎ ma?) — can I pay by card?
- 我要这个。(wǒ yào zhège) — I'll take this one.
Food and ordering
- 菜单，谢谢。(càidān, xièxie) — the menu, please.
- 这个是什么？(zhège shì shénme?) — what is this?
- 不要辣的。(bú yào là de) — not spicy, please.
- 买单！(mǎidān!) — the check, please.
- 打包。(dǎbāo) — to go, please, for the leftovers.
Emergencies and help
- 我不懂中文。(wǒ bù dǒng Zhōngwén) — I don't understand Chinese.
- 我迷路了。(wǒ mílù le) — I'm lost.
- 我需要帮助。(wǒ xūyào bāngzhù) — I need help.
- 医院在哪儿？(yīyuàn zài nǎr?) — where is the hospital?
When the other person does not understand
- 再说一遍，好吗？(zài shuō yí biàn, hǎo ma?) — could you say that again?
- 请写在手机上。(qǐng xiě zài shǒujī shang) — could you write it on your phone?
- 有没有英语菜单？(yǒu méiyǒu Yīngyǔ càidān?) — is there an English menu?
Numbers you will need
- 一 (yī) — one.
- 二 (èr) — two.
- 三 (sān) — three.
- 五 (wǔ) — five.
- 十 (shí) — ten.
- 百 (bǎi) — hundred, as in 一百 (one hundred).
How to make the phrases work for you
Notice the patterns instead of memorising 25 isolated lines. 在哪儿？(zài nǎr?) means 'where is?' — put any place in front and you can ask for it. 我要 (wǒ yào) means 'I want' — attach a noun and you are ordering anything. 多少钱？(duōshao qián?) asks the price of anything. Learn each pattern with one example, and every phrase becomes a template you can rebuild on the spot.
Tone marks are not decoration either. 好 (hǎo) with a third tone means 'good', while the same spelling with a fourth tone means 'to like'. If a phrase ever feels wrong, check the tone marks before changing the words — and remember that pointing at a menu or a screen fills in the gaps when words run out.
At the airport
- 机票 (jīpiào) — plane ticket.
- 登机口 (dēngjīkǒu) — boarding gate.
- 行李 (xíngli) — luggage.
- 我的航班是几点？(wǒ de hánɡbān shì jǐ diǎn?) — what time is my flight?
You will hear short replies more often than long ones. A taxi driver might answer 十分钟 (shí fēnzhōng, ten minutes) or point and say 那边 (nà biān, over there). Learn the small direction words too: 这儿 (zhèr, here), 那儿 (nàr, there), 左边 (zuǒbiān, left), 右边 (yòubiān, right). They turn any question into a way out of being lost.
And one reminder: say 谢谢 after every interaction. Politeness does the same work as vocabulary — a friendly traveller who knows ten phrases gets more help than a silent one who knows a hundred.
A five-minute pre-trip practice
- Read each phrase aloud three times, following the tone marks.
- Cover the pinyin and say the phrase from memory.
- Rehearse one full interaction: greet, order, pay, thank, say goodbye.
Finally, practise the flow, not just the lines. Rehearse the sequence of a real interaction: you arrive, say 你好, show what you want, say 谢谢, and leave with 再见. Travelers rarely need grammar — they need the right phrase at the right moment. Practice these as full sentences in Sentence Match, and they will come out when you need them.