100+ Useful Conversational Phrases & Words in Mandarin Chinese

Now that my HSK exam is past, I have really been able to focus on learning more conversational words and phrases these past few months, so I thought it would be fun to share the phrase and word sheet I use as a guide to give me an extra boost when speaking Mandarin.

These phrases or expressions are those that I’ve found quite useful, especially as a part of those first few conversations and now, I’d like to share them with you.

In this post you’ll find a short selection of the 100+ conversational phrases and words in Mandarin I have available as part of a downloadable PDF that you can get by clicking on the image below.

Happy Chinese language learning!

Greetings

English	Chinese	Transliteration
你好 / 您好	Hello / Hello (formal)	Nǐ hǎo / Nín hǎo
好久不见。	Long time no see.	Hǎojiǔ bùjiàn.
我很高兴认识你。	Nice to meet you.	Wǒ hěn gāoxìng rènshí nǐ.
我叫____。	My name is ____.	Wǒ jiào ____.
你叫什么名字？	What is your name?	Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?

Basic & Polite Phrases

English	Chinese	Transliteration
对不起	I’m sorry	Duìbùqǐ
谢谢	Thank you	Xièxiè
请	Please	Qǐng
不客气	You’re welcome	Bù kèqì
没问题	No problem / You’re welcome	Méi wèntí

Get the Conversation Rolling

English	Chinese	Transliteration
你作什么样的工作?	What kind of work do you do?	Nǐ zùo shén me yàng de gōng zùo?
你有什么爱好?	What are your hobbies?	Nǐ yǒu shén me ài hào?
你认为怎样？	What do you think?	Nǐ rènwéi zěnyàng?
你平常喜欢做什么？	What do you do in your free time?	Nǐ píngcháng xǐhuān zuò shénme?
你有什么计划？	What are your plans?	Nǐ yǒu shé me jìhuà?

Getting a Bit of Clarification

English	Chinese	Transliteration
不好意思， 我没听懂。	I’m sorry, I don’t understand.	Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ méi tīng dǒng.
我不太明白。	I don’t understand.	Wǒ bú tài míng bai.
请再说一遍。	Please say that again.	Qǐng zài shuō yī biàn.
第几声？	Which tone is that?	Dì jǐ shēng?
这个词是什么意思？	What does this word mean?	Zhège cí shì shénme yìsi?

Words About Time

English	Chinese	Transliteration
今天	Today	Jīntiān
明天	Tomorrow	Míngtiān
昨天	Yesterday	Zuótiān
已经	Already	Yǐjīng
经常	Often	Jīngcháng

Exclamations & Transition Words to Take Your Speaking to the Next Level

English	Chinese	Transliteration
很有意思	Interesting	Hěn yǒuyìsi
不错	Not bad	Bùcuò
我明白了。	I understand. / I see.	Wǒ míngbáile.
哇塞！	Wow!	Wasāi!
当然。	Of course.	Dāngrán.

Conversation Closers

English	Chinese	Transliteration
慢走	Take care	Màn zǒu
祝你一天过得愉快	Have a nice day	Zhù nǐ yītiānguò dé yúkuài
明天见。	See you tomorrow.	Míngtiān jiàn.
我们再联络吧	Let’s keep in touch	Wǒ mén zài lián lùo ba

Are you learning Chinese? What are some phrases that you’ve found useful in your target language? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!