As we all know, mandarin is one of the most difficult languages to learn. However, frankly speaking, it’s never easy to learn any new language. We can always find the silver line! The good thing is that it’s incredible easy to learn mandarin basic conversation! If you are coming to China to complete your abroad internship project soon, take your opportunity to push yourself lean some useful Chinese daily conversation phrase or sentences! Even though it’s not mandatory for hospitality internship or business internship, it might save you from some awkward situation.

1.This one, that one 这个，那个

You will hear a lot of people saying “zhè gè” or “nà gè” all the time when they are purchasing or ordering something. Sometimes when Chinese people are saying “nà gè” sounds like “Negro” in English, if you hear someone keeps saying “Nà gè”, “Nà gè”, don’t be mad or too surprise, it’s just because he/she can’t recall something. It’s just the meaning of “this” and “that”. It’s not insulting anyone. When you are shopping, you can point at the goods and say: “zhè gè” or “nà gè”.

 

2.How much? 多少钱

A word that you will definitely use every day! It’s very common that a Chinese person will ask how much when they want to pay for the bill at a restaurant or a market. After getting all the items, when it’s your turn to pay, you can always ask directly “how much”. In Chinese language it’s “duō shǎo qián”. “duō shǎo” means more or less, “qián” means money. It’s a high-frequency vocabulary in Mandarin. This is quite different from English but it’s always interesting to find differences of different culture and daily life while doing an internship in China.

3.Thank you 谢谢

After you buy the items, it’s polite to say “Xiè xie” which means thank you. Most of Chinese people are very kind, especially Sichuan people. They are very enthusiastic and helpful. Even though most of people can’t speak good English, they are willing to help if you need. Therefore, it will bring you close to local people to say thank you in Chinese “Xiè xie”. Trust me, it means a lot to people.

 

These are some basic phrase that you will say very often in daily life. Even though Chinese language is not mandatory for internship in China, it will help you to build a close relationship between you and local people, in addition, you will immerse into the culture better than a tourist. If you are interested in learning Mandarin, you can also buy some Chinese textbook to help yourself learn it systematically.