Bookstore

The fun way to learn to speak Chinese


With more than 1.2 billion speakers across the globe - and with nearly 3 million in the U.S. alone - Mandarin Chinese claims the top spot as the world's most common language. If you want to learn this language to get ahead at school or work, or to make your travel to China easier, this is the handy reference you'll want by your side.


Chinese For Dummies teaches basic grammar, as well as the necessary vocabulary to make introductions and greetings, use proper etiquette, make small talk, make transportation arrangements, order food and beverages, ask directions, deal with money, shop, access recreation, and handle an emergency.





Concentrates on Mandarin Chinese and features new and revised content

Includes major updates to all the necessary foundational information needed to speak Chinese

Covers grammar, verb conjugations, and pronunciations

Offers a refreshed mini-dictionary complete with even more vocabulary

Find free conversational audio tracks online



As the Chinese economy continues to grow, the importance of Chinese as a trade language will also increase. If you're a student or business professional who has a basic understanding of the language, you'll be poised to surpass your peers when it comes to dealing with international markets. So get started today!

Chinese For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Introduction 1





About This Book 1





Foolish Assumptions 3





Icons Used in This Book 4





Beyond the Book 4





Where to Go from Here 5





Part 1: Getting Started with Chinese 7





Chapter 1: Chinese in a Nutshell: The Spoken Word 9





Grasping Chinese Dialects 10





P?ny?n Spelling: Beijing, Not Peking 11





Sounding Off: Basic Chinese Sounds 12





Starting off with initials 13





Ending with finals 14





Perfect pitch: Presenting . . . the four tones! 15





Adding Idioms and Popular Expressions to Your Repertoire 17





Chapter 2: The Written Word: Checking Out Chinese Characters 21





Perusing Pictographs, Ideographs, and the Six Scripts 22





The Chinese Radical: A Few Clues to a Character's Meaning 24





Following the Rules of Stroke Order 25





Rule 1 25





Rules 2 through 9 25





Up, Down, or Sideways? Deciphering the Direction of Characters 26





Traditional versus Simplified Characters: When to Use Which 28





Using a Chinese Dictionary . . . without an Alphabet! 29





Chapter 3: Warming Up with the Basics: Chinese Grammar 31





The Basics of Chinese Nouns, Articles, and Adjectives 32





Nouns 33





Definite versus indefinite articles 36





Adjectives 38





Getting into Verbs, Adverbs, Negation, and Possession 39





Verbs 39





Adverbs 44





Bu and meiy?u: Total negation 44





Getting possessive with the particle de 47





Asking Questions 47





The question particle ma 47





Yes/no choice questions using bu between repeating verbs 47





Interrogative pronouns 48





Chapter 4: Getting Started with Basic Expressions: N? H?o! 51





Making Introductions 52





Acquainting yourself 52





Introducing your friends and family 52





Asking people for their names 53





Greeting and Chatting 55





Addressing new friends and strangers 55





Conversing around the clock 56





Talking about the weather 59





Finding out where people are from 61





Taking (that is, rejecting) compliments 63





Saying goodbye 63





Chapter 5: Getting Your Numbers, Times, and Measurements Straight 65





Counting in Chinese 66





Numbers from 1 to 10 66





Numbers from 11 to 99 67





Numbers from 100 to 9,999 68





Numbers from 10,000 to 100,000 and beyond 69





How 'bout those halves? 69





Ordinal numbers 70





Asking how many or how much 70





Telling Time 71





Asking and stating the time 71





Specifying the time of the day 71





Save the Date: Using the Calendar and Stating Dates 75





Dealing with days of the week 76





Naming the months 77





Specifying dates 77





Celebrating Chinese holidays 80





Sizing Up Weights and Measures 81





Chapter 6: Speaking Chinese at Home 85





Hanging Out at Home 85





Hunting for an Apartment 86





Decorating Your New Digs 89





Appointing Your Rooms, F?ngshu? Style 89





The bedroom 91





The bathroom 92





The kitchen 92





The living room 93





The basement 94





The attic 95





Part 2: Chinese in Action 97





Chapter 7: Getting to Know You: Making Small Talk 99





Establishing a Connection 99





Posing simple introductory questions 102





Chatting about family 103





Making small talk on the job 105





Talking about where you live 108





Chapter 8: Dining Out and Shopping for Food 111





All about Meals 112





Satisfying your hunger 112





Sitting down to eat and practicing proper table manners 114





Getting to Know Chinese Cuisines 115





Dining Out 116





Understanding what's on the menu 118





Placing an order and chatting with the waitstaff 125





Dipping into some dim sum 127





Finding the restrooms 128





Finishing your meal and paying the bill 129





All the Tea in China 130





Taking Your Chinese to Go 131





Making comparisons 131





How much is that thousand-year-old egg? 132





Chapter 9: Shopping Made Easy 137





Going to Stores 137





Getting What You Want at a Department Store 140





Just browsing 141





Asking for help 141





Shopping for Clothes 143





What's your size? 143





Comparing quality: Good, better, best 145





Comparing two items 146





What are you wearing? Chu?n versus dai 149





Asking about the color and material 150





Shopping for Other Items 151





Hunting for antiques 152





Getting a Good Price and Paying 153





Negotiating prices at the night market 153





Paying for your purchase (or demanding a refund) 154





Chapter 10: Exploring the Town 157





Attending a Performance 157





Exploring different types of music 158





Buying a ticket 160





Asking whether someone has done something 160





Exploring Museums and Galleries 161





Visiting Historical Sites 163





Going to the Movies 165





Hopping Around Bars and Clubs 167





Chapter 11: Taking Care of Telecommunications 169





Getting Familiar with Telephone Terms 169





Going Mobile with a Cellphone 171





Making a Phone Call 172





Calling your friends 173





Ringing hotels and places of business 174





Phoning a client 175





Sorry, I Can't Take Your Call Right Now 177





Listening to messages that people leave you 177





Recording and understanding greeting messages 177





Leaving messages 178





Checking Your Email 180





Going Online 182





The Great Wall Firewall, That Is 183





Chapter 12: Chinese at School and Work 187





Going to School 188





Schools and supplies 188





Teachers and subjects 189





Exams and semesters 190





Degrees and diplomas 191





Settling into Your Office Digs 192





Conducting a Meeting 195





Scheduling and planning a meeting 195





Making the initial greeting 196





Starting the meeting 198





Making a presentation 198





Ending the meeting 199





Discussing Business and Industry 201





Chapter 13: Recreation and Outdoor Activities 207





Naming Your Hobbies 208





Exploring Nature 210





Tapping into Your Artistic Side 213





Striking Up the Band 213





Playing on a Team 215





Part 3: Chinese on the Go 219





Chapter 14: Planning a Trip 221





Talking about When You Want to Travel 221





Celebrating the Chinese Holidays 222





Where To? Deciding on a Destination 223





Passports and Visas: Don't Leave Home without 'Em 227





Packing for Your Trip 228





Enlisting the Help of a Travel Agency 229





Chapter 15: Making Cents of Money 233





Staying Current with Chinese Currency 234





Renminbi (RMB) in the PRC 234





X?n Taibi in the ROC 235





Hong Kong dollars 236





Singapore dollars 236





Exchanging Money 236





Spending Money 239





Using cash 240





Paying with plastic 241





Doing Your Banking 242





Making withdrawals and deposits 243





Accessing an ATM 244





Tips on Tipping 244





Chapter 16: Getting Around 249





Flying Around the Airport 249





Making it past the check-in counter 250





Boarding your flight 253





Going through customs 254





Navigating Around Town 257





Hailing a cab 257





Hopping on the bus 260





Riding the rails 262





Chapter 17: Asking for Directions 267





Avoiding 20 Questions: Just Ask "Where?" 267





Different strokes for different folks: Saying n?r versus saying n?l? 269





Getting direction about directions 270





Understanding the answers to "where" questions 271





Expressing Distances (Time and Space) with Li 274





Using Ordinal Numbers to Clarify Points of Reference 276





Specifying Cardinal Points 276





Chapter 18: Finding a Place to Stay 281





Making a Room Reservation 282





Checking In Before You Hit the Pool 285





Taking Advantage of Hotel Service 287





Counting on convenience 287





Getting problems fixed 288





Checking Out Before Heading Out 292





Chapter 19: Handling Emergencies 297





Calling for Help in Times of Need 297





Receiving Medical Care 298





Deciding whether to see a doctor 299





Describing what ails you 300





Discussing your medical history 305





Making a diagnosis 306





Treating yourself to better health 308





Calling the Police 308





Acquiring Legal Help 309





Part 4: The Part of Tens 311





Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Learn Chinese Quickly 313





Listen to Chinese Being Spoken 313





Check Out a Peking Opera Performance 314





Cook with a Wok 314





Shop for Food in Chinatown 314





Search Online 315





Watch Kung-Fu Flicks 315





Exchange Language Lessons 315





Make Chinese Friends 316





Study Chinese Calligraphy 316





Be Curious and Creative 316





Chapter 21: Ten Things Never to Do in China 317





Never Accept a Compliment Graciously 317





Never Make Someone Lose Face 318





Never Get Angry in Public 318





Never Address People by Their First Names First 318





Never Take Food with the Wrong End of Your Chopsticks 319





Never Drink Alcohol Without First Offering a Toast 319





Never Let Someone Else Pay the Bill Without Fighting for It 319





Never Show Up Empty-Handed 320





Never Accept Food, Drinks, or Gifts Without First Refusing a Few Times 320





Never Take the First "No, Thank You" Literally 320





Part 5: Appendixes 321





Appendix A: Chinese-English Mini-Dictionary 323





Appendix B: Chinese Verbs 355





Appendix C: Fun & Games Answer Key 359





Index 365