ection>
SURVIVAL
CHINESE
How to communicate without
fuss or fear INSTANTLY!
by BOYE LAFAYETTE DE MENTE
Revised and Updated by Jiageng Fan
TUTTLE Publishing
Tokyo | Rutland, Vermont | Singapore
CONTENTS
Preface
The “Language Wall” is Down!
The National Language
Introduction
Chinese Written in “English”
Those Notorious “Tones”
Chinese is Easier than English!
The Chinese “Alphabet”
Running Words Together
Pronouncing Chinese “in English”
Pronunciation Guides
PART 1
Common Expressions & Key Words
Greetings
Personal Information
Directions
Air Travel
Money
Taxis
Subways
Trains
Buses
Rental Cars
Hotel Vocabulary
Toilet / Restroom
The Seasons
The Weather
Eating
Drinking
Paying Bills
Telephone / Email / Internet
Shopping
Business
Post Office
Health / Help
Sightseeing
Leisure
Barber Shop / Beauty Salon
Measurements
Personal Titles
Academic Titles
Business & Professional Titles
Homes
Vogue Expressions
PART 2
Numbers and Counting
The Cardinal Numbers
The Ordinal Numbers
Counting Things
Counting People
Counting Other Things
Telling Time
Days of the Week
Counting Days
Weeks
Counting Weeks
The Months
The Years
Giving Dates
Holidays
PART 3
Exploring China
China’s Provinces
The Autonomous Regions
Major Cities
Famous Places in Beijing
Famous Landmarks Near Beijing
Shopping Districts in Beijing
Famous Places in Shanghai
Shopping Districts in Shanghai
Famous Chinese Cuisines
Famous Tourist Destinations
Important Signs
PART 4
Making Your Own Sentences
Part5
Additional Vocabulary
PREFACE
The “Language Wall” is Down!
There are at least eight primary Chinese languages, and although they belong to the same family and historically have been referred to as dialects, they are as different as French, Italian, Spanish and other so-called Romance languages. And that’s why they are sometimes considered as different languages by some people.
Westerners have also traditionally regarded learning and speaking any of the Chinese “dialects” as especially difficult because they are all “tonal languages.” That is, changing the tone of voice in the pronunciation of words changes the meanings of the words.
These circumstances, combined with the forbidding appearance of the “characters,” or logograms, used to write all of the Chinese languages, have long
