Survival Chinese

Learn the Chinese greeting 'way' (wei), a simple hello used on phone and in person as a sound, not a word. The course prioritizes pinyin over characters.

Explore how Chinese characters are building blocks, including the 'good' character formed by a woman and a child, and how five tones, neutral tone, and end-of-sentence sounds create rhythm.

Explains simple Chinese greetings using pinyin like 'you good' for hello and 'bye bye' for goodbye, and highlights contextual subject-object patterns versus English.

Master forming questions in Chinese by using the end-of-sentence question particle ma and practice ni hao with ni hao ma for real-world dialogue.

Learn how to use hun (very) before adjectives and verbs in Chinese, omitting the verb to be for adjectival phrases, with examples like I very love you.

Explore how Chinese sentence-ending particles like ma signal questions or suggestions, and how 'how about' replaces the English phrase in survival Chinese conversation by addressing names.

Master survival Chinese by using no and don't to form negative expressions, such as I'm not good. Practice present tense for everyday phrases.

Learn the common Chinese expression for thank you, Shia Shia, and respond with no thanks to mean you're welcome, with pronunciation notes and repeated patterns emphasized in survival Chinese.

Learn how to say you're welcome in survival Chinese, introducing two new characters and a two-syllable polite response. Explore how courtesy and guest imagery frame the polite expression.

Explore the Chinese pronoun wo as both subject and object and when to omit subjects in a survival Chinese conversation, then practice a simple hi, how are you dialogue.

Explore genderless pronouns in Swedish and Chinese, showing how hen and ta map to he, she, and it, with distinct characters clarifying meaning.

Learn how to ask for and say your name in Chinese, use English names when introducing yourself, and review basic pronouns for self introduction.

Learn how to say 'what' in Survival Chinese, use it standalone or at the end of a question, and practice asking 'what's your name' with names.

Learn how Chinese uses a single plural marker 'men' and pronouns such as wo, ni, ta to form sentences, including plural forms like nimen and object pronouns.

Learn how to express yes and no in Chinese, navigate when yes means correct or incorrect, and explore using the uninflected verb to be across subjects for practical conversation.

Learn to use adjectives in survival Chinese by placing ni before the adjective or choosing a more natural phrasing, and remember la as a sentence particle.

Learn the Chinese word for country and how adjectives precede it to name nations, with examples like America (mei guo) and China described as the middle country.

Learn how Chinese sounds resemble English country names and practice identifying your own country while listening to examples. Build sentences using nation and person from place constructions.

Explore key Chinese city names like Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai, their meanings (northern capital, southern capital, on the ocean) and the directions north, south, east, and west for survival Chinese.

Master essential survival Chinese basics by forming basic conversations: ask where you are from, which country someone is from, say your name, and practice common daily phrases.

Learn to ask where the toilet is in Chinese using simple location phrases. Practice sentences like 'where is the toilet' and 'where is Felix' with basic pronunciation cues.

Learn the essential Chinese phrase to ask where the toilet is, explore the characters, and note the shortest term for toilet and public toilets.

Learn to distinguish there and here in Chinese through tone practice and location phrases, including 'Felix is here' and 'where is it?' with da and an added r for here.

Survival Chinese shows how to use this, that, and which with dongshi (thing) to form versatile sentences, and it teaches you to reuse one word across contexts.

Explore the Chinese verb to want, using yo for to want and object focus without the subject, and master Shakespeare questions—positive and negative options—for quick, real-life market dialogues.

Learn how Chinese uses a word for many and much to express quantity in shopping, with numbers and how to ask how many or how much.

Learn survival Chinese money vocabulary, ask how much money it costs, and use phrases like 'tian tian' to discuss money and simple conversations.

Learn to count in Chinese from one to ten, gain a foundation for counting to a hundred, and prepare for practical phrases like haggling in survival Chinese.

Learn to count from 10 to 100 in Chinese by using the ten plus digit pattern, recognize multiples of ten, and practice quick recall through exercises and multiplication patterns.

Master how to form and pronounce numbers from 100 to 1000 in survival Chinese, including the placement of hundred before tens and units and reading numbers as written.

Master Chinese numerals and tones for expressing prices, 1000 to ten thousand, including two thousand two hundred and three thousand three hundred thirty, with focus on tone differences and usage.

Learn how to refer to Chinese currencies, the renminbi and yuan, and how to ask and answer prices in yuan in everyday conversation.

The lecture introduces measure words in Chinese, explains you say a number followed by a measure word to identify the noun, and highlights liang as a fluency-friendly option for counting.

Explore how to express degree in survival Chinese using too, so, and very, with examples of too much, so good, and the little degree particle, plus notes on English translations.

Master bargaining vocabulary for shopping in survival chinese by learning how to say pay, expensive, and cheap, and practice haggle-friendly phrases to negotiate prices.

Explore how to express small quantities in Survival Chinese using 'a little.' Use it alone or after adjectives to mean a little more or less, with examples.

Explore using the suffix man to intensify adjectives and express slow pace in Survival Chinese, with examples like this man is very slow and please slow down.

Learn how to use yo to express possession and existence in Chinese, with practical store scenarios and quick Q&A practice about there is, there are, and to have.

Explore a simple Chinese sentence pattern using a single verb or adjective with repetition, and practice responses with you, me, or your, including playful homophone examples like mail and mayonnaise.

Distinguish dongshi, a physical thing, from sure, a matter, by context, and practice phrases for asking for items and saying there is no matter here or no problem.

Explore the most common Chinese character and its versatile use for possession and family terms, with practical examples like mine, yours, and his.

Learn the basic Chinese family terms, including mama and bubba for mom and dad, and older and younger siblings with tega for older sister and didi for younger brother.

Learn the Chinese word for friend, pong il, and how to indicate singular, dual, or plural by placing the number in front, with example phrases like are we friends.

Learn how to use new for female and none for male in survival chinese, including pronunciation notes and writing with diacritic marks, then form boyfriend or girlfriend with peng you.

Explore basic meanings and phrases for travel in China, focusing on meaning and intent, saying sorry, and asking what does this mean, with exchanges like it’s okay and no problem.

Explore how Chinese wordplay forms new meanings by swapping words, learn 'dong ding dong' meaning to understand, and practice asking 'how do you say I don't understand' in context.

Learn how Chinese uses repetition to form verbs and express qualities, and how hao plus a verb creates good-looking and other adjectives.

Learn to say to like something or someone in Chinese using two characters, with simple yes or no answers and basic sentence patterns like I like and I hate.

This lecture teaches expressing permission in Survival Chinese using may I and could you, with examples like can I see or can I look, plus pronunciation tips for ke yi.

Learn how to express ability in Chinese using can and its implied may. Apply it to language contexts with examples like I can do this and where can you go.

Discover how to name languages by changing endings, with England to English, China to Chinese, and Sweden to Swedish, and learn to say I can speak a language.

Practice essential survival Chinese dialogues by using 'sure' and 'speak slower' to request repetition and confirm you can speak Chinese.

Explore chinese direction words and the say vs speak distinction, learn how to ask 'how do you say this' in chinese, and practice pointing to objects to form sentences.

Learn how to use choo choo to mean 'to go' in survival Chinese and practice saying go to places like the airport, China, and America, and asking for the toilet.

Learn essential survival Chinese for travel by naming common places—restaurant, hotel, airport, and train station—and asking where they are, plus how to define other locations when needed.

Explore the difference between go and leave in survival Chinese, how to say I want to go or I want to leave, and use go to a place like Beijing.

Explore how ma works as a question particle in Chinese and how bar adds a suggestive meaning at sentence end to express let's do this or let's go.

Learn to make polite Chinese requests by repeating verbs and adding the suffix shia to form courteous imperatives. See examples with look and watch to show added politeness.

Learn the Chinese verb for wait and practice forming polite phrases like wait a little bit and can you wait for me, using direct object construction without prepositions.

Learn how to say excuse me in chinese to pass through and cross someone, using the polite verb forms to get by in crowded spaces.

Discover basic phrases you'll hear often in Survival Chinese, including the greeting 'welcome in.' You don't need to say them, but stay aware of their usage.

Learn taxi Chinese by asking for a destination and giving directions, using phrases like where are you going, go straight, turn left, turn right, and stop.

Learn practical morning and night greetings in survival Chinese, including the common way to say good morning and how to say good tonight with simple usage guidance.

Learn the new Chinese character for goodbye, pronounced da, and how to say goodbye and see you again, noting formal versus informal bye bye usage.

Master ordering in a Chinese restaurant by reading the menu, saying I want this dish, counting dishes, and paying by scanning a code on your phone.

Learn essential survival Chinese phrases for restaurant and market interactions, including how to ask for the bill, distinguish bill from menu, and use tone to convey buy or sell transactions.

Learn to order in restaurants using 'give me this' constructions. Understand that some polite forms like 'thank you' or 'please' may be less used in this context.

Master three utensil words in Survival Chinese, pick up chopsticks and a spoon for soup, and practice basic phrases and pronunciation to navigate dining situations.

Learn how to form Chinese adjectives by using how before verbs to express taste and appearance, such as good to eat, good to look, or delicious, with practical examples.

Learn how to order beverages in Chinese using cup and bottle terms, and practice phrases for tea, water, coffee, and beer.

Learn how to say vegetarian in China, using soup and vegetables to avoid meat, and express that you are vegetarian while traveling.

Explore common meat vocabulary in Chinese, including beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and fish, and practice saying I want to eat out and choose different meats.

Learn to express spice levels in survival chinese with a single word for spicy, plus phrases for very, little, and not spicy, and how to order accordingly.

Enhance your Survival Chinese skills by revisiting 100 learned words with flashcards on our website or the PDA app, preparing you to communicate confidently with Chinese people while traveling.

Continue learning on the Domino Chinese platform by exploring level one and level two. Access premium content, worksheets, PDFs, and a course book.