I was just wondering how difficult it will be for me to get around. I plan on learning how to say some basic words and phrases, but there is no way I will learn how to read Chinese, will this be a problem? Are any of the signs in English? I will be with a group from school, so I am not worried about doing day trips with them, I am more worried about at night when we are on our own and I have to try and read street signs and menus!|||More than 90% people live in China's city are able to speak English.
And about a half of the signs are in both Chinese and English.
If you'd like to talk to Chinese people, make your speed slowly and the grammar easily.
But remember, you'd better to take your Chinese friend with you to restaurants, the price will be pretty high if the customers can not speak Chinese.(A cup of beer may cost $5.)
You can call me if you are going to Beijing and have some problems.
然后，Yun ，我佩服你的英语语法。。。|||If you have a basic phrase book (your local bookstore will have them in the travel section), you will be able to point at phrases that are written in the book. That will help you a lot.
Additionally, make sure you carry your hotel name/address around with you just in case you get lost. That way, you'll be able to show it to someone to help you get back.
Most street signs include the pinyin (Romanization of the characters) so you'll be able to have some idea of the approximation.
Many restaurants have picture menus. But if they don't, you can always look around at what other people are eating and point at their plates. That's always fun and you end up with some really good food as sometimes others order things that aren't on the menu!
Enjoy your trip!|||Sigh, people do speak English outside of the US you know.
Also, even if you do read up on some Chinese phrases, pronunciation and stressing of words is very important. A word can easily mean 3 or 4 different things, depending on how you say it.|||I think you should learn how to say the basic things like
"Do you speak English?"
ni3 hui4 shuo1 ying1 yu3 ma1
and "where is the bathroom?"
duì bu qǐ, cè suǒ zai nǎr
or questions like that, some that are necessary to survive :)|||don't worry about it,
here's the solution in 2 words: body language.
people in china are very friendly to foreigners, you don't have to speak the language to go around.|||If you come to Beijing ,you can call me ,maybe I can teach you some basic words to communicate with Chinese,my number is 15810992337
or you can give me your QQ number ,mine is 623836382|||You can learn some simple Chinese. There are some signs written in English.|||You can learn some basic Mandarin here
http://gochina.about.com/od/mandarinfort…
http://community.travelchinaguide.com/fo…|||The first sentence you should know is
dui bu chi (sorry). wo bu hui shuo zong wen. ( I can't speak Chinese)
Cheers!
-Michael|||I have lived in China for six years and know very little Chinese (not proud nor ashamed of that -it is just the truth) and have not had many difficulties.|||Don't not worry about that because China is learning the basic english so that when foreign come they can help you.|||learn a set of basic phrases and that will be enough...|||I'm going to miss you sooooooooooooooooooooooo much :(|||lol dont worry they will be kind and you will find soem one that speaks english though|||take me with you|||How easy it is to get around depends on where you'll be, as well as how much you want to try and get out on your own and how adventurous you are. If you stick to five star hotels, then sure, there will be people who speak English, there will be an English language menu with a semblance of western food -- maybe even good western food. Beijing even has a Hard Rock Cafe. But that's not why you went to China.
I suggest you get off the beaten path a bit, take a risk, go into a restaurant where nobody speaks English and there's no English menu. Be vigilant and don't be stupid, crime happens in China too. But for the most part the streets are safe and the people are friendly -- It's quite safe to go wandering and explore. (When crossing streets, stick with a crowd because Chinese rules of the road are different from western ones and you don't want to get run over.)
Trust me, if you do this, you may end up on a street where no one speaks English. You won't be able to read the menu. And if you could, it would be things that translate like, "three colors of delight" or "white sauce chicken" or "mouth watering chicken". Delish! So, here's what you do.
Walk around and look at what people are eating. Ask people if it's good by using the universal language of thumbs up, thumbs down. If you're brave enough to speak, you can ask, "hao chi ma?" (pronounced how chuh ma?) The restaurant patrons won't mind, they'll be pleased that you're not to stuck up enough to ask. At some point, you'll find something you want to try. Then, use pointing and pantomime to let the waitress know what you want. In fact, you can usually tell seasoned travelers by how comfortable they are with the pantomime method of communication.
Observe, also, that in a true Chinese establishment it's ordinary practice to use the first pot of boiling tea water to wash your dishes. Look around you and see how the Chinese do it, then you follow suit. It's to kill germs. But as long as the tea is steaming hot and the food is hot, you'll be safe. (Following the "steaming hot" rule and eating as locals eat, I never once got sick from food during four years of living in China. But do not eat salad unless you are in a high end restaurant because hepatitis is rampant in China.)
There are a few phrases it's helpful to know. One problem is, however, that Mandarin Chinese has sounds that we don't have in English, and also it is a tonal language and westerners take a long time to learn the tones. For this reason, it's very difficult for a person to just learn a tad of Chinese for a short trip like this. If at all possible, and if you are really motivated to learn, get a recording, podcast, or something to listen to. (A good tape set is "Chinese for Dummies". I subscribe to ChinesePod.) And then get a native speaker to critique you as you try to speak.
Next, what to use once you're there ... If you have an iPod touch or iPhone, download the application "Lonely Planet Mandarin," which is a phrasebook which includes characters, pinyin, and sound.* In the written phrasebook department, my hands down favorite phrasebook is the Rough Guide to Mandarin Chinese, which you can order through Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1843536358/…
This phrasebook is laid out by a dictionary, has easy to follow pronunciation, as well as has the characters for things. It also has some basic phrases and grammar lessons that are helpful, explanations of things like classes of seats on trains (for when you're ordering tickets). (I carried mine for a couple of years and gave away several to ppl who love them.)
Last but not least, here's the "safety net": Never go out of your hotel without 50 RMB in small bills to use to pay a taxi (never pay a taxi with a 50 or higher, because almost guaranteed the taxi driver will see this as opportunity to cheat you either with incorrect change or counterfeit notes in change, this and pickpocketing is very common). Always take with you a business card from your hotel that has your hotel street address on it (to give the taxi). Additionally, for every place you want to go, have the hotel concierge write the name down in Chinese characters and pinyin. (Then you write in English so you don't lose track of what it says.) The taxi driver or a person on the street can help you get where you're going based on this information written by your hotel concierge.
____
*Your iPhone charger plug won't work in China, though, as the prongs are different, so check with Apple ahead of time about how to get a charger that will work in China. (The last thing you want is to fry your phone since they operate on 220 v. current.)|||Hi there,
No need worring about the language barrier. You could check this service http://www.interpretcall.com which provides instant over the phone English-Chinese interpretation service in China!
What you need to do is to simply give them a call from you cellphone or fixed line and a Telephone Interpreter would always be there to help you out in situations such as booking your travel tickets, ordering food, asking directions, talking to taxi drivers, reserving accommodation etc. No more calling Chinese acquaintances catching them at awkward moments or unsocial hours. This service would give you independence in China.
