at the Beverly Hills Lingual Institute
Did you know?
The total length of the Great Wall of China, built in different dynasties, is 13,170.70 miles (21,196.18 kilometers).
Hāi! Chinese is the most spoken language in the world, used by more than a billion people in China alone, and by a total of 1.2 billion native speakers. 12.44 percent of the world's population speaks Mandarin as their first language.
In addition to the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, Mandarin Chinese extends past Chinese territory to be spoken in the important and influential Chinese communities of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, and Mongolia.
If you wish to learn a language that one in six people in the world speak, this is the one for you.
Common
Yes.
No.
Please.
Thank you.
You are welcome (it was nothing).
How do you say it in Chinese?
Pardon me.
Excuse me.
I'm sorry.
Bless you (sneeze).
Who?
Why?
I don't understand.
Please repeat.
Slower please.
What time is it?
Are you from around here?
Where are you from?
Where do you live?
What do you like to do?
Where do you work?
How old are you?
I like your shirt.
What's your phone number?
Are you on Instagram?
How's your family?
I'm running late.
I am lost.
Can you help me?
Where is the restroom?
I need to use the restroom.
I'll be right back.
Talk to you later.
There are many.
Will you buy this?
How much does it cost?
What a shame.
I can't believe it.
Are you kidding?
Just kidding
How many are there?
See you soon.
the airport
the American embassy
the hotel
the restaurant
Good morning.
Good afternoon.
Good evening.
What is your name?
How are you?
How are things?
Fine, thanks.
I am fine.
Hello, my name is John
Nice to meet you.
See you later.
Goodbye.
Do you love me? (care for me?)
Do you love me? (more serious)
He's my fiancé.
Hug me.
I (female) am in love.
I (male) am in love.
I adore you.
I always think about you.
I am passionate about you.
I like you.
I love you (care for you).
I love you (more serious).
I miss you.
I need you.
I want to be with you forever.
Kiss me.
She's my fiancé.
Will you marry me?
Would you like to be my boyfriend?
Would you like to be my girlfriend?
You are beautiful.
You are handsome.
You are the love of my life.
You make me happy.
a filthy mouth
anyone and everyone
bad-mouth
crazy
dumbfounded
follower
gray-market products
have guts
immature person
jealous
match fixing/ point shaving
mischief
nerdy
old-fashioned
play it cool
police informant
scrooge
talk tough
territory
tough it out
Shì.
Bùshì.
Qǐng.
Xièxiè.
Bié kèqì.
Yòng zhōngwén zěnyàng shuō?
Duìbùqǐ.
Duìbùqǐ.
Duìbùqǐ.
Bǎozhòng(Dǎ pēntì).
Shuí?
Wèishéme?
Wǒ tīng bù dǒng.
Qǐng chóngfù
Qǐng nín jiǎng màn yīdiǎn
Xiànzài shì shénme shíhou?
Nǐ shì bùshì cóng fùjìn lái de?
Nǐ cóng nǎlǐ lái?
Nǐ zhù zài nǎlǐ?
Nǐ xǐhuan zuò shénme?
Nǐ zài nǎer gōngzuò?
Nǐ duōdà le?
Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ de chènshān
Nǐ de diànhuà jǐ hào?
Nǐ yǒu cānjiā Instagram ma?
Nǐ de jiārén hǎo ma?
Wǒ chídào le.
Wǒ mílù le.
Nǐ néng bāngzhù wǒ ma?
Cèsuǒ zài nǎlǐ?
Wǒ xūyào shǐyòng xǐshǒujiān.
Wǒ mǎshàng jiù huílái.
Xià cì zài hé nǐ tán
Yǒu hěnduō.
Qǐngwèn nǐ mǎi ma?
Duōshǎo qián?
Zhēn kěxí
Wǒ jiǎnzhí bù gǎn xiāngxìn
Nǐ zài kāiwánxiào ba?
Zhǐshì kāiwánxiào
Yǒu duōshǎo ?
Hěn kuài zàijiàn
Jīchǎng
Měiguó dàshǐ guǎn
Jiǔdiàn
Cāntīng
Zǎo ān
Xiàwǔ hǎo
Wǎnshàng hǎo
Nǐ jiào shénme míngzì?
Nǐ hǎo ma?
Zěnme yàng?
Hěn hǎo, xièxiè
Wǒ hěn hǎo
Nǐ hǎo, wǒ de míngzì shì yuēhàn
Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ
Zàijiàn
Zàijiàn
Nǐ guānxīn wǒ ma?
Nǐ ài wǒ ma?
Tā shì wǒ de wèihūnfū
Yǒngbào wǒ
Wǒ zài liànài
Wǒ zài liànài
Wǒ fēicháng xǐhuan nǐ
Wǒ zǒng shì xiǎng nǐ
Wǒ hěn ài nǐ
Wǒ xǐhuan nǐ
Wǒ guānxīn nǐ
Wǒ ài nǐ
Wǒ xiǎngniàn nǐ
Wǒ xūyào nǐ
Wǒ xiǎng yǒngyuǎn hé nǐ zài yīqǐ
Wěn wǒ
Tā shì wǒ de wèihūnqī
Nǐ yuànyì hé wǒ jiéhūn ma?
Nǐ yuànyì zuò wǒ de nán péngyǒu ma?
Nǐ yuànyì zuò wǒ de nǚ péngyǒu ma?
Nǐ shì měilì de
Nǐ shì yīngjùn de
Nǐ shì wǒ yīshēng de zhìài
Nǐ ràng wǒ kuàilè
Gǒu jǔ lǐ tǔ bu chū xiàngyá
Āmāoāgǒu
Wūyā jǔ
Zhuā kuáng
Shă yăn
Gēn bānr
Shuĭ huò
Yŏuzhŏng
Shí sān diăn
Yănhóng
Fàngshuǐ
Ègǎo
Tŭ
Lăotŭ
Wán kù
Yănxiàn
Tiějōngjī
Zuĭyìng
Dìpán
Áo chū tóur
![Learn [LANGUAGE] in Los Angeles](images/640x360/languages/chinese-mandarin/chinese-lantern.jpg "Learn Chinese (Mandarin) in Los Angeles")
With all Chinese dialects sharing one writing system of at least fifty thousand symbols, of which you'll need at least three thousand in order to be considered literate, the language is inherently difficult—but fascinating to learn.
Fascinating? Yes! As Nationally Syndicated Talk Host Barry Farber puts it, 'Much is made of our abiliity to read the Chinese soul through the Chinese language.'
'Tomorrow' in Chinese is ming tien, which literally means 'bright day.' The character for 'good' literally depicts a woman with a child, suggesting that a mother and a child are emblematic of everything good. The character meaning 'peace' depicts a woman under a roof. The character for 'discord,' however, is three women under one roof!
Moreover, Mandarin Chinese is key to doing business in the Far East. A significant number of international companies have long-term investments in China, and knowing Chinese lends a competitive edge. Forbes lists Mandarin Chinese as one of the three most universally useful languages, noting that it is especially helpful to know for those who work in the manufacturing or the financial sphere. Thanks to our global economy, those industries depend heavily on employees who can effectively communicate with foreign partners. The demand for fluent Mandarin-Chinese stockbrokers, in particular, has risen sharply in recent years.
Chinese has no alphabet. Each character is complete unto itself and each must be learned. However, Chinese has 214 radicals, the elements that make up the building blocks for almost every Chinese character. The pronunciation of each character is always one syllable alone, differentiated by tone (four tones in Mandarin Chinese, and nine in Cantonese).
There are at least fifty thousand Chinese characters, but you can carry on fairly sophisticated conversations with knowledge of a few hundred, and you'll be able to read a Chinese newspaper with between two and six thousand.
Chinese requires a different word for 'yes' and 'no' as an answer, depending on the question. That's less complicated than it sounds. When you pose a question in Chinese, you present both alternatives. Instead of 'Are you going?' you'll ask 'You go not go?' (Are you going or not?) The answers then become 'go' or 'not go.'