Languages and English in China

What you need to know

You can travel independently in China without speaking Chinese.

But do not assume English will work everywhere.

The most useful combination is:

• a few Mandarin phrases;
• Chinese place names saved on your phone;
• camera translation;
• Amap (高德地图);
• hotel and transport information written in Chinese.

Putonghua

China's national standard spoken language is:

Putonghua (普通话, Pǔtōnghuà)

commonly called Mandarin Chinese in English.

Regional languages and varieties

Travelers may hear Mandarin, Cantonese / Yue (粤语), Wu varieties (吴语), Min varieties (闽语), Hakka (客家话), Xiang (湘语), Gan (赣语) and minority languages including Tibetan, Uyghur, Mongolian and Korean.

Simplified Chinese

On the mainland, travelers usually see simplified Chinese characters.

Pinyin

Hanyu Pinyin (汉语拼音) represents Mandarin pronunciation with Latin letters.

Examples:

Beijing — Běijīng — 北京
Shanghai — Shànghǎi — 上海
Thank you — Xièxie — 谢谢

Where English is more likely

• international hotels;
• major airports;
• some high-speed railway services;
• major museums;
• central tourist attractions;
• international restaurants.

Save Chinese names

Before leaving the hotel, save the Chinese name for your hotel, railway station, attraction, restaurant and airport.

This is one of the highest-value habits in the entire guide.