Most Important Words in China

The other day, in contemplating how easy it is to get around a place where you understand the culture (mostly) and the language (fully), I came up with this top 5 list of the most important Chinese phrases in the world to learn. These are sort of like 'must know' basics of basics, to maneuver and position oneself in China. (They work in Chinatowns too):

谢谢 Xie4xie 　“Thanks.” The Chinese aren’t big on ‘please’, but they love thank you so much that they’ll often hit you with a barrage of it, ‘xiexiexiexiexiexiexiexie’. True, sometimes it’s in a way to get rid of you… sometimes it’s in genuine thanks, and sometimes it’s because they don’t know what the hell you are talking about. But nonetheless, it’s the universal word that means gratitude. We’ll leave the cultural lesson of discerning what they are actually showing gratitude for, up to you.

听不懂 (Ting1 bu dong3) “I don’t understand what you are saying.” This phrase is your best friend, go-to and solace. When the barrage of Chinese follows your perfectly accented ‘ni hao’, this phrase, immediately upon being uttered, will instantly replace any looks of irritation, impatience, or xenophobia with something else: ill-concealed laughter, countenances of compassion (feigned or mockery, possibly) and an immediate switch to the language that transcends all national, political and cultural boundaries… ‘Charades’.

不知道 (Bu4 zhi1dao) “I don’t know.” You may hear this phrase more than use it, however learn from the Chinese how to bu zhidao every situation you wish to evade, play dumb about, or avoid.

不好意思 (Bu4hao3yi4si) “Sorry.” You’re likely going to be needing to apologize a lot, what with tone errors that change your intended meaning from a polite query of ‘May I ask’ into ‘Please, kiss me’. Will equip you well to ward off face slaps. In fact, you can just throw this word out at random, just to be on the safe side of etiquette. Buhaoyisi literally means ‘bad feeling’, and can be used to apologize to all the dainty toes your oversized foreign feet will step on in the crowded subway, to repent over some cultural faux pas you likely don’t know you’ve committed, or to just curry favor, in general.

让一下 (Rang yixia) “Let me through.” Buhaoyisi’s slightly stronger cousin. Use this when you’re trapped in a subway car and can’t get out, or stymied in your efforts to crowd-worm through a city of 18 million people. (Rang yixia) is guaranteed to have people jumping out of the way, parting the Red Sea, or doing whatever it takes to let the foreign devil through!