Language & the Apps You Need
English is rare outside hotels and museums, and it matters far less than it used to. Camera translation and a dozen phrases will carry you through.
Photo: Wang Xianzhi（344–386） · Public domain
Assume that nobody you meet speaks English, and be pleasantly surprised when someone does. Hotel front desks in major cities, museum staff, airline and rail counters at big stations, and younger people in Shanghai and Shenzhen are the exceptions. Everywhere else — restaurants, taxis, shops, small-town anything — you are working across a language gap.
This used to be a serious constraint on independent travel. It is now largely a solved problem, because live camera translation genuinely works on printed Chinese, and because the practical business of travel has moved into apps that handle the transaction for you. You will not have deep conversations. You will have no trouble getting fed, transported and housed.
The essential apps
| App | For | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Alipay | Payments, metro, taxis, tickets | The single most important app. Set up before you fly |
| Messaging, payments, mini-programs | Everyone you deal with will want to reach you here | |
| Google Translate | Camera and voice translation | Download the offline Chinese pack — it works even though the online service is blocked |
| Pleco | Dictionary | The best Chinese dictionary in existence. Free, offline, with handwriting input |
| Trip.com | Trains, flights, hotels, attractions | English, foreign cards, reliable |
| Didi | Taxis | English interface; also available inside Alipay |
| Amap (高德) or Baidu Maps | Navigation | Far better than Google Maps in China. Amap has a passable English mode |
| Dianping | Restaurant reviews | The domestic Yelp. Chinese-only but the photos and ratings are usable |
How to use camera translation well
- Hold steady and get the whole line in frame. Menus with vertical text confuse it; photograph and translate from the still image instead.
- Handwritten characters — chalkboard menus, market signs — fail often. Point and ask instead.
- Translate your question into Chinese and show the screen. This works far better than speaking it.
- For addresses, never rely on translation. Have the hotel's card, or a screenshot of the name in Chinese characters.
Twelve phrases that earn their keep
| English | Chinese | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello | 你好 | nee-how |
| Thank you | 谢谢 | shieh-shieh |
| Sorry / excuse me | 不好意思 | boo-how-yee-suh |
| How much? | 多少钱？ | dwoh-shao chyen |
| Too expensive | 太贵了 | tie-gway-luh |
| I don't understand | 我听不懂 | waw ting-boo-dong |
| Not spicy, please | 不要辣 | boo-yao lah |
| I'm vegetarian | 我吃素 | waw chir-soo |
| Where is the toilet? | 洗手间在哪里？ | shee-show-jyen dzai na-lee |
| This one, please | 这个 | juh-guh |
| The bill, please | 买单 | my-dahn |
| I don't want it | 我不需要 | waw boo shü-yao |
On tones, briefly
Mandarin has four tones and getting them wrong changes the word. You will get them wrong. This matters much less than you fear: context carries most of it, people are patient with obvious foreigners, and 'nee-how' said flatly is understood everywhere. Do not let tone anxiety stop you from trying — the effort is noticed and appreciated far out of proportion to its accuracy.
→Next guide
How to Eat in China
There is no such thing as Chinese food — there are at least eight major regional cuisines, and the one you know from home is a narrow slice of one of them.