For expats, communicating in China can be one of the biggest challenges to overcome. When we were making plans to come to China, we were told that we wouldn’t need to speak, read, or write any Chinese. In reality, anything you can learn before you come will help you adjust so much easier. Familiarizing yourself with the sound of the language before you go. It will help you feel a little less out of place when you arrive.
I highly recommend listening to music and watching movies in Chinese before you come to China. If nothing else, do it on the plane ride!
Communicating in China
In larger cities you will most likely find people who speak enough English to communicate. Most signs and notices will be written in both Chinese and English. But in tier 2 and 3 cities you’ll find you won’t really be able to count on that, especially if you stray far from the city’s center. Body language and pointing can get you really far. In general, you can get by with translation services, but you’ll win a lot of locals over by trying to communicate in Chinese with them. It’s just polite to try, especially if you’re going to be in China for a longer period of time.
Chinese is a very difficult language to learn. It’s especially challenging for those who aren’t used to using tonal intonation in their own language. Speak slowly and try to enunciate very clearly. If you use the wrong tone, you may change the meaning of what you’re saying altogether, but don’t let that stop you from trying!
You may find that you still have to use translation apps for communicating in China, but people will respond much more kindly to you if you at least attempt to speak to them in Chinese. We once accidentally ordered an extra side of rice by trying to communicate with the waiter in a restaurant. She thought we were ordering more rice because we didn’t like the other food we ordered. We were eventually able to clear up the miscommunication with our translation app.
Learn Chinese
If you are interested in learning Chinese, there are some really great resources to get you started. Language learning apps are incredibly helpful and a great place to start! These apps are meant to teach you the language, so you may find that they don’t teach you the most practical language for communicating in China. Keep working with them, though. You’ll get there!
Duolingo
I am a huge fan of Duolingo, especially when combined with some of the other language learning apps. It gives you a good, well-rounded basis of the Chinese language that you can learn with quick, fun lessons. Read through the tips on each lesson for an explanation into what you’re learning.
The way the app is set up, it can be easy to follow along with sound alone, so be sure you’re paying attention to the characters as you’re learning. Also, make sure you’ve got the listening and speaking exercises turned on as you go through the lessons. Set your daily goal to Insane (50 experience points per day) for best results. Of course, you can always do more, if you have the time! Best of all, this app is free!
Memrise
Memrise is similar to Duolingo in many ways, but in order to use it most effectively, you will probably have to upgrade to the pro version which does have a small annual fee. This may be worth it for you, especially if you find that Duolingo is too text based for your learning style. One of the greatest things about this app is that it has audio and video clips of native speakers woven into the lessons so you will get a good feel for how the language really sounds.
Hello Chinese
This is a great app for learning Chinese. Even if you don’t use it as your main learning tool, I highly recommend checking it out at first. It goes in depth to explain some of the nuances of the Chinese language. Even if you just do the first few levels, it will give you a solid foundation and understanding of the pinyin (written pronunciation of the Chinese characters). This app is also free to use.
Chineasy
If you are a visual learner, this might be a great place to start! This app focuses on using brightly colored pictures to illustrate the Chinese characters to make them more memorable. It focuses more on learning the characters over the language itself but it can really be a helpful tool in addition to some of the other apps. Unfortunately, this app requires a paid membership if you want to go past the first eight levels. They also have flashcards and some books that you can order, too, but I haven’t used any of these.
Rosetta Stone
While I can’t speak for this as an app, we have used this program on our computers. Although it does teach a lot of Chinese vocabulary, there is absolutely no English in the lesson. They call it their Dynamic Immersion Method, and you just have to guess the meaning of the Chinese text based on what you see happening in the pictures. It is supposed to mimic the way we naturally learn our native language, simply by exposure and correlation.
It can sometimes be difficult to learn this way, but for many people it is a great method. Rosetta Stone is now available by annual subscription only, but once paid, the service works on multiple devices. You can also purchase the service through other retailers that offer the subscription with lifetime access to certain parts of the course as well.
Learn Chinese
This was an app we found on our Chinese phones, but it is available in the Google play store as well. Definitely download this one if you are traveling to China. This isn’t so much of a learning app as it is a Chinese-English dictionary of common words and phrases. It has them separated by category, and it lists both the Chinese characters, pinyin, as well as having an audio clip of the word in Chinese.
iTalki
This site allows you to hire a private tutor to work with you on learning the language through video chats. Though, I haven’t used it personally, I have no doubt that this could be a great way to enhance the Chinese speaking you’ve learned from other apps. This is the next step we’ll be taking to try to improve our Chinese!
Universities in China
If you’re really dedicated to learning Chinese, you can obtain a visa to study the language at one of the universities. This is an investment of both time and money for sure. If you’re serious about learning the language, this is the way to go! However, you must be accepted into a university before you can apply for a student visa.
Translations Options for Communicating in China
If you aren’t going to be in China for very long, learning the language probably isn’t going to be high on your priority list. Translation services can get you through the majority of situations. You may just have to take some educated guesses here and there. Just make sure you learn a few basic key phrases beforehand. Hello (你好 Nǐ hǎo) and Thank you (谢谢 Xièxiè) are essentials!
Google Translate
This app is a must have when visiting any country that doesn’t use your native language. It is especially useful in countries like China where everything is in characters (中国文字) and there’s no way for you to pronounce anything. Google Translate is a great tool for communicating in China. It has five different features: Text, Camera, Handwriting, Conversation, and Voice.
Text: Type anything and it will be auto translated for you.
Camera: Aim your camera at a foreign language to be translated.
Handwriting: Draw Chinese characters and see what they mean in English.
Conversation: Have a conversation in different languages by recording speech and having the app automatically translate the audio.
Voice: Basically, speech to foreign text.
A cool tip: At the top right of the Conversation menu there’s a little hand. If you tap it, it will give instructions in the foreign language you have selected. You can then let the person you’re trying to communicate with look at your phone so he or she knows that you want to have a conversation. It’s awkward and sometimes rude to walk up and try to use your phone as a communication device .
As great as Google Translate is, there is a downside. You have to have an internet connection to use anything other than the Text and Camera functions. If you have an international data plan or you plan on getting a Chinese SIM card when you get here then you’re good to go! You don’t have to be on a VPN for Google Translate to work, you just need to have internet access. If you don’t plan on having an international data plan or a Chinese SIM card then you’re going to need the next app in our list.
Dear Translate
DearTranslate is a simple app that is pretty similar to Google Translate. It’s not always as accurate as Google Translate but it still works well enough to have a conversation with someone. Sometimes, it can even be faster than Google Translate. The nice thing about DearTranslate is that once it’s downloaded, you don’t need internet access to use any of the features. Make sure you download the Chinese language pack first! There are three features: Text, Voice, and Camera. All of the features work the same as Google Translate, except for the Camera feature. You have to actually take a photo first, and then it will scan the photo and give you the translation.
Whatever translation service you’re using, be sure to use the most basic version of what you are trying to say. Avoid any slang phrase or anything that may not translate clearly. You want to be as direct as you possibly can.
Tip: Most stores and restaurants have free WiFi with the password written on the wall or counter. You don’t even have to ask! That way you can still use Google Translate since it does a little better translating the text from the camera feature. You can also try comparing both apps to see if it helps you understand the Chinese text more clearly.
We Chat
This is the “everything app” in China. It’s China’s social media platform, digital wallet, contact list, food delivery, translator, and just about anything else you can think of app! You may not be able to get WeChat if you don’t get a Chinese phone number when you get here.
We downloaded it on our Verizon phones before coming to China, but WeChat is really cracking down on the security of their accounts. Through a mix of it being registered on a US phone number and that same phone having a VPN installed we got locked out several different times. Now we only use WeChat on our Chinese phones. However, if you end up studying or working in China long term, you will probably want to look into it! It’s great for communicating in China with native speakers through text because it has a translation feature built directly into the messaging system.
Be adventurous
At the end of the day, just smile, make eye contact, and try your best. Learning a new language takes years and lots of practice! You aren’t going to master it right away, and even translating things with technology is only going to get you part of the way. Some of our most memorable moments here have been made while communicating with locals in China.
For example, we ordered what Google Translate told us was a “palace of stacked chicken” from a restaurant we had never tried. It ended up being one of my absolute favorite dishes we’ve had in China!
Do you have tips for communicating in China? How have you managed to cross the language barrier when traveling abroad? Let us know in the comments below!
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