Common phrases in Mandarin for going on holiday (including road biking essentials!)
Planning for your road biking trip to Taiwan with Pedal Taiwan? Discover some useful words, vocabulary and phrases you need to help you with day to day actions and to keep your trusty bike in tip-top condition.
1) How are you?
Chinese: Nǐ hǎo ma? 你好吗
“Nǐ hǎo ma?” (nǐ = you, hǎo = good, ma = ?)
literally means “You good?”
This phrase can be used in two contexts:
As a “How are you?”
Or as an “Are you ok?”
2) Is It Good or Bad?
Chinese: Hǎo bù hǎo? 好不好
Hǎo can mean ‘good’ and also means “ok”.
Bùhǎo means ‘not good‘.
These two can be combined together to give you “Hǎo bù hǎo?“, a question meaning ‘Is it Good or not good?’ or simply ‘Is it ok?’
3) Sorry
Chinese: Duì bu qǐ 对不起
This commonly used phrase can be used in two ways’ to apologize for something or to ask someone to repeat what they said.
Duì actually means ‘correct’ and is another good word to learn, used to indicate agreement.
4) Do you have [something]?
Chinese: Yǒu méi yǒu [insert thing/object etc.]? 有没有 …?
The word Yǒu means to have and méiyǒu means to not have. This phrase can be literally translated as “do you have or not have …?”
e.g.
Chinese: 有没有轮胎?
English: Do you have a tire/tires?
5) How Much is This?
Chinese: Duōshao qián? 多少钱?
This phrase is a combinations of the words duō (much) and shǎo (few), which together mean “how much/many?”. The word Qián means ‘money’.
6) What is this?
Chinese: Zhè shì shénme? 这是什么?
You can use this phrase to express your interest in something or to learn new words.
There are three important words being combined here: Zhè (this), shì (is), and shénme (what). Saying this whilst pointing at the item in question, is used to find out what things are called.
Some Essential Cycling Vocabulary You Should Know
Bike 自行车 zìxíngchē
Wheel 轮 lún
Brakes 刹车 shāchē
Handlebars 车把 chēbǎ
Chain 链条 liàntiáo
Gears 变速器 biànsùqì
Tire 轮胎 lúntāi
Inner tube 内胎 nèitāi
Pedals 踏板 tàbǎn
Some Useful Road Cycling Phrases
My tire has a puncture
我的轮胎被刺穿了
wǒ de lúntāi bèi cìchuān le
My tires need more air
我的轮胎需要加气
wǒ de lúntāi xūyào jiā qì
My chain needs oiling
我的链条需要上油
wǒ de liàntiáo xūyào shàng yóu
My chain has fallen off
我的链条掉了
wǒ de liàntiáo diào le