Mengjun Liu

Making small talk in Chinese is just the same as in English. Touch on familiar topics like jobs, sports, children — just say it in Chinese! Small talk describes the brief conversations that you have with people you don't know well. Small talk is where friendships are made. If you know how to make small talk in Chinese you'll be able to "break the ice" and get to know some of the people you meet during your trip.

The Chinese language has some distinct sounds that are can be tricky to pronounce. To be understood in Chinese, you need to know how to pronounce these sounds, which tend to give English speakers some trouble. Once you get the hang of it, the Chinese sound system isn’t as difficult as you may have thought. Tricky vowel sounds Vowel sounds can be especially troublesome.

When making plans, appointments, and travel arrangements in Chinese-speaking countries, you need to be able to state dates and other calendar terms in Chinese. Knowing how to say and understand dates, the days of the week, and the months of the year can help you to avoid confusion. Days of the week Days in Chinese are very simple: Monday through Saturday are days (xīngqi) 1 through 6, while Sunday is either "day of sky" (xīngqitiān) or "day of the sun" (xīngqirì).

In most Chinese-speaking countries, people are more formal than in the United States. They prefer to set appointments for most everything. So, know how to make appointments in Chinese so that you don't waste any time. Whether you want to get together with friends or make an appointment at the embassy, the following words will come in handy.

Thanks to the global nature of many Chinese businesses today, speaking Chinese at work is quickly becoming a primary reason for people to learn Chinese. Whether you’re looking for a job in a Chinese-language location or just need to talk with coworkers there, you'll need to know some key words and phrases to help ease your way.

Learning numbers and counting in Chinese is simplified because the Chinese number system is extremely regular. The entire number system is based on counting the number of tens and then adding the ones. For example, 11 is shíyî, which is 10 (shí) plus 1 (yî); 21 is èrshíyī, which is 2 (èr) times 10 (shí) plus 1 (yî).

Thanks to the global nature of many Russian businesses today, speaking Russian at work is quickly becoming a primary reason for people to learn Russian. Whether you’re looking for a job in a Russian-speaking country or just need to talk with coworkers there, you'll need to know some key words and phrases to help ease your way.

Traveling in a Chinese-speaking country can be confusing if you can't read the signs or understand the instructions you're given. Learning a few useful travel-related words and phrases in Chinese before you begin traveling can save you time and reduce your frustration level. General travel vocabulary Here are a few general travel-related terms that everyone should know before making the big trip.

Exploring Chinese-speaking countries can be quite an adventure, but if you want to be sure to see everything on your list, you need to know how to ask for directions and how to understand the directions you are given. After all, if you don't know how to understand what you're told, you might miss the very things you hoped to see.