Pronouns

The following are the Chinese equivalents of the English pronouns:

'wǒ' - I / me;

'nǐ' - you (singular);

'tā' - he / she / it

To refer to more than one person, simply add 'mén' after the above pronouns. For example:

'wǒ mén' - we / us;

'nǐ mén' - you (plural);

'tā mén' - they / them

Now that we have learnt the pronouns, we are on our way to start saying short sentences.

Greetings

The easiest way to greet people in Chinese is 'Nǐ hǎo。' which means 'Hello.' In Chinese, 'nǐ' is 'you', 'hǎo' means 'good'. In response to 'Nǐ hǎo。', you can simply say 'Nǐ hǎo。' back.

Other greetings include the following:

'Zǎo shàng hǎo。' = Good morning.

'Zhōng wǔ hǎo。' = Good noon.

'Xià wǔ hǎo。' = Good afternoon.

'Wǎn shàng hǎo。' = Good evening.

Try using the greetings with your Chinese-speaking friends and see how they respond.

Chinese Names

Chinese people have family names and given names. However, unlike English names, Chinese last names come first while Chinese first names come last. For example, a famous Chinese film director is called 'Zhang Yimou'. His surname is 'Zhang' and his first name is 'Yimou'.

In China, when a woman gets married, she doesn't have to change her surname. In fact, most women don't. However, there is a phenomenon (mostly seen in Hong Kong) that a woman would add her husband's surname before her full name.

As a foreigner in China, you may find it useful to have a Chinese name (something that sounds like your original name and has a good meaning). Many Chinese people have English (or foreign) names. I guess it's all about finding common ground and making better communication. The video below is about names and really fun to watch.

Sexy Beijing - Lost in Translation - Danwei TV