Before we look up the location words in Chinese, let me tell you a story. In my first year of teaching, I didn’t know much about China. One day my student asked me, “Tiffany I am going to Kenting next month to take a rest and have fun. Do you recommend any nice “jiǔdiàn” (hotel)? And I was so shocked! Because hotels in Taiwan we call it “fàndiàn.” (in China is “jiǔdiàn.”) However, “jiǔdiàn” in Taiwan means Mistress Clubs. So I was like what? You are asking me to recommend you a nice Mistress Club??
Store and Street Words in Chineses
| Simplify | China | Traditional | Taiwan | English | Korean | Japanese |
| 饭馆 | fànguǎn | 餐廳 | cāntīng | Restaurant | 식당 | レストラン |
| 店 | diàn | 店 | diàn | Store | 상점 | 店 |
| 电影院 | diànyǐngyuàn | 電影院 | diànyǐngyuàn | Movie theater | 영화관 | 映画館 |
| 酒店 | jiǔdiàn | 飯店 | fàndiàn | Hotel | 호텔 | ホテル |
| 旅馆 | lǚguǎn | 旅館 | lǚguǎn | Inn | 여관 | 旅館 |
| 商店 | shāngdiàn | 商店 | hāngdiàn | Shop | 가게 | 店 |
| 街 | jiē | 街 | jiē | Street | 거리 | 道 |
| 马路 | mǎlù | 馬路 | mǎlù | Big road | 큰길 | 大通り |
| 路 | lù | 路 | lù | Road | 길 | 道路 |
| 十字路口 | shízìlùkǒu | 十字路口 | shízìlùkǒu | Intersection | 사거리 | 交差点 |
Examples
小孩子一個人過馬路很危險
小孩子一个人过马路很危险
Xiǎoháizi yíge rén guò mǎlù hěn wéixiǎn.
Xiǎoháizi yíge rén guò mǎlù hěn wēixiǎn.
It is very dangerous for a child to cross the road alone.
我的夢想是開一家寵物咖啡店
我的梦想是开一家宠物咖啡店
Wǒ de mèngxiǎng shì kāi yìjiā chǒngwù kāfēi diàn.
My dream is to open a pet café.
Location Words in Chinese
| Simplify | China | Traditional | Taiwan | English | Korean | Japanese |
| 办公室 | bàngōngshì | 辦公室 | bàngōngshì | Office | 사무실 | 事務所 |
| 城市 | chéngshì | 城市 | chéngshì | City | 도시 | 都市 |
| 车站 | chēzhàn | 車站 | chēzhàn | Station | 역 | 駅 |
| 地方 | dìfang | 地方 | dìfāng | Places | 장소 | 場所 |
| 机场 | jīchǎng | 機場 | jīchǎng | Airport | 공항 | 空港 |
| 公司 | gōngsī | 公司 | gōngsī | Company | 회사 | 会社 |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | 公園 | gōngyuán | Park | 공원 | 公園 |
| 海边 | hǎibiān | 海邊 | hǎibiān | Beach | 해변 | ビーチ |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | 教室 | jiàoshì | Classroom | 교실 | 教室 |
| 市场 | shìchǎng | 市場 | shìchǎng | Market | 시장 | 市場 |
| 图书馆 | túshūguǎn | 圖書館 | túshūguǎn | Library | 도서관 | 図書館 |
| 医院 | yīyuàn | 醫院 | yīyuàn | Hospital | 병원 | 病院 |
| 邮局 | yóujú | 郵局 | yóujú | Post Office | 우체국 | 郵便局 |
| 银行 | yínháng | 銀行 | yínháng | Bank | 은행 | 銀行 |
Examples
我公司離車站很近
我公司离车站很近
Wǒ gōngsī lí chēzhàn hěn jìn.
My company is very close to the station.
麻煩請到國際機場第二航廈
麻烦请到国际机场第二航厦
Máfán qǐng dào guójì jīchǎng dìèr hángxià.
Máfan qǐng dào guójì jīchǎng dìèr hángshà.
Please go to the second terminal of the international airport.
T.M.I
The streets and roads in China and Taiwan are usually called xx Road (路Lù), xx Street (街jiē), or xx Boulevard (大道 Dà Dào). Most street signs are romanized in Pinyin in China, but not in Taiwan. Taiwan has two different systems to spell roads. One is Hanyu Pinyin, another is Tongyong Pinyin. It means the same place may have two different names. Such as ”信義“ can be either Xinyi or Hsinyi.
So why do we do that? Because Tongyong Pinyin is the system for someone who has never learned Chinese before can be more accessible to pronounce. Just like the example above, if you do not know any Hanyu Pinyin, you will have no idea how to pronounce “x” in Chinese.
A1 Location 1
