Life Words in Chinese

Posted on by tiffany

Chinese Vocabulary · 中文词汇

Life Words in Chinese

生活词汇 shēnghuó cíhuì

Before we get into the vocab, here’s a fun fact. In Taiwan, cash is still very important — many small local vendors don’t accept credit cards, so it’s worth carrying some with you. No need to worry about safety, either: Taiwan has consistently ranked among the safest countries in the world in global crime-index comparisons. And if you run out of cash, there’s an ATM in pretty much every convenience store.

A quick reference

Cost of Living

TaipeiBeijing
Meal, inexpensive restaurant$4.01$5.41
Meal for 2, mid-range, three-course$31.67$33.26
McMeal at McDonald’s (combo meal)$5.18$5.41
Domestic beer (0.5L draught)$1.80$1.55
Cappuccino (regular)$3.29$4.53
Milk, regular (1L)$3.35$1.88
Cigarettes, 20-pack (Marlboro)$4.32$3.09
1 pair of jeans (Levi’s 501 or similar)$87.32$70.86
1 summer dress, chain store (Zara, H&M…)$35.35$37.55
Rent, 1BR apartment, city centre$714.58$1,097.47
Rent, 1BR apartment, outside centre$480.16$625.52
Preschool, full day, private, monthly$635.17$882.08
Average monthly net salary (after tax)$1,671.21$1,417.96

Everyday items

Part 1 Life Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
牙刷yáshuāToothbrush칫솔歯ブラシ
钱包qiánbāoWallet돈지갑財布
护照hùzhàoPassport여권パスポート
照片zhàopiànPhoto사진写真
行李xíngliBaggage여행짐荷物
钥匙yàoshiKey열쇠鍵
刀(子)dāo(zi)Knife칼刀
叉(子)chā(zi)Fork포크フォーク
汤匙tāngchíSpoon스푼スプーン
筷子kuàiziChopsticks젓가락箸
袋子dàiziBag, sack봉투袋

💡 Curious why so many everyday Chinese words end in (zi)? There’s a post on that.

Putting it all together

Examples

请qǐng出示chūshì您nín的de护照hùzhào Please show me your passport.

要yào袋子dàizi吗ma Do you want to buy a bag?

💡 In Taiwan, vendors can’t hand out plastic bags for free — if you didn’t bring your own, the clerk will ask if you want to buy one.

Reading, paying, pricing

Part 2 Life Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
杂志zázhìMagazine잡지雑誌
文章wénzhāngArticle글文章
故事gùshiStory이야기物語
小说xiǎoshuōNovel소설小說
盒子héziBox상자箱
明信片míngxìnpiànPostcard엽서葉書
纸zhǐPaper종이紙
卡片kǎpiànCard카드カード
信用卡xìnyòngkǎCredit card신용 카드クレジットカード
价格jiàgéPrice가격価格
价钱jiàqiánPrice, value값価値

刷卡

The verb that goes with 信用卡 (xìnyòngkǎ, “credit card”) is (shuā) — literally “to swipe.”

价格 vs 价钱

价格 (jiàgé) includes a subjective sense of value — whether you think it’s worth it. 价钱 (jiàqián) simply refers to the price itself, more objectively.

Putting it all together

Examples

请问qǐngwèn你们nǐmen接受jiēshòu刷卡shuākǎ吗ma Do you accept credit cards?

这zhè个gè价格jiàgé很hěn合理hélǐ This price is very reasonable.

这zhè本běn书shū的de价钱jiàqián是shì100yìbǎi块kuài钱qián The price of this book is 100 dollars.

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz

A2
Do you like it? 🙂