Collins Dictionaries - Collins Mandarin Chinese Visual Dictionary

Published by Collins An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Westerhill Road Bishopbriggs Glasgow G64 2QT First Edition 2019 HarperCollins Publishers 2019 Collins is a registered trademark of HarperCollins Publishers Limited Ebook Edition March 2019 ISBN: 9780008319946 Version: 2019-03-26 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins. Entered words that we have reason to believe constitute trademarks have been designated as such. However, neither the presence nor absence of such designation should be regarded as affecting the legal status of any trademark. HarperCollins does not warrant that any website mentioned in this title will be provided uninterrupted, than any website will be error free, that defects will be corrected, or that the website or the server that makes it available are free of viruses or bugs.

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Whether youre on holiday or staying for a slightly longer period of time, your Collins Visual Dictionary is designed to help you find exactly what you need, when you need it. With over a thousand clear and helpful images, you can quickly locate the vocabulary you are looking for. The Visual Dictionary includes:

• 10 chapters arranged thematically, so that you can easily find what you need to suit the situation
• images illustrating essential items
• YOU MIGHT SAY common phrases that you might want to use
• YOU MIGHT HEAR common phrases that you might come across
• VOCABULARY common words that you might need
• YOU SHOULD KNOW tips about local customs or etiquette

USING YOUR COLLINS VISUAL DICTIONARY The points set out below will help to make sure that your Collins Visual Dictionary gives you as much help as possible when using Mandarin Chinese: 1) How to address people politely At work, you can call your peers by their names a rule of thumb is to always address people by their job title or occupation with their family name first, for example, (zhang lao shi), Zhang teacher. You may also hear (xiao Wang), literally young Wang or (lao Li), old Li in the workplace depending on age and seniority, although this is rather informal.

When invited to meet a friends family, unless they are younger or roughly the same age, you shouldnt call them by their names. You can call their grandparents (ye ye/nai nai) grandfather/grandmother, and their parents or anyone in that generation (shu shu/ y) uncle/auntie, as if they were your own relatives. Addressing the older generations by their names is considered very rude in Chinese culture. or Although both are translated as you in English, is used to show respect when addressing, for example, your parents, grandparents, or boss. On the other hand, is used to address friends and peers. 2) Measure words Measure words are unique to Chinese, and are mandatory when using a noun with a numeral, for example, one car is (y ling ch) and three bedrooms is (sn jin w sh).

In these cases, the measure words are (ling) and (jin) respectively. There are many different measure words in Chinese, and they are used for different types of objects. The most common measure word is (g) and this can be treated as a default option when you dont know the exact measure word to use. 3) Tones forand To maintain consistency, we use y (first tone) as the Pinyin for the character and bu (fourth tone) for the character . This is in line with the authoritative Contemporary Chinese Dictionary. However, the pronunciations for these two characters may vary according to the tones of the characters that proceed or follow them, as shown below:

TONE	EXAMPLES
When its the last character of a phrase or sentence	First tone	(d y) first (tng y) unity
When followed by characters of the first, second, and third tones	Fourth tone	(y tin) one day (y q) together
When followed by characters of the fourth tone	Second tone	(y y) one night (y qi) all

TONE	EXAMPLES
When its the last character of a phrase or sentence	Fourth tone	(ju bu) never (y bu) nor
When followed by characters of the first, second, and third tones	Fourth tone	(bu xng) no (bu ho) bad
When followed by characters of the fourth tone	Second tone	(bu cu) good (bu qu) not going to

FREE AUDIO We have created a free audio resource to help you learn and practise the Chinese words for all of the images shown in this dictionary.

The Chinese words in each chapter are spoken by native speakers, giving you the opportunity to listen to each word twice and repeat it yourself. Download the audio from the website below to learn all of the vocabulary you need for communicating in Chinese. www.collinsdictionary.com/resources

Whether youre going to be visiting China, or even staying there for a while, youll want to be able to chat with people and get to know them better. Being able to communicate effectively with acquaintances, friends, family, and colleagues is key to becoming more confident in Mandarin Chinese in a variety of everyday situations. umbrella sn 1. blue ln s de 3. red hng s de 4. yellow hung s de 5. white bi s de 6. black hi s de Hello. n ho Hi! hi Good morning/evening. zo/wn shng ho Good afternoon. xi w ho Good night. wn n See you soon. hu tu jin See you tomorrow. mng tin jin Bye! zi jin Have a good day! jn tin gu de y kui Yes. sh de No. b sh I dont know. w b zh do please qng Yes, please. ho de , qng Thank you. xi xie No, thanks. b , xi xie Excuse me. qng wn Sorry? shn me Im sorry. du b q OK! ho de Youre welcome. b k q I dont understand. w mi tng dng YOU SHOULD KNOW Shaking hands is important for Chinese people when meeting and parting, especially in formal settings. w mi tng dng YOU SHOULD KNOW Shaking hands is important for Chinese people when meeting and parting, especially in formal settings.

However, a kiss on the cheek or an embrace might be considered rude as most people are still unfamiliar with these gestures of affection.

How old are you? n du sho su When is your birthday? n de shng r sh shn me sh hou Im years old. w su I was born in w sh shng de Where do you live? n zh n l Where are you from? n cng n l li Im from w cng li I live in w zh zi Im w sh Scottish s g ln de/rn English yng g ln de/rn Irish i r ln de/rn Welsh wi r sh de/rn British yng gu de/rn Are you married/single? n ji hn le/dn shn ma Im married. w ji hn le I have a partner. w yu bn l Im single. w l hn le Im widowed. w sng u Do you have any children? n yu hi zi ma I have children. w yu g hi zi I dont have any children. w mi yu hi zi