Chinese Travel Phrases | HSK Study Notes

Travel Chinese is less about memorizing a giant phrasebook and more about making the essential information visible: destination, timing, and one confirmation question. Almost every useful travel sentence pairs a short phrase with something you show — a map pin, a menu, a booking screen.

If you have not covered introductions yet, greetings and introductions gives you the opening lines this page builds on.

Taxis and getting around

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
请送我到这个地址。	Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ.	Please take me to this address.
大概需要多久？	Dàgài xūyào duō jiǔ?	About how long will it take?
在这里停就可以了。	Zài zhèlǐ tíng jiù kěyǐ le.	You can stop right here.
请开发票。	Qǐng kāi fāpiào.	Please give me a receipt.
我迷路了。	Wǒ mílù le.	I am lost.
可以帮我吗？	Kěyǐ bāng wǒ ma?	Can you help me?

Do not try to pronounce an unfamiliar street name. Show the address on your phone and say 请送我到这个地址 (Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ), then ask 大概需要多久？ (Dàgài xūyào duō jiǔ?) so you know whether the route matches what you expected. Where metered taxis are the norm, check that the meter is running; where rides are booked through an app, the fare is agreed before you set off. Confirm the price or the meter at the start rather than at the destination, and buy tickets at official counters or through official apps.

Conversation: confirm before you leave

Passenger: 请送我到这个地址。大概需要多久？
(Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ. Dàgài xūyào duō jiǔ?)
Driver: 不堵车的话，二十分钟左右。
(Bù dǔchē de huà, èrshí fēnzhōng zuǒyòu.)
Passenger: 好的，谢谢。可以在这里停一下吗？
(Hǎo de, xièxie. Kěyǐ zài zhèlǐ tíng yíxià ma?)

左右 (zuǒyòu) after a number means “about” or “or so” — a very common way to give an estimate. 不堵车的话 (bù dǔchē de huà) is “if there is no traffic”; the pattern …的话 (…de huà) turns almost anything into “if …”.

Conversation: correct the destination

Traveller: 不好意思，不是这里。请去这个地址。
(Bù hǎoyìsi, bú shì zhèlǐ. Qǐng qù zhège dìzhǐ.)
Driver: 好，我知道了。
(Hǎo, wǒ zhīdào le.)

Correcting a route is a normal, low-drama exchange. 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi) softens it, and pointing at the screen does most of the work.

Shopping and prices

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
这个多少钱？	Zhège duōshao qián?	How much is this?
太贵了。	Tài guì le.	That is too expensive.
便宜一点。	Piányi yìdiǎn.	A little cheaper, please.
可以刷卡吗？	Kěyǐ shuākǎ ma?	Can I pay by card?
我看看。	Wǒ kànkan.	I am just looking.

Prices come back at you as spoken numbers, so numbers are the single highest-value thing to drill before a trip — Chinese numbers covers counting and prices. When you cannot catch the figure, ask the seller to show it on a calculator or phone screen.

Bargaining is expected in some markets and not at all in shops with fixed prices; watch what other customers do before you try 便宜一点 (piányi yìdiǎn). 我看看 (Wǒ kànkan) is the polite way to browse without committing. Sizes, colors and trying things on are covered in shopping in Chinese.

Eating out

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
我要这个。	Wǒ yào zhège.	I would like this one.
菜单	càidān	menu
不要辣。	Bú yào là.	Not spicy, please.
买单。	Mǎidān.	The bill, please.
很好吃。	Hěn hǎochī.	It is delicious.

Pointing at the menu and saying 我要这个 (Wǒ yào zhège) will carry you through most meals. For allergies and dietary needs, prepare the sentence in writing before you travel rather than improvising it — ordering in restaurants has the fuller set.

Hotels

Chinese	Pinyin	Meaning
我预订了房间。	Wǒ yùdìng le fángjiān.	I have a reservation.
我想办理入住。	Wǒ xiǎng bànlǐ rùzhù.	I would like to check in.
可以寄存行李吗？	Kěyǐ jìcún xíngli ma?	Can I leave my luggage here?
Wi-Fi密码是什么？	Wi-Fi mìmǎ shì shénme?	What is the Wi-Fi password?

Check-in goes fastest when you hand over your passport and show the booking screen while you speak. Room problems and late check-out are covered in hotel Chinese.

When you cannot find the meeting point

A: 你现在在哪里？
(Nǐ xiànzài zài nǎlǐ?)
B: 我在地铁站出口，可是没看到你。
(Wǒ zài dìtiě zhàn chūkǒu, kěshì méi kàndào nǐ.)
A: 你在几号出口？我过去找你。
(Nǐ zài jǐ hào chūkǒu? Wǒ guòqu zhǎo nǐ.)

When you are lost, trade landmarks and exit numbers rather than street addresses. 我在…附近 (wǒ zài… fùjìn), “I’m near…”, is usually more useful than a full address, and metro exits are numbered, which makes them easy to say: 三号出口 (sān hào chūkǒu), exit 3.

The “show it” strategy

Your pronunciation does not have to be perfect if the information is on screen. Three sentences do most of the work:

我要去这里。 (Wǒ yào qù zhèlǐ.) — I want to go here. (showing a map)
我预订了房间。 (Wǒ yùdìng le fángjiān.) — I have a reservation. (showing the booking)
请帮我写一下。 (Qǐng bāng wǒ xiě yíxià.) — Could you write it down for me?

That last one is the one travellers forget. When you cannot catch an address, a price or a time, asking for it in writing solves the problem immediately — more reliably than asking someone to repeat it. More ways to interrupt and check are in checking and clarifying.

Build a “show card” before you travel

Put the following on one screen, saved offline, before you leave:

Your accommodation name, address and phone number in Chinese characters
The Chinese names of the places you plan to visit
Any allergies or foods you cannot eat
An emergency contact and your insurance details

Signs and menus you cannot read are exactly what a dictionary app with handwriting input is for — you can look up a character you cannot pronounce.

Three phrases worth over-learning

谢谢。 (Xièxie.) — Thank you.
对不起。 (Duìbuqǐ.) — Sorry.
听不懂。 (Tīng bu dǒng.) — I do not understand.

Do not stop at 听不懂 (tīng bu dǒng). Follow it with 请写一下 (qǐng xiě yíxià) so the conversation moves forward instead of stalling.

Takeaway

Learn phrases in the pairs you will actually use them in: a sentence plus something you show.
Drill numbers before anything else — prices, times and platform numbers all depend on them.
Prepare your address, allergies and emergency contacts in Chinese in advance, offline.

Related: directions and transport for routes and tickets, hotels for check-in and room problems, and emergency Chinese for the situations you hope not to need.

By the end of this chapter, you can say

请送我到这个地址。 (Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ.)

Practical note for this chapter

From arrival to transport, meals, housing and getting help when something changes. In this chapter, practice giving a short response and then checking what matters.

Use it in context

A: 您想去哪里？ (Nín xiǎng qù nǎlǐ?)
B: 请送我到这个地址。 (Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ.)

Phrase map for this chapter

Question or situation: 您想去哪里？ (Nín xiǎng qù nǎlǐ?)
Central response: 请送我到这个地址。 (Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ.)
Another natural way to say it: 麻烦您送我到这里。 (Máfan nín sòng wǒ dào zhèlǐ.); Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.
How to use it: Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

Turn the model into three conversation turns

1. Open the situation您想去哪里？ (Nín xiǎng qù nǎlǐ?)
2. Say the central response请送我到这个地址。 (Qǐng sòng wǒ dào zhège dìzhǐ.)
3. Add an alternative麻烦您送我到这里。 (Máfan nín sòng wǒ dào zhèlǐ.)

Before acting, check the point most likely to cause a misunderstanding. This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

A useful variation

Keep the same purpose, then change the person, time or place to make it your own.

麻烦您送我到这里。 (Máfan nín sòng wǒ dào zhèlǐ.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

A common trap

For important details, do not decide from what you think you heard; check written information when needed.

上车先给地址或地图；不要只说地名。 (Shàng chē xiān gěi dìzhǐ huò dìtú; bú yào zhǐ shuō dìmíng.)

This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

Three-step practice

Open the situation in one short phrase
Say the central response
Add one detail of your own

Chinese Travel Phrases — Taxis, Shopping, Hotels and Small Problems