Shanghai Dialect
Useful Phrases and Expressions
| English | Chinese pinyin | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Shanghainese | ||
| Hello | ni hao | knee-how | nong haw |
| Goodbye | zai jian | tsai chee-en | tseh way |
| Thank you | xie xie | she-eh she-eh | shya shya |
| Sorry | dui bu qi | do-eh boo chee | tay ver ch'ee |
| you're welcome | bu ke qi | boo ke chee | ver k'uk ch'ee |
| correct/right | dui | do-eh | tay |
| telephone | dian hua | dee-an hwa | dee woo |
| surf the Web | shang wang | shang hwan | zang mang |
| toilet | ce suo | tsur swo | ts'i soo |
| turn left | zuo zhuan | dzwo joo-an | tsoo tsoe |
| turn right | you zhuan | Yew joo-an | yew tsoe |
| go straight | zhi zou | gee dzow | zuk tsew |
| hotel | jiu dian | gee-ow dee-an | jew tee |
| airport | fei ji chang | fay gee charn | fee jee zang |
| train station | huo che zhan | hoo-oh chir ge-an | hoo ts'oo zeh |
| metro | di tie | dee tee-eh | dee t'ik |
| taxi | chu zu che | choo dzoo chir | ts'uk tsi ts'oo |
| How much? | duo shao qian? | dwor shau chien? | jee dee? |
| too expensive | tai gui | tie gway | t'uk jyu |
| cheap | pian yi | pee-an yee | bee nee |
| too big | tai da | tie da | t'uk doo |
| too small | tai xiao | tie shee-au | t'uk shyo |
| beer | pi jiu | pee gee-ow | bee jew |
| water | shui | shoo-eh | si |
| tea | cha | char | zoo |
| settle the bill | mai dan | my dan | mah teh |
| bar/pub | jiu ba | gee-ow bar | jew pa |
| restaurant | can guan | tsan gwan | veh tee |
| police | jing cha | geen char | jin ts'uh |
Numbers
| English | Chinese pinyin | Pronunciation | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Shanghainese | ||
| one | yi | yee | yep |
| two | er | arl | lyang |
| three | san | san | seh |
| four | si | si | si |
| five | wu | woo | ng |
| six | liu | lee-yew | lok |
| seven | qi | chee | ch'ep |
| eight | ba | bar | puh |
| nine | jiu | gee-yew | che-ew |
| zero | ling | ling | lin |
