Airport Chinese essential
Learn Chinese for airport check-in, counters, boarding gates, and boarding times, with audio, tone-mark pinyin, and situation practice.
Inside an airport, a familiar number is only useful if you know what it identifies. Counter 3, Gate 3, and Terminal 3 can be entirely different places. Keep the flight number and boarding information visible, then name the place you need: a check-in counter, security entrance, or boarding gate.
登机口在哪里？
Where is the boarding gate?
登机口改到十八号了。
The boarding gate has changed to Gate 18.
改到 introduces the new gate. 十八号 is 18, not 八号 (8).
是十八号登机口吗？
Is it Gate 18?
Practice this reply in the trainer几点开始登机？
What time does boarding start?
七点半开始登机，八点起飞。
Boarding starts at seven thirty. Takeoff is at eight.
七点半 goes with 开始登机, start boarding. 八点 refers to departure.
好，七点半开始登机。
Okay, boarding starts at seven thirty.
Practice this reply in the trainerBoarding and departure are another common trap. Check boarding and departure times separately. The language here helps you ask and read back the relevant detail. Compare your boarding pass with the current flight display, especially after a gate announcement.
phrases to hear, say, and use today
Use this before check-in when you need the relevant counter or area. After check-in, ask 登机口在哪里 for the gate.
柜台 is the information-bearing word. 三号 is number three; neither word tells you a boarding time.
Show the boarding pass or flight number so staff can identify the gate for your flight.
This asks when boarding starts. Ask 几点起飞 for takeoff time and 几点停止登机 for the boarding cutoff.
办理登机手续 is checking in. 登机口 is the boarding gate; 登机牌 is the boarding pass you show. After check-in, 登机口在哪里 asks where to find the boarding gate. Show the flight number if staff need to identify which gate you mean. The nouns identify different things even though each begins with 登机.
在三号柜台 means at counter number three. The number alone cannot distinguish a counter from a gate. 柜台 tells you which kind of sign to look for. If a reply includes 航站楼, it refers to a terminal, not a check-in desk. If you miss the label, ask staff to point to the relevant sign or write down the complete location.
改到 introduces a new location. In 登机口改到十八号了, the change is to gate eighteen, not to a time of eighteen hundred. Ask 是十八号登机口吗 to confirm the complete label. Compare a printed gate number with the latest announcement or display. Ask airline staff if the sources disagree.
这件可以随身带吗 asks whether this item can be carried with you. 托运 means putting an item into checked baggage. Baggage allowances depend on the carrier and booking, so do not turn a language example into an allowance rule. If you are unsure, show the actual item and ticket and ask what staff require before repacking or paying anything.
八号 is number eight; 十八号 is number eighteen. The initial 十 is easy to miss when you are concentrating on the final digit. Repeat the full label 十八号登机口 so staff can confirm the gate. Now compare 八点, eight o'clock: 点 changes the number into a clock time, while 号 with 登机口 labels a gate. 上午 and 下午 distinguish morning and afternoon when those words are used. If you miss a time, ask staff to show it on the current flight information. A clear written confirmation is more useful than confidently repeating the wrong number.
qǐng xiān qù ān jiǎn.
Please go through security first.
先 marks the next required stage. Security is the next stage in the route.
dēng jī kǒu biàn le.
The gate has changed.
Ask for the new gate and confirm its label with your flight information.
zhè jiàn xū yào tuō yùn.
This item needs to be checked in.
The reply concerns the item being shown. Ask the relevant staff what to do with it; do not infer a general baggage policy.
The staff member names the next action: security first, then the gate. 先 tells you which stage to complete before continuing.
qǐng wèn, wǒ xiàn zài qù dēng jī kǒu ma?
Should I go to the gate now?
qǐng xiān qù ān jiǎn, zài qù dēng jī kǒu.
Go through security first, then go to the gate.
ān jiǎn rù kǒu zài nǎ biān?
Which way is the security entrance?
qián mian yòu biān.
Ahead on the right.
The traveler repeats the full new gate, not just a digit. That makes a correction easier before moving.
dēng jī pái shang shì shí èr hào, hái zài zhè lǐ ma?
The pass says twelve. Is it still here?
gǎi dào shí bā hào dēng jī kǒu le.
It has changed to Gate 18.
shí bā hào, bú shì bā hào, duì ma?
Eighteen, not eight, right?
duì, qǐng kàn píng mù.
Right. Please check the display.
登机口, boarding gate. 登机牌 is the pass, and 柜台 is a counter.
No. It says boarding starts at 7:30. 起飞 refers to takeoff; ask about it separately if needed.
Your immediate task: go through security first. Complete security, then continue to the gate.
Say 我要去机场.
Say 票多少钱？
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