Survival scene course
Travel Chinese Phrases
Use these Chinese travel phrases for airports, hotels, taxis, tickets, luggage, and common trip problems.
These phrases help you move through a city, ask for transport, find a hotel, and handle basic travel needs.
Start with the phrases that matter first
Keep a destination or booking visible while you speak. At a hotel, station, or airport, asking for a place is different from asking staff to carry out a service.
In a real conversation
The first question is about where to find a taxi, not a fare negotiation with its driver. Naming the airport afterward gives a destination but does not arrange the ride.
qǐng wèn, zhè lǐ kě yǐ dǎ chē ma?
Excuse me, can I get a taxi here?
kě yǐ, zài qián miàn.
Yes, up ahead.
xiè xie, wǒ yào qù jī chǎng.
Thanks. I need to go to the airport.
How this scene usually goes
Moving around a Chinese city often involves phone apps: booking transport, calling a car, or showing an address. Keep your destination written in Chinese characters and show it before setting off; an English place name may not be enough. Hotels commonly request your passport or another accepted travel document at check-in and handle guest registration. For high-speed trains, allow time for security and identity checks and bring the travel document used for the booking. Exact procedures depend on the operator and station. The phrases on this page cover the moments between those steps: getting a car, finding the station, collecting luggage, and asking the price.
Good to know
- Keep your hotel's Chinese address available offline. If you keep a passport copy on your phone, protect it with a device lock and avoid sharing it unnecessarily. A copy is not a substitute for an original travel document when one is required.
- Ask your hotel for a card or message with its address in Chinese. Show it to the driver and confirm the destination before setting off.
- Metro systems in large cities are cheap, fast, and signed in English and pinyin. For a first trip they are often easier than taxis.
- For intercity trains, tickets sell out on holidays. Book as early as the app allows, and bring the passport you booked with.
Common mistakes
- Do not rely only on English place names. Learn airport, hotel, taxi, and ticket in Chinese.
- Do not say a long English sentence. Use short Mandarin chunks like 我要去机场.
- Do not forget to save emergency and hotel phrases before a trip.
Quick practice
- Practice one taxi phrase and one hotel phrase.
- Listen slowly, then say it while looking at the characters.
- Save the phrases you would use on your next trip.
Related scenes
Travel Chinese FAQ
How do I tell a driver I want to go to the airport?
Say 我要去机场.
What travel Chinese should beginners learn first?
Learn airport, hotel, taxi, ticket, luggage, and map phrases first.
Can I use these phrases without knowing grammar?
Yes. These are practical chunks you can say directly.
How do I show a driver where I want to go?
Show the address in Chinese characters on your phone and say 请带我去这个地址 (qǐng dài wǒ qù zhè ge dì zhǐ): please take me to this address.
What do I say at hotel check-in?
Say 我预订了房间 (wǒ yù dìng le fáng jiān): I have a room booked. Then hand over your passport.
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Keep learning
Chinese Taxi Phrases for Travelers: Separate your destination from your pickup point and confirm the entrance the driver means.
Chinese Hotel Phrases for Travelers: Match a reservation, understand a room's status, and report a concrete room problem.
Chinese Airport Phrases for Travelers: Distinguish a counter, boarding gate, boarding pass, and the next required stage.
Chinese Metro and Subway Phrases: Recognize line changes, travel direction, and the exit to the street as different decisions.
Chinese Train Station Phrases for High-Speed Rail: Separate station, platform, carriage, seat, and a request to change a booking.
Chinese Restaurant Reservation Phrases: Distinguish asking for a table from having a confirmed booking.
Decode the departure board
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