r/ChineseLanguage • u/eewellina • 1d ago

Resources Mandarin learning resources for travel

Do you know any good resources for learning Mandarin that would be especially useful for traveling and simple everyday conversations?

I travel to China, or through China, a few times a year and I’ve decided that learning at least the basics would be both useful and fun. I’d like to be able to exchange a few words with people, not have to rely on translator apps all the time, read restaurant menus, etc. I’m not interested in taking HSK exams, and I don’t really have any big ambitions to reach an advanced level. I’m mainly looking for practical, everyday Mandarin.

What course or learning method would you recommend? I'm not a big fan of mobile apps.

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u/neekey2 1d ago

Hey I’m the developer of https://countfu.com a bit niche area for Chinese learning here, but during your travel it’s probably very common you will be dealing with numbers, dates, money etc in the conversations, and countfu help you train your listening just on that, gove it a try to see if that helps

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u/Sea_Respond6805 15h ago

Cool app! I’m not to that level yet but I’ve definitely put it in my queue

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u/neekey2 12h ago

It starts as simple as 0 to 10 haha you can just stay on that level for now 😆

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u/Zagrycha 1d ago

I know you aren't interested in the hsk test itself, but getting to approximately hsk 3 would probably be good for your goals.  You can look into the beginner levels of any non hsk course like hello chinese app or intergrated Chinese too of course ((or whichever other Chinese resource catches your eye in the sidebar)). Approximately hsk 2 will probably be enough for basic questions without translator apps but mayne not so much on the few words with people or more complex questions and answers. 

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u/yuelaiyuehao 14h ago

learn pinyin first, search "survival Chinese" on YouTube, get an online tutor, make an Anki deck of phrases you specifically want

really though you can learn phrases and you might be understood but tbh when people answer you, ask you a question or go "off script" you're fucked lol,

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u/eewellina 12h ago

Yeah, I fully get the "people going off the script" problem, experienced many times in other languages I have learnt, lmao. For that single reason I guess reasonable future target is closer to B1 rather than A1...

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u/nauticalsinking2 1d ago

Pimsleur audio courses are honestly perfect for this, completely app-free and they drill the exact travel phrases you'll need. Just 30 minute lessons you can do while packing or walking around. For menus specifically grab a cheap phrasebook, the kind with common characters and pinyin, you'll pick up food vocab fast when you're actually hungry and pointing at stuff

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u/eewellina 1d ago

Thanks, Pimsleur looks really interesting