Congrats on beginning your journey to learn Chinese this year. It's an exciting road ahead and we hope this guide on Chinese expressions and phrases will help.Beyond the most obvious reason to learn expressions in Chinese, it's fundamentally important to build relationships.

Whether you're at a social event, at work, or at home speaking with a native Mandarin speaker, being able to express yourself is vital.Before you start mastering these phrases, we recommend learning the Chinese alphabet and basic vocabulary. Once you've learned some basic Chinese, you'll get to fully understand the meaning behind these Chinese proverbs.
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19 Chinese Expressions and Phrases For Complete Beginners

Here are our favorite Chinese expressions that even beginners can use with friends and other native speakers.
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1. 不可思议 (bù kě sī yì)

Meaning: Surprisingly amazing

Ever felt a sense of sudden joy after eating something delicious? Often times this is unexpected. It can also mean that something is unimaginable, as in beyond your current thinkings.
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2. 身体健康! (Shēntǐ jiànkāng)

Meaning: Good health!

Like the way we say 'cheers' and the Spanish say 'salud', this is a classic phrase in Chinese that can be used to celebrate each other's good standings.
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3. 麻烦你 (má fán nǐ)

Meaning: May I trouble you?...

Wondering how you can get someone's attention to ask a question, without sounding rude? Instead of tapping on someone's shoulder and risk angering them, you can ask politely with this question.
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4. 傻蛋 (shǎ dàn)

Meaning: Stupid egg

Certainly a more creative way to call someone a 'fool.' You'll find most locals saying this in a friendly manner amongst friends or family members. You can tell immediately by the tone and non-verbal language, so make sure you pay attention to those signals in addition to the phrase itself.
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5. 长舌妇 (cháng shé fù)

Meaning: Sharp-tongued woman

We all have that one friend who's a chatterbox. You may love spending time with them, but you know you can't share your deepest, darkest secrets with them because they'll tell others. We're not sure why this has to be a 'woman' as it sounds rather sexist, but who are we to argue with traditional Chinese
expressions.
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6. 沉鱼落雁 (chén yú, luò yàn)

Meaning: Drop dead gorgeous

Beauty has no language barrier, and neither does this phrase. We also use 'drop dead gorgeous' in English to describe someone who's beyond gorgeous.
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7. 用一个筷子吃饭的人是饿的 (Yòng yígè kuàizi chīfàn de rén shì è de)

Meaning: A man with one chopstick goes hungry

If you've ever tried eating a bowl of rice with just one chopstick, you'll get the meaning of this expression. In short, this Chinese proverb is talking about the importance of finding a balance in your life.
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8. 缘木求鱼 (yuánmùqiúyú)

Meaning: Don't chase a lost cause

The literal translation for this is: climbing a tree to catch a fish. Obviously you won't find a fish living on top of a tree, so this is referring to the importance of letting things go.
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9. 不自禁 (qíng bù zì jīn)

Meaning: Unable to restrain emotions

If you're the emotional type that cries at every reunion or romantic movie, you may hear others tell you this.
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10. 读万卷书，行万里路 (dú wàn juǎn shū, xíng wàn lǐ lù)

Meaning: To read 10,000 books and walk 10,000 miles

This proverb is describing the importance of acquiring knowledge and learning, while being the type of person that walks the walk. Both are equallty important to live a successful life.
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11. 脚踏实地 (jiǎo tà shí dì)

Meaning: Focus on the fundamentals

Don't get distracted by the noise around you, and stick to the basics. Even the greatest basketball players are constantly practicing their dribbling and passing skills, instead of doing fancy footwork. The best investors are disciplined enough to focus on the important fundamentals, instead of trying to go beyond their core competency.
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12. 一见钟情(yí jiàn zhōng qíng)

Meaning: Love at first sight

As we say in English, love at first sight is commonly used to describe... well, love at first sight. But this is not restricted to other people, it can also be used to refer a physical object like your car or a house.
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13. 津津有味 (jīn jīn yǒu wèi)

Meaning: To devour something

Imagine you haven't eaten anything the entire day. You and your friends finally make it to a duck restaurant that you've booked weeks ahead of time. This duck has been bronzed for 24 hours before it's served to you, and the moment you get a taste of it, it melts in your tongue.Now you're ready to stop talking with each other, and dive into this delicious dish. That's what 津津有味 means. Keep in mind this also is not restricted to food, it can be a project that you're working on or a movie that's captivating.
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14. 精益求精 (jīng yì qiú jīng)

Meaning: To go above and beyond

This is for all the perfectionists out there. Have you ever worked on a project or an art piece that is already finished, but you want to improve beyond it? Kudos to you if this is you, as we all need people who are willing to go above and beyond in what they do.
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15. 精益求精 (jīng yì qiú jīng)

Meaning: Lack of final effort

If the above expression did not resonate with you, perhaps this might (we're joking of course). This expression is describing someone who lacks the willingless to finish with full effort. It could be out of laziness or just lack of passion for what they're doing.
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16. Duāng!

Meaning: Ta-da!

Duāng is one of those slang words invented by the younger Internet generations. It has no Chinese character to identify it but you'll see this being used in online chatrooms and forums, which means 'ta-da!'
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17. 一个在床上吃饼干的男人醒来感觉很糟糕 (Yí gè zài chuáng shàng chī bǐng gān de nán rén xǐng lái gǎn jué hěn zāo gā)

Meaning: A man who eats crackers in his bed will wake up grumpy

A perfect expression for parents with children, who need to be reminded of the bad habits of eating before bed.
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18. 自由自在 (zì yóu zì zài)

Meaning: Free and easy

Normally this phrase is to describe someone's personality. It's someone who is free-spirited and easy-going, or it could also be referring to a type of vibe or atmosphere in a physical location.
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19. 抛砖引玉 (pāo zhuān yǐn yù)

Meaning: Just throwing it out there

You're at a brainstorming meeting with clients or co-workers. You're thinking about ideas, and you want to share something that you're not sure is really vaulable, but you're 'throwing it out there.' This is when you can use this.
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Which of these Chinese Expressions and Phrases did you find most useful?

Now that we've shared with you our favorite expressions in Mandarin, it's your turn to choose which to learn first. We don't expect you to have all 19 memorized by the end of this article. That's why we suggest picking 3-5 phrases that you think will be most commonly used in your everyday conversations.

If you're the playful and joking type, start learning how to use 傻蛋 (shǎ dàn). Or if you're looking to flirt with a beautiful Chinese woman or man, learn how to properly say 沉鱼落雁 (chén yú, luò yàn).

‍Whichever phrase you decide to use, you can accelerate your skills by working with a Chinese teacher on Rype. Come check out a free 7-day trial.