Ask for directions, navigate the subway, and tell a taxi driver where to go. Essential survival skills for any trip to China!
🧭 Directions🚇 Transport🚖 Taxi Dialogue⏱ ~12 min
🧭 Directions
Click the Direction — Hear It!
Tap each direction arrow to hear the Mandarin pronunciation
⬆
直走
zhí zǒu
Go straight
⬅
往左走
wǎng zuǒ zǒu
Go left
📍
YOU
➡
往右走
wǎng yòu zǒu
Go right
⬇
往后走
wǎng hòu zǒu
Go back
往前走
Walk forward
旁边
Next to / Beside
转
Turn
Pattern：往 X 走 (wǎng X zǒu) — "walk toward X". This is how locals actually give directions. Drop the 往...走 and just say 左/右/前/后 for the basic position word.
💬 Phrases
Must-Know Direction Phrases
💡 Click any phrase to hear it
🙏
Politeness 101: Always start with 「请问」(Qǐngwèn) "May I ask…" or 「不好意思」(Bù hǎoyìsi) "Sorry to bother you" when asking strangers. Just blurting out 「多远？」 sounds rude. Chinese culture values opening politeness — even one short word changes how locals respond to you.
🚇 Transport
Getting Around Town
💡
Magic phrase: 「请问，地铁站在哪里？」(Qǐngwèn, dìtiě zhàn zài nǎlǐ?) — Excuse me, where is the subway station? Just swap 地铁站 for any place — 酒店, 机场, 洗手间 — and this sentence works everywhere!