How to say things in Chinese
50 everyday Mandarin phrases
The everyday Mandarin Chinese phrases you actually reach for - greetings, please and thank you, yes and no, I love you, and the numbers one to ten. Each one comes with the characters, tone-coloured pinyin, a word-by-word breakdown, an example sentence, and a tone tip so you say it the way a native speaker would.
Pinyin colour key: tone 1 (high flat), tone 2 (rising), tone 3 (dipping), tone 4 (falling), neutral.
Greetings
Courtesy & politeness
Everyday basics
Numbers 1–10
Don't just read it — train it
ToneDeck turns these phrases into audio drills with tone-coloured pinyin, an ear-training quiz, and a pronunciation check. HSK 1 is free, no install.
Start freeLearn the tones behind the phrases
First, second, third, fourth, and neutral.
The free tone trainer and the method.
Hear real syllables and name the tone. No sign-up - how good is your ear?
Now on iPhone · Android coming soon
ToneDeck is on the App Store. The trainer works right now.
Download ToneDeck for iPhone today, and your progress syncs across every device. Prefer the browser? The full tone trainer runs at tonedeck.app right now, no install, free to start.