Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Ask-for-directions-in-Chinese

How to ask for directions in Chinese

In this Chinese class, we will learn to ask the way and understand a directional indication.

Vocabulary

Verbs

Character	Pinyin	Translation
换	huàn	change; exchange
过	guò	cross (a passage); pass
要	yào	in this lesson: require; have to
拐	guǎi	turn

Miscellaneous words

Character	Pinyin	Translation
离	lí	remote from
多	duō	in this lesson: (particle used to form interrogative sentences)
远	yuǎn	far
近	jìn	close; near
附近	fùjìn	neighborhood; surroundings
那儿	nàr	the; over there
从	cóng	from
到	dào	until; go to; arrive
大概	dàgài	about; nearly
公里	gōnglǐ	kilometer
米	mǐ	metre
先	xiān	first
然后	ránhòu	then; then
路	lù	in this lesson: (classifier and suffix equivalent to "No." for bus lines)
马路	mǎlù	street
十字路口	shízìlùkǒu	intersection (literal "intersection in character")
车站	chēzhàn	bus stop
长	cháng	length; long
堵车	dǔchē	traffic jam
交通	jiāotōng	transport network
的话	dehuà	(placed at the end of the sentence to express an hypothesis) if; in the case where
小时	xiǎoshí	hour (duration)
方便	fāngbiàn	practice (adj.)
一直	yīzhí	always; continuous
往	wǎng	in the direction of; towards
天安门	tiān'ānmén	Tian'anmen (historical and tourist site in Beijing)

Grammar

Indicate the distance between two points

In Chinese, the preposition 离 <lí> is used to indicate the distance between two points. It appears frequently in a sentence, accompanied by adjectives like 远 <yuǎn> and 近 <jìn>.

Location 1 + 离 + Location 2 + Adj. 天安门 离 这儿 很近. <Tiān'ānmén the zhèr hén jìn. > Tian'anmen is very close to here. 银行 离 书店 不远. <Yínháng lí shūdiān bù yuǎn. > The bank is not far from the bookstore. Instead of an adjective, some sentences use the structure 有 ... 米 / 公里 <yǒu ... mǐ / gōnglǐ> to indicate the exact distance.

L1 + 离 + L2 + 有 + Value + 米 / 公里 天安门 离 这儿 有 三 公里. <Tiān'ānmén lí zhèr yǒu sān gōnglǐ. > Tian'anmen is three kilometers from here. 地铁 离 学校 有 有 米 500 米. <Dìtiě lí xuéxiào yǒu 500 mǐ. > The metro is 500 meters from the school.

Express "(from) from ... (up to) to ..."

从 ... 到 ... <cóng ... dao ...> is used in the same way as in French in a phrase of the style "(from) ... (up to) to ... ". If in this lesson, this structure is used for places, just like in French, it can also be used for a period of time. Just as for 离 <lí>, this structure can be followed by an adjective or a verb + object structure. 从 + Location 1 + 到 + Location 2 C 这儿 到 天安门 有 三 公里. <Cóng zhèr dào Tiān'ānmén yǒu sān gōnglǐ. > From here to Tiananmen, there are three kilometers. 从 地铁 到 学校 要 用 半个 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时 时> From the metro to the school, it takes half an hour. 从 2004 年 到 2008 年, 我 一直 在 北京. <Cóng 2004 nián dao 2008 nián, wǒ yīzhí zài Běijīng. > From 2004 to 2008, I was in Beijing all the time.

Express "first ... then ..."

The adverb 先 <xiān> is often used with the adverb 然后 <ránhòu> to indicate a sequence of two events in the same sentence in Chinese.

S + 先 + V1 + O1 + 然后 + V2 + O2 你 先 往 左 拐 然后 往 前 走 <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<................... > You turn first left, then straight. 我 先 去 喝 咖啡, 然后 回 学校. <Wǒ xiān qù hē kāfēi, ránhòu huí xuéxiào. > I go for a coffee first, then I go back to school.

Questions with 多 <duō>

The adverb 多 <duō> is often used in Chinese in front of an adjective to question the extent or degree of something. For example, 多远 <duō yuǎn> is used to query distance and 多 长 <duō cháng> for length.

多 + Adj. (+ Object) 从 这儿 到 天安门 有 多远? <Cóng zhèr dao Tiān'ānmén yǒu duō yuǎn? > Tian'anmen is how far from here? 坐 公共汽车 要 用 多 长 时间? <Zuò gōnggòngqìchē yào yòng duō cháng shíjiān? > By bus, how much time is needed?

Express the condition with 的 话 <dehuà>

的 话 <dehuà> is equivalent to the French "si", with the difference that it is at the very end of the first part of the sentence in Chinese.

Sentence 1 + 的 话 +, Phrase 2 你 去 北京 的 话, ... <No where Běijīng dehuà, ...> If you go to Beijing, ... 不 堵车 的 话, 要 半个小时 去 天安门. <Bù dǔchē dehuà, yào bān gè xiǎoshí qù Tiān'ānmén. > If there is no stopper, it takes half an hour to go to Tiananmen.