The Chinese people will be eager to talk to you. Don’t expect to be the center of attention wherever you go. In big Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai they are already used to the presence of the mass of foreigners. That being said, you won’t find anybody shying back from going into a conversation with you. Whether it’s a teenager or a senior citizen, they are always open to help you or go into some small talk. Be aware, conversation wise there are some cultural differences. The Chinese have a reputation for being very direct to the point of seeming a bit rude to westerners at times. First of all this directness is simply part of their culture. Secondly, if you run into any rude people they will most likely be shopkeepers on dubious markets. Before you become all excited about the intriguing conversations you might have with Chinese natives, you should know that their level of English is basic to non-existent. That’s why it’s a good idea to prepare yourself for this before you arrive in China. Of course there are some apps for this.
Google Translate
One of the most used, and best, translating apps that is available is still Google Translate. Google recently started to reinstall itself on the Chinese market. Back in 2010, it didn’t want to comply with China’s strict censorship laws and was therefore banned from the Chinese market. This lead to grieving Chinese Google enthusiasts placing flowers and other gifts at Google’s former headquarters. Now Google is cautiously getting back in. They realized that the potential of the Chinese market is just too big to ignore. To accommodate their loyal users, Google released a new version of their translating app which is available through the Chinese app store. This means that you can now use it without VPN connection. Read our article on the Chinese Firewall to learn more about VPN’s.
Having Google Translate directly available is good news for you. Furthermore, if you install Google Translate and indicate that English, or your native language, to Chinese Mandarin will be the main translating service you will use, the app will download the dictionary so you can even use it offline. Whatever situation you get into, just take it your phone and you will be able to say what you need to in no time.
Pleco
Next to Google Translate, there is another great app available to practice your Chinese or to just help you out in daily life: Pleco. The application is free to download but starts to become really interesting once you decide to pay for the extra functions. The free app includes an English to Chinese dictionary which translates individual words and some basic phrases. Also interesting is that you can draw or look up the meaning of Chinese characters. This can be really useful for menus and in supermarkets for example.
If you decide to spend some money on a translating app, Pleco is the one with the most appealing features. You have modules that enable you to translate symbols by simply taking a picture of them. Others allow you to listen to the correct pronunciation of thousands of Chinese words recorded by indigenous Chinese people or to translate full PDF documents by uploading them into the app. These are just some of the features you can individually download. You can also choose to pay for a whole cluster of extra functions. This app, plus its extra components, are definitely worth looking into if you decide spend some time in China.
Two apps are all you need
Even though the Chinese people won’t hesitate to talk to you or help you, they might not be able to do so because of the language barrier. It’s a good idea to prepare you for this by downloading a few applications that can make communication easier. Google Translate and Pleco are two very useful apps for this purpose. Google Translate is completely free while Pleco offers many extra interesting functions for a fee. It’s definitely worth looking into these two educational services. Believe me, you don’t want to arrive in China unprepared and unable to express yourself in Chinese.
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