Make Every First Impression Count In China, Easy-To Use Fail-Safe Chinese Phrases (Part 1, Hello And Goodbye)

Everybody has heard the phrase ‘first impressions count’ in some form or another at least 20 times in their lives.

This is, perhaps because it is very often true. Especially on China sourcing trips where a good meeting can be the difference between building a solid, ongoing, relationship with a factory and being given the runaround.

This has a great deal to do with the Chinese concept of face (associatedcontent.com/article/391443/the_concept_of_face_in_chinese_culture.html?cat=2), where people are measured by the way they act, the way they dress and the level of respect that people give them.

One great way to create a good first impression when doing business in China is to have a few Chinese phrases up your sleeve when meeting someone for the first time.

Greetings are especially important and being able to say hello and nice to meet you well will gain you some esteem with your negotiation partner.

Here are some of the most useful, and most commonly used, Chinese phrases used to say hello and goodbye:

• Hello
• How are you?
• I’m fine and you?
• Nice to meet you
• See you soon
• See you tomorrow
• Goodbye

Understanding the way pinyin (chinesefortravel.com/pinyin.html) is pronounced (youtube.com/watch?v=VwyQK62tO_U) is a help.

As is knowing how each of the four tones (youtube.com/watch?v=laXqwR9hfJo) ^{– / v \} work, especially if you would like to learn more Chinese in the future.

Mastering these seven phrases is the first step towards understanding more about the rich Chinese culture and a big foot in the door when it comes to making a good impression on your next sourcing mission.

Watch our YouTube video above and learn those seven phrases and you will be on your way to learning Chinese that you can use on your next sourcing trip.

• Chinese for travel.com
• Sinosplice language resources.com