Colloquial Chinese: The Complete Course for Beginners has been carefully developed by a leading academic in Chinese language teaching and course design. Based on feedback from learners and teachers who used its previous version, this new edition has been updated to reflect the language and cultural changes in China, such as online shopping and WeChat payment, and to provide a more integrated and step-by-step approach to making the learning of modern Mandarin Chinese more effective and enjoyable. Combining a clear, practical and accessible style with a methodical and thorough treatment of the language, it equips learners with the essential knowledge and skills needed to communicate confidently and effectively in Chinese in a broad range of situations. No prior knowledge of the language is required. Colloquial Chinese is exceptional; each unit presents a wealth of grammatical points that are reinforced with a wide range of exercises for regular practice. A full answer key, a grammar summary, bilingual glossaries and English translations of dialogues can be found at the back, as well as transcripts of listening practice exercises. Key features include: A clear, user-friendly format designed to help learners progressively build up their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills Jargon-free, succinct and clearly structured explanations of grammar Step by step introduction of Chinese characters An extensive range of focused and dynamic supportive exercises A combination of listening, reading and speaking activities with the support of transcripts at the back of the book Realistic and entertaining dialogues covering a broad variety of narrative situations Helpful cultural points explaining the customs and features of life in China An overview of the Chinese language: its sounds, structure and Chinese characters Balanced, comprehensive and rewarding, Colloquial Chinese is an indispensable resource both for independent learners and students taking courses in Chinese as well as teachers of Chinese. Audio material to accompany the course is available to download free in MP3 format from www.routledge.com/cw/colloquials. Recorded by native speakers, the audio material features the dialogues, new words and listening practice exercises from the book and will help develop your listening and speaking skills.

Table of Contents:
Contents Acknowledgements ix Introduction 1 Hěn gāoxìng jiàndào nǐ 很高兴见到你 Very pleased to meet you 2 Xìngmíng, guójí hé niánlíng 姓名、国籍和年龄 Name, nationality and age 3 Zài gōngsī de jùhuì shang Jiā hé péngyŏu家和朋友 Family and friends 4 Wèn shíjiān 问时间 Asking the time 5 Jiārén hé péngyou Zài pàiduì shàng 在派对上 Family and friends At a party 6 Rìqī hé tiānqì 日期和天气 The date and the weather 7 Wèn lù 问路 Asking for directions 8 Mǎi dōngxi 买东西 Shopping 9 Wǎngshàng gòuwù网上购物 Shopping online 10 Diǎn cài 点菜 Order food 190 11 Dă dī hé mǎi huōchē piào 打的和买火车票 Taking the taxi and buying train tickets 12 Zài jiŭdiàn 在酒店 At the hotel 13 Dǎ diànhuà 打电话 Making telephone calls 14 Tànqīn hé lǚyóu 探亲和旅游 Vising family and travel 15 Míngxìnpiàn hé wēxìn 明信片和微信 Postcard and WeChat Grammar summary Answers to Exercises and Reading/listening practices Transcripts in pinyin for Listening/reading practices Chinese–English glossary English–Chinese pinyin glossary Appendix A: Dialogues in characters for Lessons 1 and 2 Appendix B: English translations of dialogues/texts from Lessons 3 to 15 Appendix C: Table of combinations of the initials and finals in Putonghua Appendix D: Useful signs Index to language and cultural notes