留学中国：你真正用得上的汉语

Nobody arrives in China short of grammar. They arrive short of nouns.

The nouns in question are unglamorous and almost never appear in a first-year textbook, because they are not "everyday conversation" — they are administration. 材料 (cáiliào, documents), 手续 (shǒuxù, formalities), 窗口 (chuāngkǒu, service window), 收据 (shōujù, receipt), 押金 (yājīn, deposit). Your first month will contain very little talk about hobbies and a great deal of standing in front of a counter holding a passport while somebody asks you a question you have never heard in your life.

This article is the Chinese of that month. It assumes you can already say 你好 and count, and it is organised in the order the situations arrive: registration, phone, bank, dormitory, hospital, classroom.

One boundary before anything else. Nothing here describes visa or residence-permit procedure, and you should not take that procedure from an article — including this one. Deadlines, required documents and the order of the steps are set by the authorities and administered through your university's 留学生办公室 (liúxuéshēng bàngōngshì, international student office). Ask them on your first day, write down exactly what they tell you, and check anything you read elsewhere against them.

The verb the whole month runs on: 办

If you learn one word before you land, make it 办 (bàn). Dictionaries gloss it "to handle, to manage", which is unhelpfully abstract. In practice it is the verb for getting a piece of official business done, and it attaches to nearly everything you will need:

• 办手续 bàn shǒuxù — complete the formalities
• 办卡 bàn kǎ — have a card issued: bank card, phone card, campus card
• 办入住 bàn rùzhù — check in
• 办签证 bàn qiānzhèng — deal with the visa

Around it, four sentences will carry you through almost every counter in the country:

• 我想办一张银行卡。Wǒ xiǎng bàn yì zhāng yínhángkǎ. — I would like to open a bank card.
• 在哪儿办？Zài nǎr bàn? — Where do I do this?
• 需要什么材料？Xūyào shénme cáiliào? — What documents do I need?
• 还需要什么？Hái xūyào shénme? — What else do I need?

That third question is the single most valuable sentence of your first month. Ask it before you join a queue, not after forty minutes at the front of one.

Two more mechanics of Chinese counters are worth knowing in advance, because they are invisible until you are standing in the room. Many offices, banks and hospitals work by ticket: you 取号 (qǔ hào, take a number) from a machine near the door, then wait for the screen to 叫号 (jiào hào, call your number) and send you to a numbered window. If you cannot find the machine, ask 在哪儿取号？(Zài nǎr qǔ hào?) or ask the lobby staff — in a bank the person circulating in the hall is the 大堂经理 (dàtáng jīnglǐ), and their entire job is to point you at the right window. And you will constantly need 复印件 (fùyìnjiàn, photocopies) of your passport and 证件照 (zhèngjiànzhào, ID photographs), usually the size called 一寸 (yí cùn) or 两寸 (liǎng cùn). Bring more of both than you think you need.

Registration day: 报到

The word for the whole process is 报到 (bàodào, to report in). Signs on campus will point you to the 报到处 (bàodàochù), and a good opening line is simply:

• 我是新生，来报到。Wǒ shì xīnshēng, lái bàodào. — I'm a new student, here to register.
• 请问报到处在哪儿？Qǐngwèn bàodàochù zài nǎr?
• 这是我的护照和录取通知书。Zhè shì wǒ de hùzhào hé lùqǔ tōngzhīshū. — Here is my passport and my admission letter.

Expect to be handed a 表格 (biǎogé, form) and asked to 填表 (tián biǎo, fill it in) and 签字 (qiānzì, sign). Expect one desk to send you to another and then back again; this is normal, not a sign that you have misunderstood. Useful:

• 复印件可以吗？Fùyìnjiàn kěyǐ ma? — Is a photocopy acceptable?
• 下一步去哪儿？Xià yí bù qù nǎr? — Where do I go next?
• 麻烦您写一下。Máfan nín xiě yíxià. — Could you write that down, please.

What you leave with matters more than what you say. Two cards define your daily life on campus: the 学生证 (xuéshēngzhèng), your student card, which proves you belong and is asked for at the library and sometimes at the gate; and the 校园卡 (xiàoyuánkǎ), often called a 一卡通 (yìkǎtōng) or simply a 饭卡 (fànkǎ), which pays for the canteen, hot water and laundry. The campus card needs topping up — 充值 (chōngzhí) — and 在哪儿充值？(Zài nǎr chōngzhí?) is a question you will ask in your first week.

The phone number, which unlocks everything else

Get a Chinese 手机号 (shǒujīhào, mobile number) early, because almost nothing else can be finished without one. Bank verification codes, delivery notifications, campus systems, hospital appointment platforms and the payment apps you will use for daily spending all send a code to a Chinese number. A foreign number will not receive some of them at all.

You buy the SIM at a carrier's 营业厅 (yíngyètīng, service hall) and you will need your passport, because SIM cards are issued under a real-name system, 实名制 (shímíngzhì).

• 我想办一张手机卡。Wǒ xiǎng bàn yì zhāng shǒujīkǎ.
• 有什么套餐？Yǒu shénme tàocān? — What plans do you have?
• 一个月多少流量？Yí ge yuè duōshao liúliàng? — How much data per month?
• 怎么充值？Zěnme chōngzhí?

Save your own number somewhere you can read it aloud. You will be asked for it constantly, and the phrase to expect is 手机号多少？(Shǒujīhào duōshao?).

The bank

Requirements differ between banks and even between branches of the same bank, so the honest advice is to ask your international student office which branch is used to dealing with the university's students, and to go there. Bring passport, student card, admission or enrolment paperwork, your Chinese phone number, and photocopies of all of it.

• 我想开一个账户。Wǒ xiǎng kāi yí ge zhànghù. — I'd like to open an account.
• 我是留学生，这是我的护照。Wǒ shì liúxuéshēng, zhè shì wǒ de hùzhào.
• 密码是六位数吗？Mìmǎ shì liù wèi shù ma? — Is the PIN six digits?
• 手续费多少？Shǒuxùfèi duōshao? — What is the fee?
• 怎么绑定微信？Zěnme bǎngdìng Wēixìn? — How do I link this to WeChat?

That last one matters. Day-to-day spending is overwhelmingly done by scanning codes in 微信支付 (Wēixìn Zhīfù) or 支付宝 (Zhīfùbǎo), and both need a Chinese bank card 绑定 (bǎngdìng, bound) to them. The two verbs you will hear at a till are 扫码 (sǎo mǎ, scan the code) and 付款 (fùkuǎn, pay); the code you show the cashier is your 付款码 (fùkuǎnmǎ).

And keep one sentence in reserve for the machine that eats your card: 我的卡被吞了。Wǒ de kǎ bèi tūn le.

The dormitory

The word to understand here is 押金 (yājīn), the deposit. At most universities you pay it when you 办入住 (bàn rùzhù, check in) and it is returned when you 退宿 (tuì sù, move out), after somebody inspects the room and deducts for damage or missing furniture. Two rules follow from that, and both are learned the hard way: keep the receipt, and photograph everything that is already broken on the day you move in.

• 押金多少钱？Yājīn duōshao qián?
• 退宿的时候退押金吗？Tuì sù de shíhou tuì yājīn ma? — Is the deposit refunded when I move out?
• 请给我收据。Qǐng gěi wǒ shōujù.
• 这个已经坏了，不是我弄坏的。Zhège yǐjīng huài le, bú shì wǒ nòng huài de. — This was already broken; I didn't break it.

The person who runs the building is the 宿管 (sùguǎn), and it is normal and polite to address her as 阿姨 (āyí). She is the person to go to for everything from a spare key to a blocked drain, and being on friendly terms with her is worth more than any amount of vocabulary.

• 空调坏了。Kōngtiáo huài le. — The air conditioning is broken.
• 热水器不出热水。Rèshuǐqì bù chū rèshuǐ. — The water heater isn't producing hot water.
• 我想报修。Wǒ xiǎng bàoxiū. — I'd like to report a repair.
• 什么时候能来修？Shénme shíhou néng lái xiū?
• 我把钥匙锁在房间里了。Wǒ bǎ yàoshi suǒ zài fángjiān lǐ le. — I've locked my key in the room.
• 门禁是几点？Ménjìn shì jǐ diǎn? — What time does the building lock?

That last question is not decorative. Many student buildings have a 门禁 — a locking time after which the door is closed — and finding out about it at one in the morning is an unpleasant way to learn a word.

The hospital, and how 挂号 actually works

This is the section worth reading twice, because the process is genuinely different from what most international students expect, and the difference is procedural rather than linguistic.

You do not, as a rule, telephone a named doctor and get an appointment. You go to the hospital and you 挂号 (guàhào) — literally "hang a number", meaning register for a consultation. You do this at the 挂号处 (guàhàochù, registration desk) or at a 自助机 (zìzhùjī, self-service machine), and the first question you will be asked is which department:

• 挂什么科？Guà shénme kē? — Which department?

So you need the departments. 内科 (nèikē, internal medicine) covers fevers, coughs, stomach trouble and most of what sends a student to a doctor; 外科 (wàikē) is surgery, including injuries; 皮肤科 (pífūkē) is dermatology; 五官科 (wǔguānkē) covers ear, nose, throat and eyes; 口腔科 (kǒuqiāngkē) is dental; 急诊 (jízhěn) is emergency, open when the outpatient clinics — 门诊 (ménzhěn) — are closed. If you genuinely do not know, say 我不知道挂什么科，我发烧了。(Wǒ bù zhīdào guà shénme kē, wǒ fāshāo le.) and let them route you.

You may also be offered a choice between a 普通号 (pǔtōng hào, ordinary consultation) and a 专家号 (zhuānjiā hào, specialist consultation), which costs more and may be limited in number.

• 我要挂内科。Wǒ yào guà nèikē.
• 我没有就诊卡。Wǒ méiyǒu jiùzhěnkǎ. — I don't have a patient card. (Many hospitals issue one on your first visit; bring your passport.)

Then you wait for your number in the department's waiting area, see the doctor for what is often a short consultation, and — this is the part that surprises people — you pay between the steps, not at the end. The doctor writes an order; you take it to 缴费 (jiǎofèi, payment) at the 收费处 (shōufèichù); then you go and have the test done or collect the medicine, and if the doctor wants to see the results you come back. Expect to walk between three floors.

Describing what is wrong with you, in the plainest possible terms:

• 我发烧三天了。Wǒ fāshāo sān tiān le. — I've had a fever for three days.
• 我嗓子疼，咳嗽。Wǒ sǎngzi téng, késou. — My throat hurts and I have a cough.
• 我肚子疼，拉肚子。Wǒ dùzi téng, lā dùzi. — My stomach hurts and I have diarrhoea.
• 我头疼，头晕。Wǒ tóu téng, tóuyūn. — I have a headache and I feel dizzy.
• 我对青霉素过敏。Wǒ duì qīngméisù guòmǐn. — I'm allergic to penicillin.

Learn your own allergies and any chronic condition in Chinese before you need them, and keep them written on a card in your wallet. This is five minutes of work that you will be extremely glad of one day.

Finishing up:

• 在哪儿缴费？Zài nǎr jiǎofèi?
• 药房在几楼？Yàofáng zài jǐ lóu? — Which floor is the pharmacy on?
• 这个药怎么吃？一天几次？Zhège yào zěnme chī? Yì tiān jǐ cì? — How do I take this? How many times a day?
• 我有保险，需要发票。Wǒ yǒu bǎoxiǎn, xūyào fāpiào. — I have insurance and need the official receipt.

That last sentence is worth more than it looks. If you intend to claim on insurance, ask for the 发票 (fāpiào) and keep every 病历 (bìnglì, medical record) and prescription slip you are given.

The classroom

If you are in a language programme you will likely sit a 分班考试 (fēnbān kǎoshì, placement test) in the first days, and being placed a little low is far better than being placed a little high. Ask 我可以换班吗？(Wǒ kěyǐ huàn bān ma?) if the level is genuinely wrong.

The four sentences that keep a class useful:

• 老师，这个字怎么读？Lǎoshī, zhège zì zěnme dú? — Teacher, how is this character read?
• 请您再说一遍。Qǐng nín zài shuō yí biàn. — Could you say that again.
• 请您说慢一点儿。Qǐng nín shuō màn yìdiǎnr.
• 这个语法我没听懂。Zhège yǔfǎ wǒ méi tīngdǒng. — I didn't follow that grammar point.

And the administrative ones:

• 作业什么时候交？Zuòyè shénme shíhou jiāo? — When is the homework due?
• 我想请假，我生病了。Wǒ xiǎng qǐngjià, wǒ shēngbìng le. — I'd like to be excused; I'm ill.
• 期中考试考什么？Qīzhōng kǎoshì kǎo shénme? — What is on the mid-term?

Note 请假 (qǐngjià). Attendance is usually taken seriously and often by 点名 (diǎnmíng, roll call); missing class without asking is treated very differently from missing class after telling someone. Ask your teacher or the 辅导员 (fǔdǎoyuán), the staff member who looks after your class group.

Six sentences that repair any conversation

Everything above assumes things go smoothly. These are for when they do not, and they are the phrases to have genuinely automatic — able to be produced without thinking, at speed, under stress:

• 不好意思，我没听清楚。Bù hǎoyìsi, wǒ méi tīng qīngchu. — Sorry, I didn't catch that.
• 我的中文不太好，请您说慢一点。Wǒ de Zhōngwén bú tài hǎo, qǐng nín shuō màn yìdiǎn.
• 您能写下来吗？Nín néng xiě xiàlai ma? — Could you write it down?
• 这个用中文怎么说？Zhège yòng Zhōngwén zěnme shuō?
• 请稍等，我问一下。Qǐng shāo děng, wǒ wèn yíxià. — One moment, let me ask someone.
• 麻烦您了，谢谢。Máfan nín le, xièxie. — Sorry to trouble you, thank you.

What to do in your first week

Write your own version of the list above on one page and keep it in your phone. Add your passport number, your Chinese phone number, your dormitory building and room, the name of your university in characters, and your allergies. Practise saying your address aloud until it comes out without hesitation, because you will need it for deliveries, for taxis and, one day, possibly to a doctor.

Then be deliberately unembarrassed. The gap between the Chinese you have and the Chinese the counter requires closes faster than you expect, and it closes fastest for the students who ask 需要什么材料？on day one instead of standing in the wrong queue on day three.