Getting Around and Transportation

Taking the Subway and Bus

This topic covers how to name public transportation, how to talk about traveling, how to give directions, and how to talk about seats on a vehicle.

• 地铁 (dìtiě: subway) and 公交车 (gōngjiāochē: bus) are the two basic names for public transportation. When talking about a specific bus route, people use 路车 (lù chē: numbered bus route). Example: 坐地铁去学校 (zuò dìtiě qù xuéxiào: take the subway to school).
• When saying how you travel by a vehicle, use the verb 坐 (zuò: take, sit) with the name of the vehicle. Chinese speakers often describe distance by the number of stops, so you need to know the measure word 站 (zhàn: stop, station). Example: 坐四站就到了 (zuò sì zhàn jiù dào le: it is four stops and you have arrived).
• 出口 (chūkǒu: exit) and 地下入口 (dìxià rùkǒu: underground entrance) are two words that are easy to confuse. The underground entrance is used to go down to the subway station, while the exit is used to go up to ground level. The phrase 从…下去 (cóng… xiàqù: go down from…) indicates a downward direction.
• 下一班 (xià yí bān: next trip) is used to ask when you have to wait for a vehicle. The structure 要等多久 (yào děng duōjiǔ: how long do I have to wait) asks about the waiting time. Example: 下一班车要等十分钟 (xià yí bān chē yào děng shí fēnzhōng: the next bus requires a wait of ten minutes).
• To ask whether a seat is free, use 请问这个座位有人坐吗 (qǐngwèn zhège zuòwèi yǒu rén zuò ma: excuse me, is anyone sitting in this seat). The reply 没有 (méiyǒu: no, nobody is) together with 您请坐 (nín qǐng zuò: please sit down) means you allow the other person to sit down.
• When giving directions, the common phrases are 一直往前走 (yìzhí wǎng qián zǒu: keep walking straight ahead), 过了路口往左拐 (guò le lùkǒu wǎng zuǒ guǎi: after passing the intersection, turn left), and 往右拐 (wǎng yòu guǎi: turn right). To describe a location, use the structure 带…的 (dài… de: having…) before a noun. Example: 带大门的楼 (dài dàmén de lóu: a building with a large gate).
• To talk about changes in a city, use the structure 以前…现在… (yǐqián… xiànzài…: before… now…). Common words include 堵车 (dǔchē: traffic jam), 上下班 (shàng xià bān: going to and from work), and 越来越 (yuè lái yuè: more and more).
• When giving advice about how to travel, the speaker can use 不用那么麻烦 (bú yòng nàme máfan: there is no need to make it so complicated) to suggest a simpler way. This advice rejects the method the other person just proposed.

Buying Train, Bus, and Plane Tickets

This topic covers vocabulary about tickets, how to say that you change means of transport for some reason, and how to compare time and price.