Basic directions: Asking for directions

💬 就 here means "then, as soon as that's done", so you arrive right after the action. 了 marks the new situation: you're there.

🇨🇳 Locals tend to give distances in walking minutes rather than meters or blocks. Their estimates are often optimistic, so a "five-minute" walk can easily take ten.

💬 To check that you've understood, repeat the directions back and add 吗 at the end. It's an easy way to confirm what you heard.

💬 Literally "red green light": 红 (hóng) "red", 绿 (lǜ) "green", 灯 (dēng) "light". Watch the (ü) sound in (lǜ).

💬 拐 (guǎi) means "turn". It follows the same 往 + direction + verb pattern, so you can also say 往左拐 "turn left".

💬 Chinese puts the landmark first and the action second: 到 + place, then what to do there. Try 到银行往左拐 "turn left at the bank".

💬 Tack 对吗？ onto the end of any statement to check you've got it right. It works like English "…, right?"

💬 行 is read (háng) here, so the word is (yín háng). The same character is read (xíng) when it means "OK".

💬 Unlike English, 旁边 goes after the place, not before it. So "next to the bank" becomes 银行旁边, literally "bank side".

💬 To say where something is, use thing + 在 + place. 就 adds "right", as in "right there": 厕所就在这儿 "the restroom is right here".

💬 太…了 wraps around a word to mean "so…!" or "too…!": 太好了 "great!", 太贵了 "too expensive!"

🇨🇳 This is a warm, natural way to thank someone who gave you directions. It sounds more heartfelt than a plain 谢谢.

💬 不客气 literally means "don't be polite". The 气 is often said lightly: (bú kè qi).