Customer Reviews

Lonely Planet Mandarin Phrasebook (Lonely Planet Language Survival Kit) (Mandarin Chinese Edition)

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2 star:		(1)
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Anyone who has gotten this far to check the reviews and knows LP for their work, knows that you can't consider travelling in China without the LP China book. It is to those people I speak when I say, I would not return to China without the phrasebook as well. Unlike the rest of SE Asia, having the phrasebook for Mandarin REALLY makes your life easier in mainland China. The 'meals' catagory alone pays for itself. (You can point to something and they can tell you if they have it).

Some phrasebooks only have the pin-yin not the characters ! USELESS ! You need this book as much as the LP China. It is a great conversation starter on the train when you pass it around (much safer and easier than passing around your invaluable LP China bible). You will find the locals love to point at characters and then have you figure out what they mean. (Also bring a picture phrasebook if you can find one at a Travel store...usually a brochure sized card).

This is an excellent little phrasebook. I'd have to say I like the Rough Guide one a little more, but that is somewhat personal preference.

LP gives you a great grammar introduction and gives practical phrases for a lot of situations. The "vocabulary" section is a poor substitute for a little dictionary and this is my biggest complaint.

I used the Lonely Planet Guide until I found the Rough Guide Phrasebook. I found myself using more Chinese once I started using the Rough Guide because I could find the words I needed more quickly. The Chinese-English section is brief but invaluable.