Arrival and immigration in Chinese: phrases with pinyin
You land at Shanghai Pudong Airport and walk up to the immigration desk. The officer checks your passport and asks a few simple questions.
How the conversation starts
王警官 (Officer Wang) · immigration officer at the airport
Arrive at immigration
What you do
- Say why you are in China
- Say how long you will stay
- Say where you will stay
What to say
- 我来旅游。Wǒ lái lǚyóu.I'm here for tourism.
- 我待___天。Wǒ dāi ___ tiān.I'm staying for ___ days.
- 我住酒店。Wǒ zhù jiǔdiàn.I'm staying at a hotel.
- 谢谢！Xièxie!Thank you!
Arrival and immigration
You've just landed at Shanghai Pudong Airport. At the immigration counter you hand over your passport and arrival card. The officer asks why you've come, how long you'll stay, where, and whether it's your first time in China.
What you do
- Say why you've come (travel or business)
- Say how long you'll stay and where
- Say whether it's your first time in China
What to say
- 我是来旅游的。Wǒ shì lái lǚyóu de.I'm here to travel.
4 more sentences in this lesson, in the app.
Immigration: visa-free transit
You've landed at Shanghai Pudong for a five-day stop on visa-free transit, flying on to Tokyo on the evening of the 15th. You're staying at a hotel near the Bund; the booking on your phone shows its Chinese address. The officer will want to see where you're staying and your onward ticket.
What you do
- Say you're on visa-free transit and flying on to Tokyo
- Say where you're staying and show the Chinese address
- Show your onward ticket and say when you leave
What to say
- 我是过境免签，五天后去东京。Wǒ shì guòjìng miǎnqiān, wǔ tiān hòu qù Dōngjīng.I'm on visa-free transit; I fly on to Tokyo in five days.
4 more sentences in this lesson, in the app.
Now say it out loud
In Kaiko, 王警官 (Officer Wang) answers you out loud in Chinese, and a coach corrects you as you go.