Now that you have this list of useful Chinese phrases, you’re going to have to learn it. That way, you won’t have to fumble through a search as you try to translate that you really need to know where the restroom is.
If you have little to no experience with Mandarin, you should first learn or review Mandarin’s pronunciation rules. You don’t have to learn to speak Chinese perfectly, but you should be aware that you can’t simply read the pinyin out loud as if it were English. Try to hear the words and phrases spoken by a native speaker in person or through a recording, and then try to imitate them.
Once you have a working knowledge of Mandarin’s sound system, you should study your vocabulary. Some of the best techniques to learn Chinese words include studying every day and taking advantage of techniques like spaced repetition. If you add these words and phrases to a Hack Chinese profile, you can benefit from Hack Chinese’s streamlined approach to learning Chinese as well as its many other resources on Chinese for English speakers.