Chinese at the convenience store
Convenience stores are everywhere in Chinese cities and the exchange at the till is almost always the same four questions. Learn those and the rest is pointing.
The questions the cashier will ask you, in the order they ask them, plus the things you are most likely to be buying and how to pay for them.
What the cashier asks
Many shops, cafés and stations have machines that rent out power banks by the hour, unlocked by scanning a code. You can return one to a different machine across town, which makes a flat phone a small problem rather than a big one.
What you say
Asking for hot water is completely ordinary in China, where many people drink it plain. Most convenience stores and every train have a supply, and nobody will think it an odd thing to want.
Things you might want
Small requests
The daily course builds these phrases into real conversation, one short lesson a day. Days 1 to 7 need no account, and a free account opens the rest of the first month.
Start Day 1 →