Mandarin Month: Useful Phrases for Clothes Shopping

In the lead up to our Mandarin Month mixer on June 24, where you'll be able to meet with Beijing's best Mandarin schools, we'll be dishing out some language-learning advice on a daily basis. Read on if you don't want to wait to get started on improving your 中文. Mandarin Month is sponsored by Sanfine International Hospital.

While shopping for clothes in China used to be a major gripe for many expats due to the lack of variety, quality, and larger sizes, nowadays Beijing has a pretty good range of stores for all styles and preferences, from international chains like H&M to homegrown brands like JNBY. Nevertheless, there does not seem to be a standardized sizing system for clothes in China – you may find clothes labeled with European sizes (for example, at Zara), American sizes, or Chinese sizes (in centimeters, as used at Forever 21).

The chart below gives conversions for different sizing systems for women's clothes:

Chart above taken from the blog The Further Adventures of Bennett (thefurtheradventuresofbennett.com)

Basic small to large sizes are usually translated as below:

XS - 加小号 jiā xiǎo hào
S - 小号 xiǎo hào
M - 中号 zhōng hào
L - 大号 dà hào
XL - 加大号 jiā dà hào
XXL - 超大号 chāo dà hào

Wherever you are shopping, often the best thing to do is just ask (if you can hunt down an elusive sales assistant, that is):

What size would you suggest I buy?

你推荐我穿多大号？

Nǐ tuījiàn wǒchuān duōdà hào?

MORE USEFUL PHRASES

Can I try this on?
可不可以试一下？
Kě bú kěyǐ shì yīxià?

Fitting room
试衣间
shìyījiān

What size is this?
这是多大号的？
Zhèshì duōdà hào de?

It's a little too small/large
这个有点太小／大
Zhègè yǒudiǎn tài xiǎo／dà

Do you have this in a size ___?  
这件有__号吗？
Zhèjiàn yǒu __ hào ma?

Do you have this in any other colors?
这件还有别的颜色吗?
Zhèjiàn háiyǒu biéde yánsè ma?

I would like to return this
我想把这件退回去
Wǒxiǎng bǎ zhèjiàn tuì huíqù

Keep on track with your studies with all of our 2017 Mandarin Month content, and don't forget to register for our June 24 mixer here: bagevent.com/event/594886.

If you are interested in becoming an exhibitor at the Mandarin Month Mixer of June 24, please call 5941 0368 or contact us via [e-mail]. For media partnership opportunities, please call 5941 5379 or contact us via [e-mail].

Photo: Pixabay

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