How to Ask for Transportation to the Airport in Mandarin Chinese
Learn to ask 'What's the best way to the airport?' in Mandarin, understand answers about trains, buses and taxis, and use the key pattern 怎么去 plus 坐.
By SofiaGetting around · Yapr Learn
When you need to get to an airport in a Chinese-speaking city, the most useful question you can ask is 去机场怎么走? (Qù jīchǎng zěnme zǒu?) — literally 'To the airport, how do I go?' In this lesson you will learn that question, a slightly more detailed version asking for the best way, and the three transport words you will hear most often in reply: 地铁 (subway), 公交车 (public bus) and 出租车 (taxi). You will also learn the verb 坐 (zuò), which means 'to take' a vehicle, and the pattern 坐……去…… ('take … to …'). Everything here is standard Mandarin; simplified characters and pinyin with tone marks are given throughout. No prior grammar is assumed beyond simple greetings.
By the end, you can…
- ask 'What's the best way to the airport?' in Mandarin.
- understand and say 地铁, 公交车 and 出租车 when someone answers.
- use the pattern 坐 + vehicle + 去 + place to say how I will get somewhere.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
去机场怎么走?
How do I get to the airport?
qù jīchǎng zěnme zǒu
The most common, natural way to ask for directions to the airport. Use it with taxi drivers, hotel staff or strangers.
去机场怎么去最好?
What's the best way to get to the airport?
qù jīchǎng zěnme qù zuì hǎo
Adds 最好 (zuì hǎo, 'best') to ask for a recommendation rather than just a route. Good when you want advice, not just directions.
坐地铁去。
Take the subway.
zuò dìtiě qù
A typical short answer. 坐 (zuò) means 'take' a vehicle; 地铁 (dìtiě) is the subway or metro.
坐公交车去。
Take the bus.
zuò gōngjiāochē qù
公交车 (gōngjiāochē) is a public city bus. In mainland China this is the standard word; 巴士 (bāshì) is heard more in some southern regions.
坐出租车去。
Take a taxi.
zuò chūzūchē qù
出租车 (chūzūchē) is the standard mainland term for a taxi. In Taiwan people usually say 計程車 (jìchéngchē).
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The core pattern is 坐 (zuò) + vehicle + 去 (qù) + place. 坐 means 'to take' or 'to ride' a vehicle, and 去 means 'to go'. So 坐地铁去机场 means 'take the subway to the airport'. You can swap the vehicle: 坐公交车去机场 (take the bus to the airport), 坐出租车去机场 (take a taxi to the airport). To ask the question, put the destination first: 去机场怎么走? or 去机场怎么去最好? Note that Chinese does not add 'a' or 'the' before 出租车; 坐出租车 can mean 'take a taxi' in general.
When to use it
Use 去机场怎么走? when you simply need directions and expect a short answer. Use 去机场怎么去最好? when you want a recommendation, for example at a hotel front desk: 去机场怎么去最好? The reply may be 坐地铁去, 坐公交车去, or 坐出租车去. If you want to confirm a plan, repeat the pattern: 我坐地铁去机场 (I'll take the subway to the airport). Keep answers short and polite; adding 谢谢 (xièxie, 'thank you') after the reply is always appropriate.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
请问,去机场怎么去最好?
Excuse me, what's the best way to get to the airport?qǐngwèn, qù jīchǎng zěnme qù zuì hǎo坐地铁去最好,很快。
Taking the subway is best, it's fast.zuò dìtiě qù zuì hǎo, hěn kuài坐公交车去可以吗?
Can I take the bus?zuò gōngjiāochē qù kěyǐ ma可以,但是比较慢。
Yes, but it's rather slow.kěyǐ, dànshì bǐjiào mànA little context goes a long way
In mainland China, 出租车 is the usual word for a taxi and 地铁 for the subway; in Taiwan you will more often hear 計程車 and 捷運 (jiéyùn). Politeness matters: begin a question to a stranger with 请问 (qǐngwèn, 'excuse me, may I ask'). Answers are often short, so listen for the vehicle word rather than a full sentence.
One thing to watch for
Saying 去机场怎么走最好? by inserting 最好 into the direction question.
Try this instead: Use 怎么去最好, not 怎么走最好, when asking for the best option: 去机场怎么去最好? If you only want the route, say 去机场怎么走? Both are correct, but they answer slightly different questions.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you ask 'How do I get to the airport?' in Mandarin?
Show a sample answer
去机场怎么走?
This uses 去 (to go), 机场 (airport) and 怎么走 (how to go). 去机场怎么去? is also acceptable and very close in meaning.
2Someone says 坐地铁去. What does that mean?
Show a sample answer
Take the subway.
坐 means 'take', 地铁 means 'subway', and 去 means 'go'. The answer is a short instruction, not a full sentence.
3How would you say 'I'll take a taxi to the airport'?
Show a sample answer
我坐出租车去机场。
This follows 坐 + vehicle + 去 + place. 我 (I) is optional if the subject is already clear, so 坐出租车去机场 is also fine.
Ask 去机场怎么走? for directions or 去机场怎么去最好? for the best option, then listen for 地铁, 公交车 or 出租车 after 坐.
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