How to talk to your compound security guard in Chinese

The baoan sees everything: your guests, your packages, your 2am noodle runs. Being on good terms with him is the highest-yield relationship in the compound.

What you'll say

Tap play to hear it. Everything on this page runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Heads-up: the voice you hear here is your browser’s built-in Mandarin — the app sounds considerably better. On iPhone it uses Apple’s enhanced and premium system voices, plays at real conversational speed, and has a slow mode for practising.

This device has no Chinese voice installed, so audio can’t play here. The app doesn’t have that problem — it uses the Mandarin voices built into iOS.

我是八号楼的住户。

Wǒ shì bā hào lóu de zhùhù.

I'm a resident of Building 8.

住户 (zhùhù) = resident. Your all-access pass phrase.

我的门禁卡丢了，怎么补办？

Wǒ de ménjìnkǎ diū le, zěnme bǔbàn?

I lost my access card — how do I get a replacement?

补办 (bǔbàn) = re-issue/replace. Useful for cards, SIMs, documents — everything losable.

有我的快递吗？

Yǒu wǒ de kuàidì ma?

Is there a package for me?

Say it while walking past the guard hut. Half the time: yes.

1 more phrase in this situation — plus the real-speed audio for all 4, the listening drill, and the camera. Six situations are free in the app; this one is part of Pro.

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What they'll say back

This is the part nobody teaches. Real Mandarin comes back fast and blunt, so hear it at natural speed first.

Press play before you read. In the app, anything you miss comes back slower and then again later, until you catch it at full speed.

They say

你找谁？

Nǐ zhǎo shéi?

Who are you looking for?

You can answer

我住这里，八号楼。

Wǒ zhù zhèlǐ, bā hào lóu.

I live here — Building 8.

They say

电动车不能停这里，停到那边去。

Diàndòngchē bù néng tíng zhèlǐ, tíng dào nàbiān qù.

You can't park the e-bike here — park it over there.

You can answer

不好意思，马上挪。

Bù hǎoyìsi, mǎshàng nuó.

Sorry — moving it right away.

Other situations in Home & apartment

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