Question

How useful is it to learn mandarin chinese? I am travelling to Shanghai for a month. Will knowing some mandarin chinese help?

Answer 1

Yes, it would obviously be useful to know Chinese before travelling to China. Fortunately because Shanghai is such an international city many of the locals have learned a few words of English, especially those trying to sell you things. I'd say at least know the basics. Every country you go to you probably want to learn things like, where is the bathroom, or how much is this, or turn left here. I would say if you plan on taking the taxis to learn your directions, some taxi drivers don't really know where they're going sometimes. So you can tell them how to get there. If you do not trust your Chinese too much try to stay where expats would go.

So you wouldn't need to be an expert in Chinese because many of the shopkeepers, or waiters and taxi drivers have probably dealt with people who can't speak a word of Chinese. But knowing a few simply phrases could really help make things easier. And enjoy. Shanghai is amazing.

Answer 2

It would be very helpful for you to learn, what one of my former art teachers who use to live in Shanghai called, "taxi-Mandarin". Basically, enough Mandarin to make yourself understood. Imagine the most common situations where knowledge of Mandarin would be immensely helpful and learn a couple of sentences that would make the situation manageable.