Chinese is a complicated and difficult language. If you plan on living in China or spending significant time here, it’s really worth studying the language. If you’re visiting for a couple days or you just arrived, you can communicate very effectively through hand gestures and by reading the context of a situation when you need to. Truly, you can navigate around China with very limited Chinese language skills.

However, the following three very simple phrases can make your life a whole lot easier.

1) Chinese: Bu yao (boo yow)
, English: I don’t want any. This is a very helpful phrase when making your way through vender stalls and fending off sellers of cheap souvenirs at the Great Wall.

2) Chinese: Ting bu dong (ting boo dong)
, English: I hear you, but I don’t understand you. This is useful in case you accidentally convince someone you’re fluent by your perfect usage of “bu yao.” Also useful for every other situation where some one is speaking Chinese to you.

3) Chinese: Zhe ge (Jay ga)
, English: This one. This is actually the most helpful phrase of this little lesson because it helps you point effectively. If you don’t know any other Chinese you need to be able to point effectively. 
Example: You’re atthe Temple of Heavenand you decide to purchase a Chinese yo-yo, all you have to do is point at the one you want and say “zhe ge.”

If you really want to get crazy, you can combine phrases, like pointing at a grilled scorpion on a stick and saying “bu yao zhe ge.”