This portable, user-friendly Chinese language guide and phrasebook is the cheapest and easiest way to learn Chinese before and during your trip. If you only want one Chinese language book--Essential Chinese is the way to go. Part of Tuttle Publishing's Essential Phrasebooks Series, it is a great first introduction and beginner guide to the language of China and Taiwan and is also designed as a great Chinese phrasebook, making it the most versatile Chinese language learning tool on the market.Perfect for business people or tourist traveling to China or for students who want to supplement their learning, this book's easy indexing feature allows it to act as an Mandarin phrase book or as English-Chinese Dictionary. A clever "point to" feature allows you to simply point to a phrase translated in Chinese without the need to say a single word or read a single character.In this book you will find: Over 1500 practical sentences for everyday use. A glossary of over 2000 terms and expressions. Terms and phrases covering essential aspects of traveling and living in China. Extensive information about Chinese grammar and pronunciation.