Electronics (电子产品 – diàn zǐ chǎn pǐn) are kind of a big deal in China. In any major city, you’re sure to find at least a couple of absolutely massive electronics markets selling everything imaginable – think Best Buy on steroids. Walking through one is an interesting experience whether or not you’re actually looking to buy something. A typical electronics mart has 5-6 floors with hundreds of vendors, so it’s easy to get a bit lost.

Electronics stores tend to be huge in China.

If you are looking for something in particular, though, we don’t want you to be lost when it comes to language. To prepare you for a visit to a Chinese electronics market and make things a bit easier on you, here are 25 vocabulary words for things you might be shopping for:

• telephone (电话 – diàn huà)

• cell phone (手机 – shǒu jī)

• television (电视 – diàn shì)

• remote control (遥控器 – yáo kòng qì)

• computer (电脑 – diàn nǎo)

• notebook/laptop (笔记本 – bǐ jì běn)

• keyboard (键盘 – jiàn pán)

• printer (打印机 – dǎ yìn jī)

• scanner (扫描仪 – sǎo miáo yí)

• fax machine (传真机 – chuán zhēn jī)

• camera (照相机 – zhào xiàng jī)

• video camera （摄影机 – shè yǐng jī）

• radio (收音机 – shōu yīn jī)

• CD (光盘 – guāng pán)

• speaker (喇叭 – lǎ bā)

• headphones (耳机 – Ěr jī)

• audio recorder (录音机 – lù yīn jī)

• battery (电池 – diàn chí)

• battery charger (充电器 – chōng diàn qì)

• refrigerator (冰箱 – bīng xiāng)

• microwave (微波 – wéi bō)

• washing machine (洗衣机 – xǐ yī jī)

• air conditioner (冷气机 – lěng qì jī)

• hair dryer (吹风机 – chuī fēng jī)

• rice cooker (电饭煲 – diàn fàn bāo)

Study these words and you’ll be cruising through the market with no trouble. Well, you still might get a bit lost, but that happens in these huge places! Check back to the blog later this month for a few more language-heavy posts related to one of the most important things in China – your cell phone. We’ll learn how to buy a cell phone, how to make a call in Chinese, and we’ll take a closer look at the most popular app in the entire country. For now, you can practice a few of the words learned above and some others in this short video from the New York Chinese Language Center: