Banking Vocabulary

You may need to do some banking when visiting a Mandarin-speaking country, no matter whether you are traveling for pleasure or for business.

Banks in larger cities may have English-speaking staff, but don't count on it. This list of common banking terms will help, and you can always bring a Mandarin-speaking friend or colleague to act as translator.

For many transactions, you will need to present some identification. Always bring your passport (hù zhào) or ID card (shēn fèn zhèng) to the bank.

Click on the links in the Pinyin column to hear the audio.

bank	yín háng	銀行
counter	guì tái	櫃檯
window	chuāng kǒu	窗口
teller	chū nà yuán	出納員
manager	jīng lǐ	經理
account	zhàng hù	帳戶
open an account	kāi hù	開戶
deposit (into an account)	cún kuǎn	存款
withdraw money	tí kuǎn	提款
cash a check	duì xiàn	兌現
exchange money	huàn qián	換錢
exchange rate	huì lǜ	匯率
cash	xiàn jīn	現金
check	zhī piào	支票
cashier’s check	duì huàn zhī piào	兌換支票
traveler’s check	lǚ xíng zhī piào	旅行支票
credit card	xìn yòng kǎ	信用卡
passport	hù zhào	護照
ID card	shēn fèn zhèng	身份證
visa	qiān zhèng	簽證