Essential Mandarin Chinese phrases

Hello. In Beijing you will hear the local 'r' colouring on almost everything — 哪儿 (nǎr) rather than 哪里 for 'where'.

The grey-brick lanes of old Beijing. Living in one is charming, cheap on rent and often means a shared courtyard bathroom — ask before you sign.

Temporary residence registration at the police station, due within 24 hours of moving into a private address. Beijing checks it more consistently than anywhere else in China.

The household registration system that ties a Chinese citizen's schooling and services to a place. You do not have one — but it explains almost everything about how Beijing schools admit children.

Residence permit. The document that actually lets you live here; the visa is only an entry document.

The car plate lottery. You enter, you almost certainly do not win, and this is the reason Beijing residents cycle and take the metro.

Air quality. Beijing residents check it the way Londoners check rain, through apps that report the official AQI hourly.

Food delivery. In a city this spread out it is less a convenience than a basic utility, and it runs through Meituan and Ele.me.

Beijing's copper-pot mutton hotpot — plain broth, sesame dip, and the city's real winter food. Not the same thing as Sichuan hotpot at all.

The official tax invoice. Ask for one for rent and for anything you expect to expense; an ordinary receipt is worthless for both.

Police 110, ambulance 120, fire 119, traffic accidents 122. Four separate lines, not one emergency number.