It is understood that everyone in the Empire is speaking the same language; however, you may want to use foreign phrases for added amosphere.

As the Jade Empire is a mixture of many Oriental cultures, there are a wide range of phrases that can be used. Listed here are a few Chinese and Japanese phrases that can be useful.


MandarinTools Chinese-English Dictionary - A useful Chinese dictionary.

Jeffrey's Japanese-English Dictionary Server - A useful Japanese dictionary.

Firefly-Serenity Pinyinary - A useful site for Chinese phrases from Firefly/Serenity

Simple Japanese Phrases - A useful list of basic Japanese phrases

CHINESE

"Aiya!" ("Ay-ah") - interjection of surprise; "Oh my!", "Ah!", "Oh!"
"Bao bei." ("Ba-oh bay") - darling, sweetheart, sweetie
"Bi zui!" ("Bee-zway") - "Shut up!"
"Dong ma?" ("Dong mah") - "Understood?"; "Do you understand?"
"Go se!" ("Goh suh") - "Crap!"
"Hun dahn." ("Hwoon dahn") - "Bastard."
"Nihao." ("Nee-how") - "Hello." (addressing one person)
"Ninhao." ("Neen-how") - "Hello."(addressing a group)
"Rentse de fozu!" ("Run-tse duh fwo-tzoo") - "Merciful Ancestors!"
"Shi." ("Shee") - "Affirmative."
"Ta ma de!" ("Tah mah day") - "Dammit!"
"Tien tsai." ("Tyen tsai") - "Genius"; "Gifted."; "You are a gifted person."
"Xie-xie." ("Shee-ah shee-ah") - "Thank you."

JAPANESE

"Arigatou." ("Ah-ree-ga-toe") - "Thank you."
"Daijobu?" ("Die-jo-boo") - "Are you okay?"
"Gomen nasai." ("Goh-men nah-sai") - "I'm sorry." (to an equal or lower-ranked person)
"Hai." ("Hi") - "Yes."
"Iie." ("Ee-yeh") - "No."
"Kuso!" ("Koo-so") - "Damn!"
"Matte!" ("Mah-tay") - "Wait!"
"Ohaiyou." ("Oh-hai-oh") - "Good day."
"Onegai..." ("Oh-neh-guy") - "Please..."
"Osoroshii!" ("Oh-soh-row-shee") - "Awful!"
"Sayonara." ("Say-oh-nah-ra") - "Farewell."
"Sumimasen." ("Soo-mee-mah-sen") - "I'm sorry." (to a higher-ranked person)
"Yamero!" ("Yah-meh-row") - "Stop!"