7 Ways to Say Bathroom in Chinese (+ 37 Bathroom Vocabulary Words)

Bathroom in Chinese

In China, the three words that we use the most for bathroom are 厕所 (cèsuǒ), 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān), and 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān). 

Let’s start with the most basic one. 

1. 厕所 (cèsuǒ) 

The most common word for “bathroom” in Mandarin Chinese is 厕所 (cèsuǒ). Literally, 厕所 (cèsuǒ) is “toilet place” since 厕 (cè) means “toilet” and 所 (suǒ) means “place”. So in China, you can use 厕所 (cèsuǒ) to talk about any room with a toilet in it (and it doesn’t matter if it has a bath or not), and people will know that you are referring to a bathroom. 

A 厕所 (cèsuǒ) can be anywhere – in a private home as well as in public. To specify it’s a restroom for public use, you can say 公共厕所 (gōnggòng cèsuǒ) – “public bathroom/restroom”. 

You can also specify ladies’ or men’s room by adding the word 女 (nǚ) – “woman” or 男 (nán) – “man” to the beginning of 厕所 (cèsuǒ), like this: 

• 女厕所 (nǚ cèsuǒ) – ladies’ room
• 男厕所 (nán cèsuǒ) – men’s room

While 厕所 (cèsuǒ) will be understood wherever you go in China, it’s not exactly the polished way to say “bathroom” in Chinese. Many people find the word a bit crude or low-class because it has the hint “toilet” lying under its meaning. 

While it’s okay to use 厕所 (cèsuǒ) in a relaxed setting, you might want to use a less direct word to refer to the bathroom in more formal situations. 

For example,

2. 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān)                     

卫生间 (wèishēngjiān) is the second-widely-used term for bathroom in Chinese and also the one I tend to use in most daily situations.

卫生间 (wèishēngjiān) literally means “sanitation room”. If you want to go to the toilet, but don’t want to say the word “toilet ”, then 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān) is a good option. It may give people an impression that you are a well-educated and well-mannered person. You can use it on any occasion without sounding too fancy. 

3. 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān)        

If you want to be even more formal and polite than 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān), you can say 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān) for a bathroom. 

洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān) literally means a place to wash your hands, and you can use this word safely even during a meal without making people uncomfortable. 

洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān) is mainly used in public, like in a restaurant, or your office, but you can use it anywhere. Some Chinese people refer to their home bathrooms as 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān), so it wouldn’t be wrong to use the word for a private situation. 

4. 浴室 (yùshì)                  

If you learn Chinese words with a dictionary or translation app, you’ll come across another word for bathroom: 浴室 (yùshì). 

Though 浴室 (yùshì) is the most precise translation for the English word “bathroom” (浴 [yù] means “bath” and 室 [shì] means “room”), it’s not an equivalent term in Chinese. 

This is actually where Chinese people make a distinction between a room with a bath and a room with no bath. In China, 浴室 (yùshì) refers specifically to the type of room that has a showering or bathing facility. You don’t ask for the bathroom with this word at your friend’s home or in a restaurant. Just imagine the puzzled look on Chinese people when they try to figure out why on earth you want to take a shower at their place. 

To ask for the room where you “do your business”, use 厕所 (cèsuǒ), 卫生间 (wèishēngjiān), or 洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān) instead. (more on “how” in a minute)

5. 化妆室 (huàzhuāngshì)

化妆室 (huàzhuāngshì) means “powder room” in Chinese. It usually refers to a room for women to check their makeup, but it can be used to talk about the bathroom in an upscale location like a luxurious shopping mall since they are usually right next to each other. 

If you are a bit posh (and you’re a woman), you can ask for the 化妆室 (huàzhuāngshì). However, this is not everyday Chinese and not everybody knows what it is. So, use it with care. 

6. 盥洗室 (guànxǐshì)

盥洗室 (guànxǐshì) is kinda like the “Water Closet (WC)” in English. Sometimes you might see it as a sign on a bathroom door, and it just means that’s the bathroom. It’s not a word that anyone actually uses though. You can simply add it to your passive Chinese vocabulary. 

7. 茅房 (máofáng)

Finally, we have the slang word for bathroom – 茅房 (máofáng), although this is something that we don’t ever say seriously in life as it sounds very crude. 

茅房 (máofáng) originally means “thatched hut”. It got the meaning of “bathroom” because back in the old days, toilets in China (well, probably just a bucket or a hole in the ground) were often set up in those tiny makeshift thatched huts next to the main house to keep the smell away. 

To this day, people still associate 茅房 (máofáng) with being dirty and stinky. It is fine to use it occasionally among friends as some kind of a joke, but people will be shocked if you ask for the toilet in this way at a restaurant or in a meeting!

Here’s a quick recap of the 7 Chinese words for “bathroom” and when to use each. 

厕所 (cèsuǒ)	anywhere (general/most common)
卫生间 (wèishēngjiān)	anywhere (polite)
洗手间 (xǐshǒujiān)	public/anywhere (more polite)
浴室 (yùshì)	home (with bath)
化妆室 (huàzhuāngshì)	public (posh)
盥洗室 (guànxǐshì)	public (sign)
茅房 (máofáng)	anywhere (crude)

All right, now that we have cleared all that up, let’s get onto talking about how to properly ask “where is the bathroom” in Chinese. This is something that could come in very handy at any point in time!