What this solves
Above Luorong Pasture your Mandarin won't help much. Herders at Yading speak Kham Tibetan, which is closer to written Tibetan than to Putonghua. When you're hurt, sick, or stranded, the 20 words below are more useful than any phrasebook. Each phrase shows the Tibetan script prominently, the Wylie transliteration for non-readers, and a pronunciation note marking which syllable to stress — so you can actually say it.
Filter phrases
How to read the result
Tibetan script is what locals recognise — even illiterate herders will spot "kyob-rog" written out. Show your phone if you can't pronounce it.
Wylie is the academic romanisation (T.H. Wylie, 1959). Letters don't match English: ky sounds like English "ky" in "kya", ' is a glottal stop, ph is aspirated "p".
Pronunciation uses syllable stress marks — the underlined syllable is where the stress goes. Tibetan has consistent stress on the first syllable of the two-syllable word; this is unusual for English speakers and important.
Literal is what each piece means separately. Many phrases are surprisingly literal — e.g. "my foot has died" = "I cannot walk."
If locals still don't understand, try slowly + pointing. Kham dialect speakers will often recognise written Lhasa Tibetan even if their pronunciation differs.
Limitations
FAQ
A: The script, even poorly. Wylie is for foreigners writing on paper; locals cannot read "kyob rog" but they can read "སྐྱོབ་རོགས". Showing the script on your phone is faster than saying it wrong.
A: Mandarin penetrates to Daocheng town and Yading village. Above Luorong (4,150 m) and on the Kashe / Tanggu La paths, herders may speak zero Mandarin — only Kham Tibetan. The whole traverse is not Mandarin-covered.
A: Always ask. Many won't consent. If they say yes, keep the phone visible and the recording short. Audio of mantras is generally fine; recording of teachings often isn't.
A: Tibetan speakers around Yading are used to foreigners butchering the language. If they look confused, slow down and point at the script. Kham speakers are extraordinarily kind about mistakes.