hundredwords

Mandarin (Taiwan) for travellers

The 100 most useful Mandarin (Taiwan) words for your trip

Every word and phrase you need for Taiwan, sorted by situation. Tap the speaker to hear it.

Learn them, 8 a day Drill

Courtesy

10 words
  1. 1 Hello 你好 nǐ hǎo

    Same as in China, but Taiwan writes in traditional characters.

  2. 2 Goodbye 拜拜 bāibāi

    Everyone says bāibāi. 再見 (zàijiàn) is the textbook version.

  3. 3 Thank you 謝謝 xièxie
  4. 4 Please (when asking for something) 麻煩你 máfan nǐ

    Put it before a request: máfan nǐ ... means "could you please ...". For ordering, just say wǒ yào ("I want").

  5. 5 Excuse me 不好意思 bù hǎo yìsi

    The everyday "excuse me" and "sorry, my bad". Call a waiter with 不好意思 too, or 老闆 (lǎobǎn) at a stall.

  6. 6 Sorry 對不起 duìbùqǐ
  7. 7 Yes 對 duì
  8. 8 No 不是 bú shì
  9. 9 I don't understand 我聽不懂 wǒ tīng bù dǒng
  10. 10 Do you speak English? 你會說英文嗎？ nǐ huì shuō yīngwén ma

    Taiwan says yīngwén for English. In China you will hear yīngyǔ.

Getting around

15 words
  1. 11 Where is ...? ……在哪裡？ ... zài nǎlǐ
  2. 12 Toilet 廁所 cèsuǒ

    洗手間 (xǐshǒujiān) is on the signs; people say cèsuǒ.

  3. 13 Train station 火車站 huǒchēzhàn
  4. 14 Airport 機場 jīchǎng
  5. 15 Hotel 飯店 fàndiàn

    Hotels are 飯店 or 酒店. A 旅館 (lǚguǎn) is a smaller inn.

  6. 16 Taxi 計程車 jìchéngchē

    Taiwan says jìchéngchē. In China it is chūzūchē.

  7. 17 Bus 公車 gōngchē

    Taiwan says gōngchē. In China it is gōngjiāochē.

  8. 18 Train 捷運 jiéyùn

    The MRT, Taipei's metro. The high-speed rail is 高鐵 (gāotiě).

  9. 19 Ticket 票 piào
  10. 20 Left 左 zuǒ
  11. 21 Right 右 yòu
  12. 22 Straight ahead 直走 zhí zǒu
  13. 23 Entrance 入口 rùkǒu
  14. 24 Exit 出口 chūkǒu
  15. 25 Here 這裡 zhèlǐ

Food and drink

20 words
  1. 26 Water 水 shuǐ
  2. 27 Coffee 咖啡 kāfēi
  3. 28 Tea 茶 chá
  4. 29 Beer 啤酒 píjiǔ
  5. 30 Menu 菜單 càidān
  6. 31 The bill, please 結帳 jiézhàng

    Say it at the counter or with a hand raised. 買單 (mǎidān) also works.

  7. 32 Delicious 好吃 hǎochī
  8. 33 Restaurant 餐廳 cāntīng
  9. 34 Rice 白飯 báifàn

    Plain steamed rice. In China people say mǐfàn.

  10. 35 Chicken 雞肉 jīròu
  11. 36 Beef 牛肉 niúròu
  12. 37 Pork 豬肉 zhūròu
  13. 38 Fish 魚 yú
  14. 39 Vegetables 青菜 qīngcài

    Leafy greens. 燙青菜 (tàng qīngcài), blanched greens, is on every menu.

  15. 40 I'm vegetarian 我吃素 wǒ chī sù
  16. 41 Not spicy 不要辣 bú yào là
  17. 42 Breakfast 早餐 zǎocān
  18. 43 This one, please 我要這個 wǒ yào zhège
  19. 44 One more, please 再來一個 zài lái yí ge
  20. 45 Cheers! 乾杯 gānbēi

Numbers and money

15 words
  1. 46 One 一 yī
  2. 47 Two 二 èr
  3. 48 Three 三 sān
  4. 49 Four 四 sì
  5. 50 Five 五 wǔ
  6. 51 Six 六 liù
  7. 52 Seven 七 qī
  8. 53 Eight 八 bā
  9. 54 Nine 九 jiǔ
  10. 55 Ten 十 shí
  11. 56 One hundred 一百 yìbǎi
  12. 57 One thousand 一千 yìqiān
  13. 58 How much? 多少錢？ duōshǎo qián

    In Taiwan the second syllable keeps its tone: duōshǎo.

  14. 59 Too expensive 太貴了 tài guì le
  15. 60 Credit card 信用卡 xìnyòngkǎ

    Get an EasyCard (悠遊卡). It pays for the MRT, buses and 7-Eleven.

Shopping

10 words
  1. 61 Open 營業中 yíngyè zhōng
  2. 62 Closed 休息中 xiūxí zhōng

    The sign you will see on a closed shop door.

  3. 63 Big 大 dà
  4. 64 Small 小 xiǎo
  5. 65 This 這個 zhège
  6. 66 That 那個 nàge
  7. 67 I'm just looking 我只是看看 wǒ zhǐshì kànkan
  8. 68 Do you have ...? 有……嗎？ yǒu ... ma
  9. 69 Receipt 發票 fāpiào

    Keep it. Every Taiwanese receipt is a lottery ticket with a draw every two months.

  10. 70 Bag 袋子 dàizi

    Shops charge a couple of dollars for a plastic bag. 7-Eleven staff will ask 要袋子嗎？

Help and emergencies

10 words
  1. 71 Help! 救命！ jiùmìng
  2. 72 Doctor 醫生 yīshēng
  3. 73 Hospital 醫院 yīyuàn
  4. 74 Police 警察 jǐngchá
  5. 75 Pharmacy 藥局 yàojú
  6. 76 I'm lost 我迷路了 wǒ mílù le
  7. 77 It hurts 好痛 hǎo tòng

    Taiwan uses tòng for pain. In China you will also hear téng.

  8. 78 Call an ambulance 叫救護車 jiào jiùhùchē
  9. 79 I'm allergic to ... 我對……過敏 wǒ duì ... guòmǐn

    For a real allergy, carry a written card checked by a native speaker.

  10. 80 Stop! 停！ tíng

Time and days

10 words
  1. 81 Today 今天 jīntiān
  2. 82 Tomorrow 明天 míngtiān
  3. 83 Yesterday 昨天 zuótiān
  4. 84 Now 現在 xiànzài
  5. 85 Later 待會 dāihuǐ

    Also just 等一下, which means both "wait a moment" and "later".

  6. 86 Morning 早上 zǎoshang
  7. 87 Night 晚上 wǎnshang
  8. 88 When? 什麼時候？ shénme shíhou
  9. 89 What time is it? 現在幾點？ xiànzài jǐ diǎn
  10. 90 Wait a moment 等一下 děng yíxià

People and places

10 words
  1. 91 I 我 wǒ
  2. 92 You 你 nǐ
  3. 93 My name is ... 我叫…… wǒ jiào ...
  4. 94 I'm from ... 我從……來 wǒ cóng ... lái
  5. 95 Friend 朋友 péngyǒu
  6. 96 Family 家人 jiārén
  7. 97 Market 夜市 yèshì

    Night markets are the heart of Taiwanese food. Shilin and Raohe in Taipei are the famous ones.

  8. 98 Museum 博物館 bówùguǎn
  9. 99 Beach 海灘 hǎitān
  10. 100 City centre 市中心 shì zhōngxīn