hundredwords

What will they ask me when I buy a SIM card and EasyCard at Taoyuan airport?

Expect to hear 要幾天的？ (yào jǐ tiān de, "For how many days?"), 要儲值多少？ (yào chúzhí duōshǎo, "How much do you want to top up?"). Useful things to say: 你好！ (nǐ hǎo, "Hello!") and 我要買網卡。 (wǒ yào mǎi wǎngkǎ, "I want to buy a data SIM").

The whole conversation: Landing at Taoyuan airport

You come through arrivals at Taoyuan and pick up a data SIM and an EasyCard before the train into Taipei.

  1. You say
    你好！ nǐ hǎo Hello!
  2. You say
    我要買網卡。 wǒ yào mǎi wǎngkǎ I want to buy a data SIM.

    In Taiwan a data SIM is a 網卡, literally a "net card". The telecom desks are right by arrivals.

  3. You hear
    護照給我。 hùzhào gěi wǒ Your passport, please.
  4. You hear
    要幾天的？ yào jǐ tiān de For how many days?
  5. You say
    五天的。 wǔ tiān de Five days.
  6. You say
    我要買悠遊卡。 wǒ yào mǎi Yōuyóukǎ I want to buy an EasyCard.

    Tap it on the MRT, buses and YouBikes, and pay with it at 7-Eleven.

  7. You hear
    要儲值多少？ yào chúzhí duōshǎo How much do you want to top up?
  8. You say
    五百。 wǔbǎi Five hundred.

Taiwan ear: most people say z, c and s where the textbook says zh, ch and sh, so 是 (shì) often sounds like "sì". You will also hear little sentence endings everywhere: 喔, 啦 and 耶 soften what comes before them.

Is this what people really say here?

Questions about this scene

What will they ask me when I buy a SIM card and EasyCard at Taoyuan airport?

Expect to hear 要幾天的？ (yào jǐ tiān de, "For how many days?"), 要儲值多少？ (yào chúzhí duōshǎo, "How much do you want to top up?"). Useful things to say: 你好！ (nǐ hǎo, "Hello!") and 我要買網卡。 (wǒ yào mǎi wǎngkǎ, "I want to buy a data SIM").

What does "要幾天的？" mean in Mandarin (Taiwan)?

It means "For how many days?". It is pronounced yào jǐ tiān de. A natural reply is 五天的。 (wǔ tiān de), "Five days".

What does "要儲值多少？" mean in Mandarin (Taiwan)?

It means "How much do you want to top up?". It is pronounced yào chúzhí duōshǎo. A natural reply is 五百。 (wǔbǎi), "Five hundred".