30 Travel & Daily-life Conversations in Taiwan You Must Know
In this lesson, I will introduce 30 travel and daily life conversations that you will use in Taiwan. My advice is that you memorize these Taiwanese Mandarin phrases as these are how native speakers would converse. Try repeating these conversations to yourself! Here are the notes with zhuyin (bopomofo) and pinyin.
Asking for water (at a restaurant)
A: Excuse me, can I have some water?
B: Sure, wait a moment please. (formal tone)
A: 不好意思󠇢，可以給我水嗎？(bù hǎo yì si, kě yǐ gěi wǒ shuǐ ma)
B: 好，稍等一󠇡下 (hǎo shāo děng yí xià)
Asking for the Wi-Fi password
A: Excuse me, what’s the Wi-Fi password?
B: The password is there.
A: 不好意思󠇢，請問Wi-Fi的密碼是什麼？(bù hǎo yì si, qǐng wèn Wi-Fi de mì mǎ shì shén me)
B: 密碼在那邊喔 (mì mǎ zài nà biān ō)
Dine-in or take-out?
A: Is it for here or to-go?
B: For here, thanks.
A: 請問內用還是外帶？(qǐng wèn nèi yòng hái shì wài dài)
B: 內用，謝謝󠇡 (nèi yòng xiè xie)
Buying a ticket?
A: Excuse me, where can I buy a (transportation) ticket?
B: Right there.
A: 不好意思󠇢，請問哪裡可以買車票？(bù hǎo yì si, qǐng wèn nǎ lǐ kě yǐ mǎi chē piào)
B: 就在那邊 (jiù zài nà biān)
Asking for a refund
A: I bought something wrong. Can I get a refund please?
B: Have you brought your receipt?
A: 我買錯了，請問可以退貨嗎？(wǒ mǎi cuò le, qǐng wèn kě yǐ tuì huò ma)
B: 有帶發票嗎？(yǒu dài fā piào ma)
Asking a passerby to take pictures for you
A: Excuse me, can you take a photo for us?
B: Oh, sure!
A: 不好意思󠇢，可以幫我們拍照嗎？(bù hǎo yì si, kě yǐ bāng wǒ men pāi zhào ma)
B: 喔，可以啊󠇡 (ō, kě yǐ ā)
Membership at a store
A: Do you have membership?
B: No.
A: 請問有會員嗎？(qǐng wèn yǒu huì yuán ma)
B: 沒有 (méi yǒu)
Asking for a different product size
A: Is there a smaller size for this?
B: Let me check.
A: 請問這個󠇡有沒有小一󠇡號的? (qǐng wèn zhè ge yǒu méi yǒu xiǎo yí hào de)
B: 我查一󠇡下 (wǒ chá yí xià)
Asking for a different product color
A: Excuse me, are there other colors for this one?
B: We have blue and black.
A: 請問這個󠇡有別的顏色嗎? (qǐng wèn zhè ge yǒu bié de yán sè ma)
B: 有藍色跟黑色 (yǒu lán sè gēn hēi sè)
Asking for a straw
A: Excuse me, are there other colors for this one?
B: We have blue and black.
A: 可以給我吸管嗎? (kě yǐ gěi wǒ xī guǎn ma)
B: 吸管在那邊喔 (xī guǎn zài nà biān ō)
“That’s all” to a server or cashier
A: Do you need anything else?
B: That’s all.
A: 還需要什麼呢? (hái xū yào shén me ne)
B: 這樣就可以了 (zhè yàng jiù kěyǐ le)
Is this the right train or bus?
A: Is this train/shuttle/bus bound for Jiufen?
B: Yes.
A: 請問這是要去九份的車嗎? (qǐng wèn zhè shì yào qù jiǔ fèn de chē ma)
B: 對 (duì)
You can’t take photos here
A: Excuse me, you can’t take photos here!
B: Oh sorry, I didn’t know that.
A: 不好意思󠇢，這裡不可以拍照喔！ (bù hǎo yì si, zhè lǐ bù kě yǐ pāi zhào ō)
B: 喔！不好意思󠇢，我不知道 (ō! bù hǎo yì si, wǒ bù zhī dào)
Where is the restroom?
A: Where is the restroom?
B: Second floor, on your right.
A: 請問廁所在哪裡？(qǐng wèn cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ)
B: 二樓，右轉就看到了 (èr lóu, yòu zhuǎn jiù kàn dào le)
Should I show you around? (in a store)
A: Do you want me to show you around [the store]?
B: It’s alright, I’m just browsing.
A: 需要幫你介紹嗎？ (xū yào bāng nǐ jiè shào ma)
B: 沒關係，我看一󠇡下而已 (méi guān xì, wǒ kàn yí xià ér yǐ)
Asking for the bill
A: Excuse me, could I have the bill?
B: Sure.
A: 不好意思󠇢，我要買單 (bù hǎo yì si, wǒ yào mǎi dān)
B: 好 (hǎo)
This one is broken
A: I think this one is broken.
B: Oh… I’ll go get a new one for you then.
A: 這個好像壞掉了 (zhè ge hǎo xiàng huài diào le)
B: 嗯。。。那我去拿新的給你 (en nà wǒ qù ná xīn de gěi nǐ)
Your Chinese is amazing!
A: Your Chinese is amazing!
B: No no, thank you!
A: 你的中文好厲害喔！ (nǐ de zhōng wén hǎo lì hài ō)
B: 沒有啦，謝謝󠇡 (méi yǒu, la xiè xie)
Renting something
A: Hello, I’d like to rent two scooters.
B: Sure. Do you have an international driver’s license and passport?
A: 你好，我想要租兩台機車 (nǐ hǎo wǒ xiǎng yào zū liǎng tái jī chē)
B: 好，有國際駕照跟護照嗎？ (hǎo, yǒu guó jì jià zhào gēn hù zhào ma)
Buying transportation tickets
A: Two tickets to Songshan Airport, thanks.
B: NTD $200
A: 兩張票，到松山機場，謝謝󠇡！ (liǎng zhāng piào, dào song shān jī chǎng, xiè xie)
B: 兩百 (liǎng bǎi)
Could you say it one more time?
A: Huh? Excuse me, could you say it one more time?
B: Do you need a bag?
A: 嗯？不好意思󠇢，可以再說一󠇡次嗎？ (en? bù hǎo yì si, kě yǐ zài shuō yí cì ma?)
B: 要不󠇡要袋子󠇡？ (yào bú yào dài zi)
Exchanging currency (I)
A: Excuse me, where can I exchange currency?
B: There’s a bank over there.
A: 請問哪裡可以換錢？ (qǐng wèn nǎ lǐ kě yǐ huàn qián)
B: 那邊有一󠇢家銀行󠇡 (nà biān yǒu yì jiā yín háng)
Exchanging currency (II)
A: Hello, I have some US dollars and would like to exchange them for Taiwanese dollars.
B: Sure. How much are you exchanging?
A: 你好，我想要美金換臺幣 (nǐ hǎo wǒ xiǎng yào měi jīn huàn tái bì)
B: 好，換多少？ (hǎo, huàn duō shǎo)
How much is this?
A: How much does this cost? (to the storeowner)
B: Five hundred NTD.
A: 老闆，這個󠇡多少？ (lǎo bǎn, zhè ge duō shǎo)
B: 五百 (wǔ bǎi)
Could I leave my luggage here?
A: Could I leave my luggage here?
B: Yes, just give it to our receptionist.
A: 請問可以寄放行李嗎？ (qǐng wèn kě yǐ jì fàng xíng lǐ ma)
B: 可以。給我們櫃台人員就可以了 (kě yǐ gěi wǒ men guì tái rén yuán jiù kě yǐ le)
First time in Taiwan?
A: Is this your first time in Taiwan?
B: Oh no, I’ve been here before.
A: 第一次來台灣嗎？ (dì yī cì lái tái wān ma)
B: 喔 不󠇡是，我之前就來過了 (ō bú shì, wǒ zhī qián jiù lái guò le)
Do you sell this?
A: Do you sell this? (I’m looking for this)
B: Let me check.
A: 請問你們有沒有賣這個󠇡？ (qǐng wèn nǐ men yǒu méi yǒu mài zhè ge)
B: 我看一󠇡下 (wǒ kàn yí xià)
Ordering bubble tea
A: Hi, a medium (size) bubble milk tea, half sugar less ice, thank you.
B: Okay, NTD $50.
A: 你好，一󠇢杯珍珠奶茶，中杯、半糖少冰，謝謝󠇡 (nǐ hǎo, yì bēi zhēn zhū nǎi chá, zhōng bēi, bàn táng shǎo bīng, xiè xie)
B: 好，五十元 (hǎo wǔ shí yuán)
How long is the wait in this line?
A: How long is the wait in this line?
B: About 20 minutes.
A: 請問排隊要排多久 (qǐng wèn pái duì yào pái duō jiǔ)
B: 大概要二十分鐘 (dà gài yào èr shí fēn zhōng)
Let us know if you have questions
A: Let us know if you have questions
B: Okay.
A: 有問題再跟我們說 (yǒu wèn tí zài gēn wǒ men shuō)
B: 好 (hǎo)
Now have you got used to Taiwanese accent? These Taiwanese Mandarin phrases are must-knows that are used in everyday life in or travel to Taiwan. I hope they help you improve your speaking in conversaiton. Be sure to remember them and practice speaking these phrases a lot so you are ready for many of these situations!
→ To learn more spoken Chinese used in speaking, please take a look at my Conversation Training Course. mandarin-with-miss-lin.teachable.com/p/conversationtrainingcourse
Cover Photo by Vernon Raineil Cenzon on Unsplash
