The ones you'll use every hour
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) — hello. Works everywhere, with everyone.
- 謝謝 (xiè xie) — thank you. The single highest-value phrase on this page.
- 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) — excuse me / sorry. If Taiwan runs on one phrase, it's this: use it to get a server's attention, squeeze past someone on the MRT, open a question to a stranger, or apologize for a small bump. It's softer and far more common in Taiwan than a textbook 對不起 (duì bù qǐ), which is reserved for actual apologies.
- 請問 (qǐng wèn) — "may I ask…" The polite way to open any question: 請問 + the thing you want to know.
- 再見 (zài jiàn) — goodbye. Though listen around and you'll mostly hear the loanword 拜拜 (bāi bāi) — "bye-bye" — which is completely normal adult speech in Taiwan.
How do you say "excuse me" in Taiwan?
The everyday "excuse me" in Taiwan is 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) — it covers getting someone's attention, opening a question to a stranger, and apologizing for small things all at once. But Taiwan actually spreads "excuse me" across three phrases, and picking the right one is one of the fastest ways to sound local:
- 不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si) — the all-purpose one: flagging a server, starting a question, a light "sorry" for a small bump.
- 借過 (jiè guò) — literally "borrow a pass": "excuse me, coming through." This is the dedicated phrase for squeezing through a night-market crowd or getting off a packed MRT car — short, neutral, and exactly what you'll hear locals say.
- 請問 (qǐng wèn) — "may I ask…" — the "excuse me" that opens a question: 請問，捷運站在哪裡？ (qǐng wèn, jié yùn zhàn zài nǎ lǐ?) — "excuse me, where's the MRT station?"
English folds all of these into one phrase, so the three-way split takes a moment to internalize — but each is only a couple of syllables, and you'll hear all three within your first hour at a night market.
Night markets and food stalls
- 多少錢？ (duō shǎo qián?) — how much is it? Don't worry about catching the answer: vendors are used to visitors and will often just show you the number.
- 我要這個 (wǒ yào zhè ge) — I want this one. Pointing while saying it is not cheating; it's exactly what the phrase is for.
- 好吃！ (hǎo chī!) — delicious! Say it to the person who cooked your food and watch what happens.
- 不用了，謝謝 (bú yòng le, xiè xie) — no need, thanks. The gentle way to decline a bag, a sample, or an upsell.
Ordering drinks like a local
Taiwan invented bubble tea — 珍珠奶茶 (zhēn zhū nǎi chá), "pearl milk tea" — and every drink shop will ask you two questions: how much sugar, and how much ice. The answers are their own tiny vocabulary:
- 半糖 (bàn táng) — half sugar.
- 去冰 (qù bīng) — no ice.
- 半糖去冰 (bàn táng qù bīng) — half sugar, no ice: the classic combo, and possibly the most Taiwanese sentence a visitor can say.
Note the pair hiding in there: 糖 (táng, "sugar") rises, while 湯 (tāng, "soup") stays flat — one of the everyday word pairs where tones genuinely change what you've ordered.
Getting around
- 捷運 (jié yùn) — the MRT/metro. Taipei's and Kaohsiung's systems are bilingual and famously easy to use.
- 火車 (huǒ chē) — train; 高鐵 (gāo tiě) — the high-speed rail down the west coast; 車站 (chē zhàn) — station.
- 悠遊卡 (yōu yóu kǎ) — the EasyCard, the tap-to-pay transit card that also works in convenience stores. Buy one on day one.
- 廁所在哪裡？ (cè suǒ zài nǎ lǐ?) — where's the bathroom? The most important question in any language.
Small cultural notes that make the phrases land
- Tipping isn't part of everyday culture. Night-market stalls and taxis don't expect it; sit-down restaurants typically add a service charge to the bill instead. A warm 謝謝 (xiè xie) is the appreciated currency.
- Keep your receipts. Every printed receipt doubles as a ticket in Taiwan's uniform-invoice lottery (統一發票, tǒng yī fā piào), with drawings every two months — locals genuinely check theirs.
- Signs are in Traditional characters. Menus, streets, everything — one of the visible differences covered in Taiwanese Mandarin vs. Mainland Mandarin. Romanized spellings on street signs vary a lot between systems, so trust the characters (or the MRT's English) over the romanization.
If you want more than survival phrases
A phrase list gets you through a week. If Taiwan is more than a one-off trip — family, a longer stay, or you just fell for the place — the jump from "memorized sounds" to actually speaking comes from learning the words with their tones and characters from the start, in an order that builds. That's the whole design of CiaoSpeak: a travel-focused path is one of the goals you can pick on day one, and the curriculum teaches Taiwan-standard vocabulary — 半糖去冰 (bàn táng qù bīng) included — from lesson one. If you're weighing a proficiency test down the line, see TOCFL vs. HSK for which one actually applies to Taiwan, or our complete beginner's guide to learning Chinese for the full path from zero. See the FAQ for more on how the app works, or head back to the homepage for the full picture.
Frequently asked questions
Are Taiwan street signs in Traditional or Simplified Chinese?
Traditional characters — menus, street signs, and everyday writing in Taiwan all use Traditional Chinese, not the Simplified characters used on the mainland.
Is tipping expected in Taiwan?
No, tipping isn't part of everyday culture in Taiwan. Night-market stalls and taxis don't expect it, and sit-down restaurants typically add a service charge to the bill instead.
How do you order bubble tea in Chinese?
Ask for 半糖去冰 (bàn táng qù bīng) — half sugar, no ice — the classic order for 珍珠奶茶 (zhēn zhū nǎi chá), pearl milk tea, which Taiwan invented.
What is the most useful Chinese phrase in Taiwan?
不好意思 (bù hǎo yì si), "excuse me" or "sorry." It's used constantly to get a server's attention, squeeze past someone on the MRT, open a question to a stranger, or apologize for a small bump.