# Taiwan Mandarin Phrasebook: Traditional Characters, Zhuyin and Pinyin You order at night-market stalls, pick sugar and ice for bubble tea, top up your EasyCard for the MRT and answer the convenience-store cashier. Made for learners heading to Taiwan, with free audio and no Chinese needed to start. Source: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/taiwan-mandarin-phrasebook ## At a glance - Level: Beginner · HSK 1 - Format: Workbook · PDF · 26 pages · US Letter (prints on A4) - Price: Free · free with a saymei account · updated Nov 4, 2026 ## Download Free with a SayMei account, on the workbook's page: https://www.saymei.app/resources/downloads/taiwan-mandarin-phrasebook. SayMei emails a copy too. ## A line from the workbook 請問，捷運站在哪裡？ (Qǐngwèn, jiéyùnzhàn zài nǎlǐ?) — Excuse me, where is the MRT station? ## By the end you can - Read Zhuyin tone marks and match them to pinyin. Learn the tone marks and the neutral-tone dot on 媽, 麻, 馬, 罵 and 嗎, then read the Zhuyin printed with every key phrase on the Learn pages. 謝謝 (xièxie): thank you - Use the word people say in Taiwan. Ten everyday words beside their mainland versions, such as 捷運 for the metro, 機車 for a scooter and 鳳梨 for pineapple. 計程車 (jìchéngchē): taxi - Greet, thank and say sorry the Taiwan way. Use 不好意思 to get past someone or call a server, say 早安 in the morning, and answer thanks with 不會，不會。 不好意思，請問洗手間在哪裡？ (Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn xǐshǒujiān zài nǎlǐ?): Excuse me, where is the restroom? - Order at night-market stalls and bubble tea shops. Count servings with 份, answer 內用 or 外帶, and choose sugar and ice in two short words, such as 半糖去冰. 老闆，兩份雞排，不要辣，外帶。 (Lǎobǎn, liǎng fèn jīpái, bú yào là, wàidài.): Two chicken cutlets, not spicy, to go, please. - Ride the MRT and top up your EasyCard. Say 搭 for taking the MRT or a taxi, top up your 悠遊卡 with 加值, and ask where to get off with 下車. 去士林夜市要在哪一站下車？ (Qù Shìlín Yèshì yào zài nǎ yí zhàn xià chē?): Which stop is it for Shilin Night Market? - Answer the convenience-store cashier in a word or two. Understand 要袋子嗎？, 要加熱嗎？ and 有載具嗎？, answer with 要, 不用 or 沒有, and pay with your EasyCard. 要加熱，不用袋子。我用悠遊卡付。 (Yào jiārè, bú yòng dàizi. Wǒ yòng yōuyóukǎ fù.): Please heat it up, no bag. I'll pay with my EasyCard. - Ask prices in 塊 and try for a better one. Read 元 on a price tag and say it with 塊, ask for a little off at market stalls, and tell a shop worker you're just looking. 可以算便宜一點嗎？ (Kěyǐ suàn piányí yìdiǎn ma?): Could you make it a bit cheaper? - Check in at a hotel and report what's broken. Say you have a booking, leave your bags, ask the front desk to call a taxi, and name any problem with 壞了 or 不能用. 冷氣壞了。 (Lěngqì huài le.): The air conditioning is broken. - Make small talk and take a compliment Taiwan style. Say it's your first time in Taiwan, ask where someone is from, and answer praise for your Chinese with a light 哪有. 哪有，還在學。 (Nǎ yǒu, hái zài xué.): Oh, not really, I'm still learning. ## What's inside - Sounds: Zhuyin on One Page · Taiwan Words vs Mainland Words - Chapter 1: Learn: Greetings in Taiwan · Practice: Practise: Greetings in Taiwan - Chapter 2: Learn: Night Market Food · Practice: Practise: Night Market Food - Chapter 3: Learn: Bubble Tea Your Way · Practice: Practise: Bubble Tea Your Way - Chapter 4: Learn: The MRT and Getting Around · Practice: Practise: MRT and Getting Around - Chapter 5: Learn: Convenience Stores · Practice: Practise: Convenience Stores - Chapter 6: Learn: Shopping and Prices · Practice: Practise: Shopping and Prices - Chapter 7: Learn: Hotels and Asking for Help · Practice: Practise: Hotels and Getting Help - Chapter 8: Learn: Small Talk with Locals · Practice: Practise: Small Talk with Locals - Review: A Day Out in Taipei ## How to use this book One chapter a day: the Learn page with its audio, then the Practice page from memory. Ten short sessions cover the whole book, so it fits into the week or two before you fly. - Day 1: Zhuyin and Taiwan words. Play the first track and follow the Zhuyin page, then cover the Taiwan column on page 4 and say each word from its mainland partner. - Days 2–5: Greetings, night market, bubble tea, MRT. Play a phrase, say it back in the pause, then say it once more without the audio. Do the Practice page from memory and check the answer key at the back. - Days 6–9: Convenience stores, prices, hotels, small talk. Work through chapters 5 to 8 the same way, and finish each Practice page by saying its last task out loud. - Day 10: A Day Out in Taipei. Act out the outing on page 21 with a friend, then change the order: a different tea, your own sugar and ice, and drink it there. - Any day: Keep speaking. Scan the code on any Learn page to keep speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## Who it's for Beginners heading to Taiwan for a trip, study or work, and learners who know some mainland Mandarin and want the words, script and habits people use in Taiwan. Before you start: No Chinese needed. Every Learn-page phrase is printed in Traditional characters with Zhuyin, pinyin and English, and the free audio reads each line with a pause to say it back. ## What's inside? A page on Zhuyin, ten Taiwan words beside their mainland versions, then eight chapters, each a Learn page and a Practice page: greetings, night-market food, bubble tea, the MRT, convenience stores, shopping, hotels and small talk. A day out in Taipei on page 21 brings it together, and the answer key is at the back. ## How long does it take? One chapter a day: the Learn page with its audio, then the Practice page from memory. Ten short sessions cover the whole book, so it fits into the week or two before you fly. ## Why Traditional characters and Zhuyin instead of Simplified? Traditional characters are the script on every sign and menu in Taiwan, so the book uses them throughout. Zhuyin (ㄅㄆㄇㄈ) is the sound script children learn in Taiwan schools, and you'll see it on phone keyboards. Page 3 teaches its tone marks, and pinyin sits beside every phrase if you prefer it. ## Will people in Taiwan understand mainland words? Yes, people in Taiwan understand them too, so you'll always be understood. The local word simply sounds friendlier. Page 4 sets ten pairs side by side, such as 計程車 and 出租車 for a taxi. ## Is there audio? Yes, free on the book's audio page in ten tracks: the sounds pages, each chapter and the review, with a pause after every line so you can say it back. The code on page 2 opens it, and the scripts for the listening exercises are printed with the answer key at the back. ## Do I need a SayMei account? Yes, to download the PDF, and the account is free: sign up with Google, Apple or your email address. With it we email you a copy of the workbook, keep every workbook you download on your account on all your devices, save your place in the free online practice, and you can practise speaking with Mei Lin, SayMei's AI tutor. ## How do I print it? The PDF is US Letter size. On A4 paper, choose "Fit to page" (or "Scale to fit") in the print dialog so nothing is cut off. Print the whole workbook or only the pages you need; colour looks best, and black and white works too. Version 2026-11, updated Nov 4, 2026.