You do not need to speak fluent Mandarin to travel in China or Taiwan. But you do need enough to handle a handful of situations confidently: ordering food, getting directions, paying for things, and asking for help when something goes wrong. The phrases below are the ones that will carry you through most of those moments.
A note on tones before you start: Mandarin has four tones plus a neutral tone, and they matter — the same syllable in different tones means different things. Tone marks in Pinyin look like this: mā (flat, tone 1), má (rising, tone 2), mǎ (dip-and-rise, tone 3), mà (falling, tone 4). Do not ignore them. The good news is that context carries a lot of weight in real conversation — a mispronounced tone in a restaurant, surrounded by food, is usually understood anyway.
Greetings and polite openers
- 你好 (nǐ hǎo) — Hello
- 谢谢 (xièxiè) — Thank you
- 不客气 (bù kèqì) — You're welcome / Don't mention it
- 对不起 (duìbuqǐ) — Sorry / Excuse me (for bumping into someone or making a mistake)
- 请 (qǐng) — Please (also used to get someone's attention politely)
- 再见 (zàijiàn) — Goodbye
Nǐ hǎo is the textbook greeting, but in casual settings you will often hear nǐ hǎo ma (how are you?) or simply a nod. Xièxiè is used constantly — learn to say it reflexively.
Getting around
- 请问，...在哪里？ (qǐngwèn, ... zài nǎlǐ?) — Excuse me, where is ...?
- 地铁站 (dìtiě zhàn) — metro/subway station
- 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) — bus
- 出租车 (chūzū chē) — taxi
- 机场 (jīchǎng) — airport
- 火车站 (huǒchē zhàn) — train station
- 左 (zuǒ) — left
- 右 (yòu) — right
- 直走 (zhí zǒu) — go straight
- 我要去... (wǒ yào qù ...) — I want to go to ...
For taxis, the most reliable approach is to have your destination written in characters — either on your phone or on paper. Showing the driver is faster and more accurate than attempting to pronounce unfamiliar place names.
Ordering food and drink
- 菜单 (càidān) — menu
- 我要这个 (wǒ yào zhège) — I want this one (pointing works)
- 不辣 (bù là) — not spicy
- 不要... (bù yào ...) — without ... (e.g. bù yào xiāngcài = no coriander)
- 一共多少钱？ (yīgòng duōshǎo qián?) — How much is it altogether?
- 买单 (mǎidān) — The bill, please
- 好吃 (hǎo chī) — Delicious (earns you a lot of goodwill)
- 水 (shuǐ) — water
- 茶 (chá) — tea
- 啤酒 (píjiǔ) — beer
In many restaurants in mainland China, you order via a QR code on your phone — which assumes a Chinese number and WeChat Pay. Having cash as a backup is wise. In Taiwan, cash or card is standard.
Shopping and numbers
Numbers 1–10: 一二三四五六七八九十 (yī èr sān sì wǔ liù qī bā jiǔ shí). From 11 onwards, Mandarin numbers are logical: 11 is shíyī (ten-one), 20 is èrshí (two-ten), 21 is èrshíyī. You can calculate rather than memorise.
- 多少钱？ (duōshǎo qián?) — How much?
- 太贵了 (tài guì le) — Too expensive
- 能便宜一点吗？ (néng piányí yīdiǎn ma?) — Can you make it a bit cheaper?
- 我只看看 (wǒ zhǐ kànkan) — I'm just browsing
When things go wrong
- 我需要帮助 (wǒ xūyào bāngzhù) — I need help
- 我迷路了 (wǒ mí lù le) — I'm lost
- 请叫救护车 (qǐng jiào jiùhùchē) — Please call an ambulance
- 请叫警察 (qǐng jiào jǐngchá) — Please call the police
- 我不舒服 (wǒ bù shūfú) — I don't feel well
- 医院在哪里？ (yīyuàn zài nǎlǐ?) — Where is the hospital?
Learning to say these phrases on a page is only the first step. The harder part is saying them when you are tired, slightly confused, and surrounded by a language you do not fully understand. The gap between knowing a phrase and being able to produce it under real conditions is where most travel preparation falls short — and where practising in realistic spoken scenarios, before you arrive, makes a measurable difference.