The free phrasebook

612 real daily-life phrases, organized by situation. Pinyin + traditional characters, Taiwan-specific throughout. Practice any deck with audio flashcards — free.

New to Taiwan Mandarin, or arriving with mainland Mandarin already? Here is what actually differs — the characters, the changed readings and the vocabulary swaps worth making first.

Prefer paper? Print the survival sheet — the phrases worth carrying in your bag, on one page.

Ordering food & drinks

Restaurants, breakfast shops and bubble tea stands: for here or to go, sugar and ice levels, and paying the check.

Shopping & paying

Shops and convenience stores: asking prices, paying by card or LINE Pay, receipts, bags, and asking for help.

Greetings & small talk

Neighbours, weather, names, and the handful of polite phrases that carry a whole conversation.

MRT, buses and taxis, EasyCard top-ups, giving directions, and scooter life.

Traditional market

The morning wet market: calling the vendor, buying by the jin, bargaining, and produce, meat and fish.

Night market & street food

Ordering the classics, spice levels, queues and portions, and the game stalls.

Home, rent & bills

Landlords and rent, utility bills, the trash truck, typhoons, and the things that break.

Pharmacy & symptoms

Saying how you feel, buying medicine at the pharmacy, and clinic basics.

Doctor & hospital

Registering and the ER, your NHI card, blood tests and X-rays, paying, and picking up medicine.

School & preschool

Drop-off and pickup, teachers and classroom talk, homework, uniforms, cram school and school fees.

Numbers, time & dates

Counting and prices, telling the time, days and dates, opening hours — the layer every other topic sits on.

Convenience stores

Parcel pickup, bill payments, printing, heating up lunch — the errands you run at 7-Eleven and FamilyMart.

Opening an account, ATMs and transfers, changing money, and the chop and paperwork a foreigner gets handed.

Phone & internet

SIM cards and monthly plans, topping up, unlimited data, and getting home internet installed or fixed.

Paperwork & government offices

Your ARC, the immigration and household registration offices, forms and photocopies, and the take-a-number routine.

Colleagues and meetings, clocking off, overtime, leave and bonuses, and the year-end party.

Weather, typhoons & earthquakes

Typhoon days and cancelled work, earthquakes, the summer humidity, and whether to bring an umbrella.

Festivals & customs

Lunar New Year and red envelopes, Mid-Autumn barbecues, Dragon Boat, temple visits and make-up work days.

Driving & scooters

Renting and licensing, parking and tickets, repairs and flat tyres, and the two-stage left turn.

Emergencies & police

Calling 110 or 119, accidents and injuries, theft and lost property, and asking for urgent help.

A Catholic Mass in Mandarin: the congregation's responses, what the priest says, church words, and finding your seat and your page.

Signs, menus & labels

The characters you have to recognise to get through a day: toilet doors, menu boards, open or closed, prices, and street addresses.