慢慢學 mànmàn xuéMandarin phrases for home life in Taiwan
Talk to your landlord, handle the trash truck, pay utility bills at the convenience store, and survive typhoon season — Taiwanese Mandarin home phrases with pinyin and audio.
Taiwan has no bin day and mostly no bins. A yellow truck comes down your street playing classical music — Für Elise or A Maiden's Prayer — and you walk your rubbish out and hand it up to the crew yourself, with recycling going into a separate truck behind it. Several cities require you to buy official bags for general waste, so ask a neighbour or your landlord which rules apply where you live. lèsè chē lái le is the shout that gets a whole building moving.
The rest of home Mandarin is the landlord and the bills. Utility bills arrive as paper slips with a barcode and get paid at any convenience store, not at a bank. When something breaks — the aircon, the water heater, the internet — a short message to the fángdōng with lěngqì huài le or méiyǒu rèshuǐ is normal and expected; most landlords here handle repairs directly.
26 phrases for home, rent & bills
| What you say | Pinyin | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| The trash truck is coming! | lèsè chē lái le! | 垃圾車來了！ |
| Take out the trash. | dào lèsè. | 倒垃圾。 |
| Recycling. | huíshōu. | 回收。 |
| The air conditioner is broken. | lěngqì huài le. | 冷氣壞了。 |
| Turn on the AC. | kāi lěngqì. | 開冷氣。 |
| Turn off the light. | guān dēng. | 關燈。 |
| There's no hot water. | méiyǒu rèshuǐ. | 沒有熱水。 |
| Landlord. | fángdōng. | 房東。 |
| Rent. | fángzū. | 房租。 |
| When is the rent due? | fángzū shénme shíhòu yào jiǎo? | 房租什麼時候要繳？ |
| Electricity bill. | diànfèi. | 電費。 |
| Water bill. | shuǐfèi. | 水費。 |
| You can pay the bill at the convenience store. | kěyǐ zài chāoshāng jiǎofèi. | 可以在超商繳費。 |
| The internet isn't working. | wǎnglù huài le. | 網路壞了。 |
| Keys. | yàoshi. | 鑰匙。 |
| I forgot to bring my keys. | wǒ wàngjì dài yàoshi. | 我忘記帶鑰匙。 |
| Do the laundry. | xǐ yīfú. | 洗衣服。 |
| Washing machine. | xǐyījī. | 洗衣機。 |
| A typhoon is coming. | táifēng yào lái le. | 颱風要來了。 |
| Mosquito. | wénzi. | 蚊子。 |
| There's a cockroach! | yǒu zhāngláng! | 有蟑螂！ |
| I'm home! | wǒ huílái le! | 我回來了！ |
| Let's head out. | wǒmen chūmén ba. | 我們出門吧。 |
| Scooter. (the Taiwan word) | jīchē. | 機車。 |
| Where did you park the scooter? | jīchē tíng zài nǎlǐ? | 機車停在哪裡？ |
What you'll hear back
The other half of the conversation — what the vendor, clerk or nurse says to you. Understanding these is usually harder than speaking.
| What they say | Pinyin | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Let me take a look at it. | wǒ bāng nǐ kàn yíxià. | 我幫你看一下。 |
Questions people ask
What is the music the trash truck plays?
Für Elise or A Maiden's Prayer, depending on the truck. It's the signal to bring your rubbish out — you hand the bags to the crew rather than leaving them on the kerb.
Do I need special rubbish bags?
In several cities, yes — general waste has to go in official government-issue bags sold at convenience stores, while recycling doesn't. The rules are set locally, so check what applies in your district.
How do I pay my electricity and water bills?
Take the paper bill to any convenience store and say wǒ yào jiǎofèi. They scan the barcode and you pay at the counter — no bank visit, no account setup.
Who fixes things in a rented apartment?
Usually the landlord arranges and pays for repairs to what came with the flat. Message the fángdōng describing what's broken; huài le (it's broken) after the item's name is enough to start the conversation.
