慢慢學 mànmàn xuéHow to say “Excuse me…” in Taiwanese Mandarin
bù hǎo yìsi
不好意思
Word by word
| Syllable | Means |
|---|---|
| bù hǎo | not good |
| yìsi | feeling, meaning |
When to use it
The most useful phrase in Taiwan. It gets a shop assistant's attention, apologises for a bump on the MRT, opens a question to a stranger and softens any request. Taiwanese people reach for it far more often than duìbùqǐ, which sounds like a real apology for something serious.
What you might hear back
nǐ hǎo, xūyào bāngmáng ma?
你好，需要幫忙嗎？
“Hello — do you need help?”
Learn these properly, free. Practise this topic with audio flashcards, or let the Learning Journey pick your phrases for you — it teaches one topic at a time and puts the most useful phrases first.
Say this next
| English | Pinyin | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Can you help me? | kěyǐ bāng wǒ ma? | 可以幫我嗎？ |
| Excuse me, may I ask… | qǐngwèn… | 請問…… |
| Sorry to trouble you | máfan nǐ le. | 麻煩你了。 |
Part of Shopping & paying — 27 phrases.