Taiwanese Mandarin small talk phrases 聊天
Everyday small talk in Taiwan: greetings, weather chat, meeting neighbors, and the Taiwanese way to say you're welcome (不會) — with pinyin and traditional characters.
| English | Pinyin | Characters |
|---|---|---|
| Have you eaten? (classic greeting) | nǐ chī bǎo le ma? | 你吃飽了嗎？ |
| Good morning. | zǎo'ān. | 早安。 |
| Long time no see! | hǎojiǔ bújiàn! | 好久不見！ |
| Where are you from? | nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén? | 你是哪裡人？ |
| We live here (in this neighborhood). | wǒmen zhù zhèlǐ. | 我們住這裡。 |
| It's so hot today! | jīntiān hǎo rè! | 今天好熱！ |
| It's raining again. | yòu xiàyǔ le. | 又下雨了。 |
| The weather is really nice today. | jīntiān tiānqì hěn hǎo. | 今天天氣很好。 |
| What's your name? | nǐ jiào shénme míngzì? | 你叫什麼名字？ |
| My name is … | wǒ jiào … | 我叫…… |
| Nice to meet you. | hěn gāoxìng rènshì nǐ. | 很高興認識你。 |
| How have you been lately? | zuìjìn hǎo ma? | 最近好嗎？ |
| Pretty good! | hái búcuò! | 還不錯！ |
| So-so / it's okay. | hái hǎo. | 還好。 |
| Your dog is so cute! | nǐ de gǒu hǎo kě'ài! | 你的狗好可愛！ |
| See you next time. | xiàcì jiàn. | 下次見。 |
| Take care! (said to someone leaving) | mànzǒu! | 慢走！ |
| Sorry to trouble you. | máfan nǐ le. | 麻煩你了。 |
| You're welcome / no worries. (very Taiwanese) | búhuì. | 不會。 |
| Really?! | zhēn de ma? | 真的嗎？ |
| I'm learning Mandarin. | wǒ zài xué zhōngwén. | 我在學中文。 |
| I only speak a little. | wǒ zhǐ huì shuō yìdiǎn. | 我只會說一點。 |
| How do you say this in Chinese? | zhège zhōngwén zěnme shuō? | 這個中文怎麼說？ |
| Bye-bye! (how everyone says goodbye) | bàibài! | 拜拜！ |
| Excuse me, may I ask… | qǐngwèn… | 請問…… |