老外看台灣 | Taiwan Made Simple
My Six Language Tips for Living in Taiwan
Whether you’re a beginner or have studied Chinese for years, you’ll encounter new situations and new words to deal with them when you arrive in Taiwan
Here are a few tricks to have up your sleeve that will help you communicate clearly as a non-native speaker.
Excuse Me vs. Sorry vs. Requests
Four phrases that will become indispensable to your arsenal are 不好意思 (bù hǎoyìsi), 麻煩你 (máfan nǐ), 對不起 (duìbùqǐ), and 請問 (qǐngwèn).
While they all carry similar meanings, it’s important to note their distinctions;
不好意思 — translated literally, this phrase means “not good meaning.”
The standard translation you’ll find in dictionaries is “excuse me,” but this doesn’t reflect the subtle note of embarrassment or apology for inconveniencing someone, which bù hǎoyìsi also includes.
It’s the perfect way to redeem yourself after a linguistic blunder causes an awkward misunderstanding. You can use it to interrupt someone or get their attention to ask a question, express regret for a (small) mistake, or apologize for bumping into a fellow MRT passenger.
麻煩你 — this is a great way to sound humble and polite when making requests, especially to strangers or elders. Translated as “[allow me to] trouble you,” máfan nǐ is the perfect phrase to use when asking a waiter for another pair of chopsticks, a shopkeeper for directions, or an acquaintance for a favor.
對不起 — Duìbùqǐ translates as “sorry,” but it can also express “excuse me” in English, whether when interrupting and making requests or accidentally imposing on others’ personal space.
請問 — Finally, qǐngwèn is yet another form of excusing oneself. However, it is never used for physical interactions, such as pushing past people on public transportation. Translated literally as “please ask,” it can only be used when asking questions.
Public Transportation
This one seems minor, but it took some getting used to learning to read the names of buses that aren’t always identified by numbers.
For example, the Fuxing Main Line Bus has the number 74, but this number isn’t listed on Google Maps or the electronic tickets at bus stations.
Recognizing the characters for 復興 (Fùxīng) is helpful when you’re first getting into a public transportation routine.
Usually, these “named” buses travel along one main road, so zooming in on the road on Google Maps can hint at the characters you’ll find on the bus itself.
Asking Questions
In Chinese, 嗎 (ma) is used at the end of statements to turn them into questions, but I (and other language learners) often find myself making the mistake of dropping the “ma” and simply using inflections, then assuming people will get the memo.
They do, but not only is this grammatically incorrect, proper tones immediately go out the window. The other way to ask questions is to double the verb and add 不 (bù) or 沒 (méi) in between, as in 能不能 (néng bùnéng — can/cannot)，要不要 (yào bùyào — will/will not)，有沒有 (yǒu méiyǒu — have/have not).
In this case, I tend to overcorrect and add the 嗎 anyway. Don’t be like me — choose an option and stick with it!
Drop the “er”
If you’ve taken Chinese classes in the U.S. or elsewhere, you were probably taught vocabulary in mainland China, specifically Beijing.
In Taiwan, there’s nothing quite like saying 哪兒 (nǎ’er — there) and 這兒 (zhè’er — here) instead of 那裡 (nàlǐ) and 這裡 (zhèlǐ) to give yourself away as a newcomer.
You’ll drop the 兒 (er) pretty quickly, but here are a few common vocabulary differences to keep in mind:
Non-Verbal Communication in Traffic
As soon as you step out onto a Taipei street during rush hour, you’ll notice that lots of things are going on: pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists, buses, and of course, cars.
Although the infrastructure of city streets does its best to allow everyone to arrive safely at their destination, there’s a delicate and wordless communication going on here.
You must stay aware of your surroundings (pedestrians do not have the right of way!) and be assertive when it’s your turn to go.
Others may not make their presence known when they need to pass you, instead weaving around carefully.
Don’t rely on your bike bell too much — some people might consider it impolite to ring it too aggressively.
A Note on Culture …
Taiwanese culture is high context — plenty of unspoken context occurring behind the scenes.
A lot can go unsaid, especially when it comes to language. Pronouns are a good example — 他 (he) and 她 (she) are both pronounced tā, so you need to pay close attention when someone is recounting events that include both a man and a woman.
Sometimes pronouns can be omitted altogether. Classifying cultures as “high” or “low” context only goes so far — plenty of Americans communicate indirectly, and Taiwanese people can be very blunt, but it’s helpful to know that there’s a reason you’re having trouble following conversations.
Good luck with your language learning!
