'''Taiwanese''' as spoken by people having resided in Taiwan. Other language variants/dialects are spoken in Taiwan as well.

Audio

Pseudo-phonetization

Note: the following uses unconventional romanization and does not describe tones, but just tries to be phonetically accurate from an (American) english speaking standpoint. Goal is to have an english speaker's first try be fairly close, without reading a bunch of rules for phonetization nor trying to distinguish between the 7 tones in Taiwanese. Unfortunately, it is difficult to cover all tones this way, especially nasal and breath differences, and thus cannot be completely accurate. Also to note is the author learned Taiwanese from one parent from the south, and one parent from the north.

  • Asterisk precedes words that are very hard to phonetize. It would be nice to get some audio on here for these, if not all.
  • Also to note is the phoneme for "* L" or "* D" used below. The best I can describe it is to transition between an "N", "L" and "D" sound. It is not as hard as a "D" but you keep your tongue flat on your palette (as opposed to tip as in "L"). I've chosen "* L" or "* D" depending on, in my opinion, which is the least offensive...
  • Basic Phrases

    Hello - * Li ho -- literally, "you good?"

    How are you - * Li ho-ba; OR Jia bah bo -- literally, "eat full?"

    Not bad - Mbay mbai

    Good, Thank you - Informal: Huh, duh shiah. Formal: Huh, gahm shiah

    What is your name - * Li-ay myah shee sa?

    My name is - Wah-ay mya shee

    Please - Pbai toh

    That's OK / You're welcome - Me-en Kayki

    Excuse me - Pai say

    Sorry - Informal: Pai say. Formal: * Shid eh

    Goodbye - tzai chien

    I don't know how to speak English - Wah mbay hyow gong eng-yee

    Do you know how to speak English? - * Li gah-ay hyow gong eng-yee

    Is there someone here who speaks English? - Jiah gah oo * lahng ay hyow gong eng-yee

    I don't understand - Wah tyah bo

    Where's the bathroom? - Ben so dee-da

    Problems

    Go Away - kia kwee!

    Don't touch me! - Mai gah-wah mo

    I'll call the police. - Informal: Wah kah gien tsah. Formal: Wah ay kah hoh gien tsah.

    Police! - Gien tsah

    Stop! - Dohng

    I need your help. - Wah soo-yow * dee-ay bahm-mahng

    I'm lost. - Wah mbo-key

    I lost my purse/wallet. - Wah pahng-key wah-ay pay bow

    I'm sick. - Wah pwah bee or Wah gahng koh

    I've been injured. - Wah dyuh shohng

    I need a doctor. - Wah dah-ai ee-shun

    Can I use your phone? - Wah gah-ay sai yen * li-ay dyeng-way

    Numbers

    1 - jeet

    2 - nun

    3 - sa

    4 - shee

    5 - go

    6 - * lahk

    7 - cheet

    8 - bway

    9 - gow

    10 - tsahp

    11 - tsah-eet

    12 - tsah- * dee

    13 - tsah-sa

    14 - tsah-she

    15 - tsah-go

    16 - tsah-lahk

    17 - tsah-cheet

    18 - tsah-bway

    19 - tsah-gow

    20 - * lee-tsahp

    21 - * leetsahp-eet

    22 - * leetsahp- * dee

    23 - * leetsahp-sa

    ...

    30 - sa-tsahp

    40 - she-tsahp

    50 - go-tsahp

    60 - * lahk-tsahp

    70 - cheet-tsahp

    80 - bway-tsahp

    90 - gow-tsahp

    100 - jee-bah

    200 - nun-bah

    300 - sa-bah

    1000 - jee-cheng

    2000 - nun-cheng

    10,000 - jee-mahng

    100,000 - tsahp-mahng

    1,000,000 - jeebah-mahng

    1,000,000,000 - jeecheng-mahng

    1,000,000,000,000

    half - * bwah

    less - kah jyuh

    more - kah tsay

    Ordinal Numbers

    first - day-eet

    second - day- * dee

    third - day-sa

    fourth - day-she

    fifth - day-go

    ...

    twentieth

    ...

    hundredth - day jee-bah

    ...

    thousandth - day jee-chien

    Time

    now - jeemah or jeetzoon

    later - kah dahng-ay or shuh dahng

    before - ee jun

    early - dtsah

    earlier - kah dtsah

    morning - tao dtsah

    in the morning - tzai kee

    tomorrow morning - miyah tsai kee tao dtsah

    afternoon - ay boh

    in the afternoon -

    evening - ay ahm

    in the evening -

    night - ahm

    in the night - ahm-sheea

    Clock time

    one o'clock AM - tao tza jeet diam

    two o'clock AM - tao tza nen diam

    noon - dyong dow

    one o'clock PM - ay boh jeet diam

    two o'clock PM - ay boh nen diam

    midnight

    Duration

    minute - whhun

    2 minutes - nun whhun

    hour - diam jun

    2 hours - nun diam jun

    day - * leet

    5 days - go * leet

    week - * lay bai

    5 weeks - go * lay bai

    month - whay * leet

    5 months - go whay * leet

    year - nee

    5 years - go nee

    Days

    today - gyah * de * deet

    the day before yesterday - tzuh * leet

    yesterday - dtsah-ung

    tomorrow - miyah tsai

    the day after tomorrow - ow * leet

    this week - tsi * day bai

    last week - den * day bai

    the week before last week - jen * lay bai

    next week - ow * lay bai

    the week after next week - ow ow * lay bai

    Monday - bai-eet

    Tuesday - bai- * dee

    Wednesday - bai-sa

    Thursday - bai-shee

    Friday - bai-go

    Saturday - bai- * lahk

    Sunday - * lay-bai

    Writing time and date

    Months

    January - ee-whad (sounds like "what" but with "d" sound not "t"

    February - * lee-whad

    March - sa-whad

    April - shee-whad

    May - go-whad

    June - * lahk-whad

    July - chee-whad

    August - bway-whad

    September - gow-whad

    October - tsahb-whad

    November - tsahb-eet-whad

    December - tsahb- *de-whad

    Colors

    color - shid

    black - oh shid

    white - bay shid

    grey - whey shid - literally "ash color"

    red - ahng shid

    blue - na shid

    yellow - ung shid

    green - chyee shid

    orange - gahmah shid

    purple - gyuh shid - literally "eggplant color"

    brown - toh-shid - literally "dirt color"

    Transportation

    Bus and train

    ticket - dyu pyuh

    one ticket - jeet-pyuh

    How much is one ticket? - Jeet-pyuh shee gwee-koh? - literally "one ticket is how many dollars?"

    bus - kay-wun

    train - whey-chiah

    Where does this bus go? - Dze-day kay-wun kee-dah?

    Does this train go to ____? - Dze-day whey-chiah gah-oo kee ____?

    What time does this train leave? - Dze-day whey-chiah gwee diam tsooh-whaht?

    What time will this bus arrive? - Dze-day kay-wun gwee diam ay gow-wee?

    Please stop! - Pbai-toh, dong!

    Taxi

    Taxi - gay-dyen chiah

    Drive me to ____ - dzai wah kee ____

    How much to go ____ - mbay kee ____ gwee koh?

    Directions

    How do I get to ____? - mbay ahndswah kee ____?

    ...the train station? - whey chiah dyoo?

    ...the bus station? - kay-wun dyoo?

    ...the airport? - whey-deng-gee dyoo?

    ...downtown? - chee dyong sheemg?

    ...the hotel? - * lee-guang?

    ...the restaurant? - bung-diam?

    Where are there a lot of ____? - Dway oo jote-tsay ____?

    Do you have a map? - * lee gah-oo day-doh?

    Driving

    street/road - * loh

    left - duh

    right - jyah

    turn left - duh wah

    straight ahead - dee-deet kee or dee-deet gyah

    Lodging

    Do you have any rooms available? - Oo bahn-gyun mbo?

    How much for one room? - Jeet gyun, wah-tsay gyee?

    One person - dze- * day lahng

    Two persons - nung-ay lahng

    Does it have... - Gah oo

    ...bathroom? - beng soh?

    ...phone? - dyung way?

    ...television? - dyung ah?

    May I see it first? - Gah-ay-dahng shung kwah?

    Do you have something... - Gah oo kah

    ...bigger? - dwah-ay

    ...cheaper? - shohg-ay

    Ok I'll sleep here for ____ nights. - Huh, mbay kuhng ____ ahm.

    Is there another hotel? - Gah oo bahg-ay * lee-guang?

    What time is breakfast? - Dzah-dun gwee-diam?

    Please clean my room - Pbai toh kyeng wah-ay bahn-gyun

    Can you wake me at ____ ? - ____ gah wah gyuh kiah, huhbuh?

    Money

    credit card - swah kah

    Where can I exchange money? - Dway ay-dahng wah jyee?

    Eating

    Breakfast - dzah-den

    Lunch - dyong-den

    Snack - diam-shing

    Tea - day

    Coffee - gah-bee

    Dinner - ahm-den

    I want - wah-mbay

    Chicken - gay-mbah

    Beef - goo-mbah

    Fish - hee-ah

    Eggs - nun

    Vegetables - tsai

    Fruit - dzwee-guh

    Bread - pahng (For you linguists, this is from Portugese)

    Noodles - mee

    Rice - buhng

    Beer - bee- * doo

    Salt - yahm

    Pepper - hyahm

    Done eating - jyah- * lyow

    Good to eat - huh-jyah

    Bars

    Shopping

    How much? - Gwee koh/Wah dzay jyee?

    Too much - shyoo-gwee

    Don't want - mbwai

    I need - Wah dah-ai

    ...toothbrush - kee-mbeeng

    ...soap - day koh

    ...shampoo - say tow-mun - literally "wash hair"

    ...paper - dzwah

    ...pen - mbeetd

    ...books - dzoo

    Authority

    Peh-o?-j? phonetization

    Pinyin Phonetization

    Basic Phrases

    Hello - Li Huh (LEE-HUH)

    Thank you - Duo Xia (DOOOO-SHIAH)

    You are beautiful - Li Jiu Sui (LEE-JOE-SWEE)

    Don't lie to me! - Mai Gei (MY-GAY)

    This is delicious (for beverage) - Ho Lim

    This is delicious (for food) - Ho Jia _D_h (HO JIYA)

    Have some tea - Lim De

    Make tea - Pao Day

    That's OK / Your Welcome - Me-en Kayki

    Basics

    ; Please note that the Chinese tonal inflection is represented as numbers following each syllable. ; ; Hello. : Lee(1) ho(1) . (''Mandarin: Ni(2) how(3). Literal: You Good?'') ; Hello. (''informal'') : . ('' '') ; How are you? : Lee(1) ho(1) boh(3) ? (''Literal: You Good Not?'') ; Fine, thank you. : . ('' '') ; What is your name? : Lee(1) eh(2) mya(2) shi(3) sha(1) mi(2)? ('' ?'') ; My name is ______ . : Wah(1) eh(2) mya(2) shi(3) ______ . ('' Guwa (guwa is one syllable) shi _____ .'') ; Nice to meet you. : . ('' '') ; Please. : . ('' '') ; Thank you. : Kam(1) siah(1) . ('' '') ; You're welcome. : . ('' '') ; Yes. : si(1) . ('' '') ; No. : mm(3) si(1). ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''getting attention'') : . ('' '') ; Excuse me. (''begging pardon'') : . ('' '') ; I'm sorry. : Shi(1) Lei(1) . ('' '') ; Goodbye : Zhai(4) gen(3) . ('' '') ; Goodbye (''informal'') : . ('' '') ; I can't speak ''name of language'' [well]. : Wah(1) buay(2) hiao(4) gong(1) ''name of language''. ('' [ ]'') ; Do you speak English? : Lee(1) gum(1) eh(3) hiao(4) gong(1) eng(2) gyi(1)? ('' ?'') ; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Gum(1) ou(3) lung(2) eh(3) hiao(4) gong(1) eng(2) gyi(1)? ('' ?'') ; Help! : ! ('' !'') ; Look out! : ! ('' !'') ; Good morning. : gow char ('' '') ; Good evening. : . ('' '') ; Good night. : . ('' '') ; Good night (''to sleep'') : . ('' '') ; I don't understand. : tiah boh . (''hear not '') ; I don't understand. : beh meng pek . (''do not understand '') ; Where is the toilet? : Ben(3) soh(4) di(2) de(1) We(2)? (''Literal: bathroom, where is it?'')

    Problems

    Numbers

    ; Please note that the Chinese tonal inflection is represented as numbers following each syllable. ; One : Jit(1) ; Two : Nung(2) or Li(2) (''Please note rules to use Nung(2) or Li(2) when counting.'') ; Three : Sanh(1) ; Four : Shi(3) ; Five : Goh(2) ; Six : Luk(2) ; Seven : Chit(2) ; Eight : Beh(2) ; Nine : Gao(4) ; Ten : Tsup(2) ; Eleven : Tzup(2)-yit(1) ; Twelve : Tzup(2)-Li(2) ('' Notice change from Nung(2) to Li(2) when describe unit of one'') ; Thirteen : Tzup(2)-Sanh(1) ; Fourteen : Tzup(2)-Shi(1) ; Fifteen : Tzup(2)-Goh(2) ; Sixteen : Tzup(2)-Luk(2) ; Seventeen : Tzup(2)-Chit(2) ; Eighteen : Tzup(2)-Beh(2) ; Nineteen : Tzup(2)-Gao(2) ; Twenty : Li(3)-Tzup(3) ('' Notice use Li(2) to modify units of ten'') ; Twenty-One : Li(3)-Tzup(3)-it(3) ; Twenty-two : Li(3)-Tzup(3)-Li(3) ; One Hundred : Jit(1)-Bah(1) (''Bah = 100'') ; Two hundred : Nung(2)-Bah(1) ('' Notice use of Nung(2) to modify multiples of 100) ; Two hundred twenty-two: Nung(2)-Bah(4)-Li(2)-Tzup(2)-Li(2) ; One thousand : Jit(3)-Ching(1) (''Ching = 1000'') ; Two thousand : Nung(2)-Ching(1) ; Ten thousand : Jit(3)-Bhun(2) or Mhun(2) (''Buhn(2) = 10000'') ; Twenty thousand : Nung(2)-Bhun(2) ; One hundred thousand : Tzup(2)-Bhun(2) ; One million : Jit(3)-Bah(2)-Bhun(2)