Taiwan,officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a state in East Asia.

[15][16][17] Its
neighbors include the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the west, Japan to the
northeast, and the Philippines to the south. It is the most populous state and
largest economy that is not a member of the United Nations. Portuguese travelers
called it Formosa which means "the beautiful island".

General Information
[ Population ]：23.54 million
[ Area ]：36,194 square kilometers
[ Peoples ]：Han Chinese (97%) Aborigines (2%), Other (1%)
[ Languages ]：Mandarin (Official) / Taiwanese(min) / Hakka dialect
[ Foreign Languages ]：English, Japanese
[ Currency]：New Taiwan Dollar (TWD)
[ Time Zone ]：National Standard Time (UTC+8)
[ Religion ] : mixture of Buddhist and Taoist 93%, Christian 4.5%, other 2.5%

Map of Taiwan

Location: Taiwan lies like a spindle in the southeast of Asia. Geographically separated
from Mainland China, this precious island is known as Typhoon Island from whence its
name.

Administrative Division: six municipalities (Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Taichung,

Tainan, Kaohsiung); 3 cities (Keelung, Hsinchu, Chiayi);
11 counties (Hsinchu, Miaoli, Changhua, Nantou, Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Yilan,
Hualien, Taitung, Penghu, Kinmen, Lienchiang)

Languages of Taiwan

Statutory
Percentage
Recognized National languages
Language of home Regulated by
variants language for public
use
transport

Required Ministry of
Mandarin 83.5% 1 Yes
nationwide Education

Taiwanese Required Ministry of

81.9% 1~6 No
Hokkien nationwide Education

Required Hakka Affairs

Hakka 6.6% 6 Yes
nationwide Council

Council of
Formosan
1.4% 16 (42) Yes Depends Indigenous
languages
Peoples

Department of
Required Education,
Matsu dialect <1% 1 No
in Matsu Islands Lienchiang County
Government
Mandarin
Mandarin is commonly known and officially refereed as the national language (國語, Guóyǔ)
in Taiwan. In 1945, following the end of World War II, Mandarin was introduced as the official
language and made compulsory in schools. Since then, Mandarin has been established as a lingua
franca among the various groups in Taiwan

Taiwanese Hokkien
Commonly known as Taiwanese (臺語, Tâi-gí) and officially referred as Taiwanese Hokkien (臺灣
閩南語, Tâi-oân Bân-lâm-gú). Taiwanese Hokkien is the most-spoken native language in Taiwan,
spoken by about 70% of the population.[17][18]Linguistically, it is a subgroup of Southern Min languages
variety originating in southern Fujian and is spoken by many overseas
Chinese throughout Southeast Asia.

Hakka (客家語, Hak-kâ-ngî) is mainly spoken in Taiwan by people who have Hakka ancestry, these
people are concentrated in several places throughout Taiwan.

Matsu dialect (馬祖話, Mā-cū-huâ) is the language spoken in Matsu islands. It is a dialect of Fuzhou
dialect, Eastern Min.

Basic Language
The official language of Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese but many Taiwanese are of southern Fujianese
descent who have their own dialect collectively known as ‘Taiwanese.’ Increasingly though only the
older generation will speak Taiwanese while the younger generation prefer to speak Chinese.

Basic Mandarin
1. Nĭ hăo 你好
English Translation: Hello
Pronounced as: (nee haoow) /niːhaʊ /
“nĭ hăo” literally means “You good” (nĭ = you, hăo = good), but typically translates to “hello”.
You could use this phrase in greeting locals especially before you ask questions to them. “hăo”
means “good” and it also means “ok” too.“Nĭ hăo ma?” means “how are you?”. This can also be
translated as “are you okay?”. By adding “ma嗎” at the end, you are now asking a question.

2. Xiè xie. 謝謝
English Translation: Thank you / Thanks
Pronounced as: (shhyeah shhyeah) /ʃːje•ʃːje/

3. Tīng bù dǒng 聽不懂

English Translation: I don’t understand
Pronounced as: (teeng boo dong) /tiŋ buðoŋ/
These 3 words, (tīng = hear, bù = not, dǒng = understand)

4. Duō shǎo qián 多少錢

English Translation: How much?
Pronounced as: (dwo shaow chyen?) /duo ʃaʊ tʃjen/
The phrase “duō shao?” (“duō” = much, “shǎo” = few) means “how much? or how many?”

5. Zhè ge 這個
English Translation: This / This one
Pronounced as: (jey ga) /dʒeɪ ɡɒ/

If you combine it with duō shao qián, it would make more sense. Zhè ge duō shao qián? (How
much is this?)

6. Yǒu méiyǒu 有沒有

English Translation: Do you have..?
Pronounced as: (yow may yow …?) /jəʊ meɪ jəʊ/
“yǒu méiyǒu” literally means “have or not have” (yǒu = have, méiyǒu = to not have).

7. Bù hǎo yìsi 不好意思

English Translation: Excuse Me / Pardon / Sorry
Pronounced as: (boo haow eeh si) /bu haʊ i sʌ/
Example:
Bù hǎo yìsi, Zhè ge duō shǎo qián
Pronounced as: (boo haow eeh si, jey ga dwo shaow chyen?)
English: Excuse me, how much is this?

Here some other basic Mandarin phrases you might find useful:
 Yes = shr 是
 No = bu shr 不是
 Thank you very much = fei chang gan shie / hen gan shie 非常感謝 / 很感謝
 You’re welcome = bu yung shie 不客氣
 Please = ching 請
 Goodbye = tzai jian 再見
 Good morning = tzau an 早安
 Good afternoon = wu an 午安
 Good evening = wan shang hau 晚上好
 Good night = wan an 晚安
 Do you speak … = ni huei jiang … ma? 你會講…嗎？
 English = ying yu 英語