Practical Mandarin for travel in Taiwan and other Mandarin-speaking settings, with each post naming its language variety and place.
Order Chongqing hot pot in mainland Mandarin. Ask for a split pot, choose a chilli level, check shared portions and ingredients, and ask how long to cook a dish, with simplified characters and pinyin.
Order chicken rice in Singapore Mandarin, answer the hawker’s questions, and choose English or another shared language when Mandarin doesn’t fit.
Use simplified Chinese and pinyin to check a Shanghai Metro line, find Exit 8 for Shanghai Museum East, and show its Century Avenue address.
Order buns and soy milk at a Beijing breakfast counter in Mandarin. Learn the takeaway question, quantity, payment, and a polite way to slow a reply.
Order at a Taipei night market in Taiwan Mandarin. Use traditional characters and pinyin to ask what’s in a dish, request a portion, and answer the takeaway question.
