Bopomo / Blog
The Bopomo blog
Practical Mandarin you can say out loud: phrases with Lin's voice, how tones and zhuyin work, and getting by on a trip around Taiwan.
All articles
- How to order at a Taiwan night marketWhat to say at a Taiwan night market stall, from 雞排 and 鹽酥雞 to 臭豆腐 and bubble tea: pointing, asking the price, spice levels, to go or to eat here, with Lin's voice.
- How to say hello in Mandarin, beyond ni hao你好 always works, but Taiwan also says 哈囉, 嗨 and 早安. The everyday ways to say hello in Mandarin Chinese, and what to say back, with audio.
- How to say thank you in Mandarin (and what to say back)謝謝, 不客氣, 不會 and 多謝: what each one means, when to use it, and how people answer in Taiwan and on the mainland, with audio in a Taiwanese voice.
- Mandarin tones, explained for people who think they're tone-deafThe four Mandarin tones and the neutral tone in plain language, the tone changes that trip everyone up, practical ways to hear and say them, and what an app can and can't check.
- Survival Mandarin for your first trip to Taiwan: 30 phrasesThe 30 Mandarin phrases that cover a first trip to Taiwan: greetings and getting help, the guesthouse, food, the MRT and money, with zhuyin, pinyin and Lin's voice.
- Taiwan Mandarin vs mainland Mandarin: the real differencesHow Mandarin in Taiwan and mainland China really differ, in accent, everyday words, characters and habits of speech, and why speakers from both understand each other without trouble.
- Zhuyin vs pinyin: which should you learn?An honest comparison of zhuyin (bopomofo) and pinyin, the two ways to write Mandarin sounds: what each is good at, where each trips learners up, and which one to start with.
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