你好! Welcome to Taiwan · 歡迎來台灣
Nǐ hǎo! Huān yíng lái Táiwān
Everything you need for daily life at CCU — greetings, shopping, food, directions, class vocab — with Taiwan pronunciation on every word.
📅 Daily phrase
加油!
"You got this!" — the all-purpose Taiwan encouragement. Hear it everywhere from sports to study rooms.
Quick start 快速開始 · kuài sù kāi shǐ
Essential phrases 必備句子 · bì bèi jù zi
5Taiwan slang 台灣用語 · tái wān yòng yǔ
Learn 學習 xué xí
Browse phrases by what you'll actually do · 瀏覽實用短語 · Tap any card to hear it.
🔍
Course lessons 課程 kè chéng
Prof. 陳欣徽's content from Lessons 3–6 · 第三課到第六課 · dì sān kè dào dì liù kè
3
j · q · x + i/ü finals 第三課
dì sān kè · Palatals and the ü → u rule
▼
Initials
j — jī
Tongue flat, air flows through — "jee" with no English "j" sound
q — qī
Like "ch" in cheese — sharp puff of air
x — xī
Like "sh" but with your tongue flat
Finals practice
jiā 家
home / family
xiè 謝
thanks
xué 學
to study
qù 去
to go
Spelling rules (test!)
Rule 1: standalone i → written as yi; u → wu; ü → yu
Rule 2: after j q x, the dots on ü disappear —
Rule 3: after n l, keep the dots —
Rule 2: after j q x, the dots on ü disappear —
ju, qu, xu (still sound like ü!)Rule 3: after n l, keep the dots —
nǚ, lǜ
Practical sentences
今天我們學習第三課
We study Lesson 3 today.
請喝咖啡
Please drink some coffee.
今天星期五
Today is Friday.
4
z · c · s + dividing mark 第四課
dì sì kè · Dental consonants; the apostrophe rule
▼
Initials — z · c · s
z — zì
Like "dz" — no air
c — cí
Like "ts" — strong puff of air
s — sì
Like English "s"
Dividing mark (')
When a syllable starting with a / o / e follows another syllable, add ' to split them clearly:
xīngqí'èr (Tuesday) — not xīngqíèrXī'ān (the city) — not Xiankù'ài (fond of) — not kuài
Practical sentences
現在下課
Class is over now.
老師,明天見
See you tomorrow, teacher.
你今天中餐想吃什麼?
What do you want for lunch today?
我想吃麵
I want to eat noodles.
那我們去學生餐廳吧
Then let's go to the student cafeteria.
沒問題,走吧!
No problem, let's go!
5
zh · ch · sh · r + 不 tone change 第五課
dì wǔ kè · Retroflex consonants; bù → bú rule
▼
Retroflex initials
zh — zhī
Tongue curled back — "j" with retroflex
ch — chī
Tongue curled back — "ch" with air
sh — shì
Tongue curled back — "sh"
r — rì
Like "r" in American "red", tongue curled
The 不 (bù) rule — tested often!
bù (not) stays as bù (4th tone) before T1, T2, T3:
bù → bú (2nd tone) when followed by a 4th-tone word:
bù chī (don't eat), bù néng (can't), bù hǎo (not good)bù → bú (2nd tone) when followed by a 4th-tone word:
bú shì (is not), bú kèqi (you're welcome), bú yào (don't want)
Bubble tea dialogue (real-world!)
請問珍奶多少錢?
Excuse me, how much is boba tea?
大杯70元,中杯50元
Large 70 NT, medium 50 NT.
我要大杯
I'll take the large one.
甜度、冰塊?
Sweetness level and ice?
半糖、去冰,謝謝
Half sugar, no ice, thank you.
請稍等一下
Please wait a moment.
6
Word stress + 一 (yī) tone change 第六課
dì liù kè · Natural rhythm; the yī sandhi rule
▼
Word stress tips
🎵 Tone length order: T2 > T1 > T4 > T3
🎵 Two-syllable words — the first syllable is usually stressed:
🎵 Neutral-tone 2nd syllable — 1st is strong and long:
🎵 Two-syllable words — the first syllable is usually stressed:
hóngchá, xuéxiào, diànnǎo, míngtiān🎵 Neutral-tone 2nd syllable — 1st is strong and long:
māma, bàba, jiějie, dìdi
The 一 (yī) rule
Stays yī (T1) standing alone or at end:
Changes to yì (T4) before T1/T2/T3:
Changes to yí (T2) before T4:
shíyī (11), dì yī (first)Changes to yì (T4) before T1/T2/T3:
yì tiān (one day), yì nián (one year), yì diǎn (a little)Changes to yí (T2) before T4:
yí piàn (a piece), yídìng (definitely), yí cì (once)
Self-introduction model text
大家好!我叫山田秀一,我是日本人,今年21歲。
Hello everyone! My name is Shantian Xiuyi, I'm Japanese, 21 years old.
我現在在國立中正大學念書
I'm currently studying at National Chung Cheng University.
我很喜歡雞肉飯
I really like chicken rice.
也喜歡雞排和珍珠奶茶
I also like chicken cutlet and bubble tea.
Reference 參考 cān kǎo
Tones · 聲調 shēng diào · pinyin chart · 拼音表 pīn yīn biǎo · tongue twisters · 繞口令 rào kǒu lìng
🎵 The 4 tones + neutral
1st · flat
mā 媽
mother
2nd · rising
má 麻
hemp
3rd · dip
mǎ 馬
horse
4th · fall
mà 罵
scold
neutral
ma 嗎
? marker
Mark placement: On the main vowel. Priority a > o > e > i > u > ü. For iu and ui, mark the 2nd vowel:
liú, huì.
📊 Pinyin chart
👅 Tongue twisters
Classic 繞口令 (ràokǒulìng) — great for mastering specific sound distinctions.
EASY · s vs sh
四是四,十是十,十四是十四,四十是四十
4 is 4, 10 is 10, 14 is 14, 40 is 40. The classic beginner twister — drills the 四/十 distinction.
EASY · ma tones
媽媽騎馬,馬慢,媽媽罵馬
Mom rides the horse, the horse is slow, mom scolds the horse. Pure tone drill.
MEDIUM · n vs l
牛郎戀劉娘,劉娘念牛郎
Niulang loves Lady Liu, Lady Liu misses Niulang. Taiwan-friendly: tests your n/l which many Taiwanese merge.
MEDIUM · chi/shi
吃葡萄不吐葡萄皮,不吃葡萄倒吐葡萄皮
Eating grapes without spitting the skins, not eating grapes but spitting the skins. The most famous Chinese tongue twister.
HARD · sh vs s
石獅寺前有四十四個石獅子
In front of Stone Lion Temple there are 44 stone lions. Nightmare for Taiwan speakers who flatten retroflex.
HARD · aspiration
八百標兵奔北坡,炮兵並排北邊跑
800 soldiers run up the north slope, artillery troops run side-by-side on the north. Pure b/p aspiration test.
Practice 練習 liàn xí
Listen and identify · 聽聽看 · tīng tīng kàn · great before quizzes.
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