Taiwan Mandarin ！

How do you ask for directions in Taiwan in Chinese? Say 不好意思，請問___在哪裡？ Locals usually answer with landmarks — 直走，看到一間廟，左邊有一條巷子 (go straight, at the temple, turn into the alley on the left) — rather than street names.

A beginner-level reading lesson in Taiwanese Mandarin (台灣華語) — not Mainland Chinese. Get lost in the narrow lanes of Lukang Old Street and learn how Taiwanese directions actually work — landmarks like 廟 and 巷子 matter more than street names. You’ll learn 在哪裡 (where is it), 直走 (go straight), and 左邊 (on the left) inside a real sentence, not a vocabulary list.

文章 The Text

我一個人到鹿港老街玩，想去找一家很有名的芋頭冰店，但是手機突然沒有訊號，地圖打不開。

我看到路邊有一位阿姨在賣麵茶，就走過去問她：「不好意思，請問芋頭冰店在哪裡？」

阿姨想了一下，說：「你先直走，看到一間廟，左邊有一條巷子，轉進去，再走一下下就到了。」

我又問：「大概要走多久？」她說：「不會很遠啦，五分鐘左右。」

我謝謝阿姨，照著她說的方向走。直走的時候，經過了好幾家賣古早味餅乾的店，聞起來都好香。

到了那間廟，我往左邊看，找到那條巷子轉進去，走沒多久，就看到冰店的招牌了，店門口排了不少人。

我終於找到了，心裡鬆了一口氣，趕快去排隊。

拼音 Pinyin

我一個人到鹿港老街玩，想去找一家很有名的芋頭冰店，但是手機突然沒有訊號，地圖打不開。

Wǒ yí ge rén dào Lùgǎng Lǎojiē wán, xiǎng qù zhǎo yì jiā hěn yǒumíng de yùtóu bīng diàn, dànshì shǒujī tūrán méiyǒu xùnhào, dìtú dǎ bù kāi.

我看到路邊有一位阿姨在賣麵茶，就走過去問她：「不好意思，請問芋頭冰店在哪裡？」

Wǒ kàndào lùbiān yǒu yí wèi āyí zài mài miànchá, jiù zǒu guòqù wèn tā: “Bù hǎoyìsi, qǐngwèn yùtóu bīng diàn zài nǎlǐ?”

阿姨想了一下，說：「你先直走，看到一間廟，左邊有一條巷子，轉進去，再走一下下就到了。」

Āyí xiǎngle yíxià, shuō: “Nǐ xiān zhízǒu, kàndào yì jiān miào, zuǒbiān yǒu yì tiáo xiàngzi, zhuǎn jìnqù, zài zǒu yíxiàxià jiù dào le.”

我又問：「大概要走多久？」她說：「不會很遠啦，五分鐘左右。」

Wǒ yòu wèn: “Dàgài yào zǒu duōjiǔ?” Tā shuō: “Bú huì hěn yuǎn la, wǔ fēnzhōng zuǒyòu.”

我謝謝阿姨，照著她說的方向走。直走的時候，經過了好幾家賣古早味餅乾的店，聞起來都好香。

Wǒ xièxie āyí, zhàozhe tā shuō de fāngxiàng zǒu. Zhízǒu de shíhòu, jīngguòle hǎo jǐ jiā mài gǔzǎowèi bǐnggān de diàn, wénqǐlái dōu hǎo xiāng.

到了那間廟，我往左邊看，找到那條巷子轉進去，走沒多久，就看到冰店的招牌了，店門口排了不少人。

Dàole nà jiān miào, wǒ wǎng zuǒbiān kàn, zhǎodào nà tiáo xiàngzi zhuǎn jìnqù, zǒu méi duō jiǔ, jiù kàndào bīng diàn de zhāopái le, diànménkǒu páile bù shǎo rén.

我終於找到了，心裡鬆了一口氣，趕快去排隊。

Wǒ zhōngyú zhǎodào le, xīnlǐ sōngle yì kǒu qì, gǎnkuài qù páiduì.

單字 Vocabulary

中文	Pinyin	English
在哪裡	zài nǎ lǐ	where is it
直走	zhí zǒu	go straight
左邊	zuǒ biān	the left side
巷子	xiàng zi	alley / lane
廟	miào	temple
招牌	zhāo pái	shop sign

翻譯 Translation

I go to Lukang Old Street by myself to try to find a famous taro ice shop, but my phone suddenly loses signal and the map won’t load.

I see an aunty selling mian cha (a Taiwanese tea-flour drink) by the road, so I go over and ask her, “Excuse me, do you know where the taro ice shop is?”

The aunty thinks for a moment and says, “Go straight, and when you see a temple, there’s an alley on the left — turn in there, and you’ll be there in a bit.”

I ask, “About how long will it take?” She says, “Not far at all — about five minutes.”

I thank her and head off in the direction she pointed. Along the way, I pass several shops selling old-fashioned Taiwanese crackers, and they smell amazing.

When I reach the temple, I look to the left, find the alley, and turn in. Not long after, I spot the ice shop’s sign — there’s already a decent line out front.

I’ve finally found it. I breathe a sigh of relief and hurry to get in line.

Notice This

Old-town lanes like Lukang’s often have no phone signal and confusing addresses. Asking a local (在哪裡?) is often faster than any map app — and it’s completely normal to do so here.

Taiwanese directions run on landmarks, not street names. “Go straight, turn at the temple” is a totally standard way to give directions — listen for nouns like 廟, 巷子, 招牌, not just 左/右.

一下下 is a softened, very Taiwanese version of 一下 (“just a little bit”) — you’ll hear it constantly in casual speech, especially from older folks giving directions.

Try It Yourself

試試看：練習問「請問___在哪裡？」

Try it yourself: practice asking a stranger for directions using 請問___在哪裡？