Basic directions: Asking for directions
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Key Phrases
不好意思。／請問一下。
bù hǎo yì sī qǐng wèn yī xià
Excuse me. / May I ask something?
最近的捷運站在哪裡？
zuì jìn de jié yùn zhàn zài nǎ lǐ
Where is the nearest MRT station?
過馬路後右轉。
guò mǎ lù hòu yòu zhuǎn
Turn right after crossing the street.
Skills You'll Learn
Politely get someone's attention and ask for help
禮貌地引起別人注意並開口請求幫忙
lǐ mào dì yǐn qǐ bié rén zhù yì bìng kāi kǒu qǐng qiú bāng máng
Ask for the location of the nearest MRT station
詢問最近的捷運站在哪裡
xún wèn zuì jìn de jié yùn zhàn zài nǎ lǐ
Understand and use simple directions like go straight, cross the street, and turn right
理解並使用簡單的方向說法，如直走、過馬路、右轉
lǐ jiě bìng shǐ yòng jiǎn dān de fāng xiàng shuō fǎ rú zhí zǒu guò mǎ lù yòu zhuǎn
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are on the street in Taiwan asking a friendly local for directions to the nearest MRT station, and they explain how to get there step by step.
不好意思，請問一下。
bù hǎo yì sī qǐng wèn yī xià
Excuse me, may I ask something?
好啊，怎麼了？
hǎo a zěn me le
Sure, what’s up?
最近的捷運站在哪裡？
zuì jìn de jié yùn zhàn zài nǎ lǐ
Where is the nearest MRT station?
前面那一條路直走。
qián miàn nà yī tiáo lù zhí zǒu
Go straight down that road ahead.
走大概五分鐘就到了。
zǒu dà gài wǔ fēn zhōng jiù dào le
It’s about a five-minute walk.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
不好
bù hǎo
Not good
意思
yì sī
Meaning / idea
不好意思。
bù hǎo yì sī
Excuse me.
🇹🇼 [不好意思。] is extremely common in Taiwan for getting a stranger's attention politely, often more natural than a direct translation of "excuse me." You can use it before asking for directions, squeezing past someone, or making a small apology.
See breakdown →請問
qǐng wèn
May I ask
🇹🇼 [請問] is the standard polite way to start a question to a stranger, like when asking for directions. In Taiwan it sounds respectful without being stiff, so it's a very safe opener.
See breakdown →一下
yī xià
A little / briefly
請問一下。
qǐng wèn yī xià
May I ask something?
💬 [一下] here softens [請問], making the question feel a bit gentler rather than adding real time or quantity. You'll hear this a lot in Taiwan in polite requests like [看一下] or [等一下] .
See breakdown →啊
a
Soft ending particle
💬 Sentence-final [啊] often makes the tone softer, friendlier, or more natural. Compare plain [好] with [好啊] for a warmer "sure."
See breakdown →好啊。
hǎo a
Sure.
💬 The ending [啊] makes [好] sound more friendly and natural, not stronger. You can hear the same softening in replies like [可以啊] or [對啊] .
See breakdown →怎麼
zěn me
How / what
💬 [怎麼] can mean "how," but in questions like [怎麼了？] it means more like "what's wrong?" or "what happened?" Watch the whole chunk, not just the single-word translation.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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