Restaurant reservations: Checking table availability for specific dates and times.
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Key Phrases
我想訂位。
wǒ xiǎng dìng wèi
I'd like to make a reservation.
您想訂哪一天？
nín xiǎng dìng nǎ yī tiān
Which day would you like to book?
有靠窗的桌子嗎？
yǒu kào chuāng de zhuō zi ma
Do you have a table by the window?
Skills You'll Learn
Making a restaurant reservation politely
有禮貌地訂餐廳位子
yǒu lǐ mào dì dìng cān tīng wèi zi
Asking about date, time, and availability
詢問日期、時間和是否還有空位
xún wèn rì qī shí jiān hé shì fǒu hái yǒu kōng wèi
Requesting seating preferences and confirming party size
提出座位需求並確認用餐人數
tí chū zuò wèi xū qiú bìng què rèn yòng cān rén shù
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are calling a restaurant in Taiwan to make a dinner reservation for four people on Saturday evening and asking if a window seat is available.
你好，我想訂位。
nǐ hǎo wǒ xiǎng dìng wèi
Hello, I’d like to make a reservation.
您好，請問您想訂哪一天？
nín hǎo qǐng wèn nín xiǎng dìng nǎ yī tiān
Hello, which day would you like to book?
這個星期六晚上七點，還有位子嗎？
zhè gè xīng qī liù wǎn shàng qī diǎn hái yǒu wèi zi ma
Do you still have a table available this Saturday at 7 pm.?
我幫您查一下，星期六七點還有空位。
wǒ bāng nín chá yī xià xīng qī liù qī diǎn hái yǒu kōng wèi
Let me check for you. We still have availability at 7 pm. on Saturday.
太好了，四個人可以嗎？
tài hǎo le sì gè rén kě yǐ ma
Great. Can you accommodate four people?
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
訂位
dìng wèi
Make a reservation
💬 [訂位] is the usual Taiwan word for reserving a table; [位] here is part of the set phrase, not literally just "seat." You can swap the verb in similar service phrases too, like [取消訂位] for canceling a reservation.
See breakdown →我想
wǒ xiǎng
I want to
我想訂位。
wǒ xiǎng dìng wèi
I'd like to make a reservation.
🇹🇼 [我想訂位。] is natural and polite enough for everyday use in Taiwan, especially on the phone or at the host stand. If you want to sound a little softer, people also often start with [你好] or [想請問].
See breakdown →哪一天
nǎ yī tiān
Which day
💬 [哪一天] means "which day," with [哪] used for choosing from possibilities. You can reuse the pattern with time words: [哪一個星期] or [哪一天晚上].
See breakdown →您想
nín xiǎng
Would you like
💬 [您] is the polite version of [你], so [您想…] softens the question right away. You'll hear it a lot from staff speaking to customers in Taiwan.
See breakdown →訂
dìng
To reserve
您想訂哪一天？
nín xiǎng dìng nǎ yī tiān
Which day would you like to book?
這個星期六
zhè gè xīng qī liù
This Saturday
💬 For days of the week, [這個] before the weekday means "this coming …": [這個星期六], [這個星期天]. In speech, people also very often shorten it to [這週六].
See breakdown →晚上
wǎn shàng
In the evening
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