Restaurant reservations Part 3 (Advanced): Confirming the reservation details, including date, time, and number of guests.

💬 Literally 沒 "not have" + 錯 "mistake", so it means "no mistake." You can put a topic in front to confirm any detail: 人數沒錯 "the number of people is right."

💬 位 is the polite counting word for people, and restaurants use it for the size of your party. 改成 means "change to", and you can swap in anything after it, as in 改成禮拜五 "change to Friday".

🇹🇼 Hosts in Taiwan will ask 幾位？ "how many people?", so you'll answer with 位 too.

💬 還有 means "still have" or "is there any left", so it's perfect for asking about availability. For example, 還有包廂嗎？ means "Are there any private rooms left?"

💬 位子 (wèi zi) literally means "seat" but is the normal word for a table at a restaurant. 子 here is said lightly, with no tone.

💬 Put 嗎 at the end of any statement and it becomes a yes/no question, with no change in word order. Adding 還 (hái) gives the sense of "still" or "any left", so 還有票嗎？ means "Are there any tickets left?"

💬 幫 + a person + an action means "do something for someone". 我幫你拿 means "I'll get it for you".

💬 Add 一下 after a verb and the action sounds quick and casual, like "have a quick look". 等一下 means "wait a moment" and 看一下 means "take a look". The 一 here is said (yí), because 下 is a falling tone.

💬 Adding 一下 after a verb softens it to "just quickly", which makes the request or offer feel lighter. Compare 等一下 "wait a moment".

🇹🇼 Many Taiwanese restaurants, especially hot pot and banquet places, rent out a 包廂 for group dinners, and they often come with a minimum spend or a deposit.

💬 晚 goes before the amount of time to mean "later by". The same pattern works with 早 for "earlier by", as in 早十分鐘 "ten minutes earlier".

🇹🇼 麻煩 literally means "trouble", and opening a request with it is like saying "sorry to bother you, but...". It's the go-to polite request in Taiwan, used with staff, strangers, and anyone you're asking a favor of.

💬 點 means "o'clock" and 半 means "half", so 七點半 is 7:30. Swap the number for other times, as in 六點半 "6:30".

💬 不 is normally (bù), but before a falling tone like 用 (yòng) it rises to (bú yòng).

💬 The thing being talked about, 電話, comes first, before "we have." Putting the topic up front like this is very natural in spoken Chinese, for example 位子我們有 "seats, we have."

💬 Here 一 is said (yí), not (yī), because 次 (cì) has a falling tone. 再 goes before the verb to mean "again".

🇹🇼 您 is the polite form of 你 "you", and it's standard from restaurant staff to customers. You'll hear this line read back to you before they repeat your date, time, and party size.

🇹🇼 Many Taiwanese restaurants, especially popular ones, only hold a reserved table for about 10 to 15 minutes before giving it away. Calling ahead if you're running late is expected.

💬 告知 is a formal word for "inform", and it shows up in announcements and staff speech. In casual talk people say 跟我們說 "tell us" instead.

💬 The 了 at the end signals that you now understand, which is why it means "got it" rather than just "I know". Saying only 我知道 can sound like "I already knew that."

💬 禮拜 is the everyday Taiwan word for "week", where you'll also see 星期. Add a number after it for the day, as in 禮拜五 "Friday", and use 禮拜天 for Sunday.