Taxis in China

If you come to China, it’s inevitable that you will take a taxi.

In the first few days as you make your way around your new city, you realize taking a taxi is fast, convenient, affordable and easy IF you know basic directions.

START HERE

But what if you need to stop on the other side of the road?

Point and say

[        ] 那儿停车吧

[           ] nàr tíng chē ba       Lets stop by that/those [visible landmark]

[超市] 那儿停车吧

[chāo shì] nàr tíng chē ba         Lets stop by that supermarket.

Or you can say, “Make a U-Turn”。

I’ll lay out a few examples, and you choose which way you’re comfortable saying. The thing about Chinese, is that it’s pretty flexible when spoken!

掉头

diào tóu

That’s U-Turn, all by itself.

请你掉头

qǐng nǐ diào tóu

You can add a please 请, if you want, before asking your driver to u-turn. 你 means ‘you’, by the way.

咱们掉头吧

zán men diào tóu ba

Lets make a u-turn. 咱们 (zán men). I hear it in northern China more often. Technically it means we, but in the ‘you and me’ sense instead of us (我们wǒmen) which can possibly include other people like in a group.

师傅 在这儿调头

shīfu     zài zhè(r)  diàotóu

Adding the 师傅 formalizes your tone a bit, and it increases your politeness. Not a bad thing!

在 is a preposition used to indicate location, 在这儿=here.

师傅 请在这儿掉头

shīfu      qǐng zài zhè(r)  diàotóu

Add the 请 if being super respectful is your deal.

师傅这路口掉头吧

shīfu,   zhè lùkǒu  diào tóu ba

Ok, while this might disturb a few grammar teachers, it’s simple and effective spoken Mandarin at its finest. Try it. It just feels good.

师傅 红绿灯  掉头

shīfu,    hónglùdēng  diàotóu

红路灯  is a traffic light (literally red green light). It can also be said 红灯 without the 路

师傅 红灯 掉头

shīfu,    hóngdēng diàotóu

SEE? At this point you are communicating casually and efficiently as a Chinese person would. You haven’t necessarily lowered your level of respect, as long as you maintain a respectful tone of voice.

Go practice!

But what about the other directions?

Ok, so you’ve hopped in a taxi, attempted to tell them the name of your destination, but what if they don’t understand you or haven’t heard of it?

You’re only recourse might be to direct them yourself.

右拐  yòuguǎi

右转 yòuzhuǎn

Both of these mean turn right:

左拐 zuǒguǎi

左转 zuǒzhuǎn

and both of these mean turn left. Choose the way you like best.

Now if you you want to say, “Turn left here” (the hear being implied by where you point. Don’t make Chinese too complicated, k?)

Then you need to add a 在这儿 (zài zhèr) before 左拐 (zuǒguǎi)

在这儿左拐

zài zhèrzuǒguǎi

turn left here

Here are two acceptable ways to say stop.

停车 tíng chē;   and

靠边儿 kào biānr.

请 qǐng means please which completes the two phrases below:

请在这儿停车

qǐng  zài zhèr tíng chē

请在这儿靠边儿

qǐng  zài zhèr kào biānr

FYI 靠边儿 is more similar to ‘pull over’ than ‘stop here’, just in case you wanted another layer of subtle differentiation.

师傅我要停这儿

shīfu wǒ yào tíng zhèr

Sir (driver), I want to stop here.

师傅 shīfu polite term for your driver

我要 wǒ yào I want

停 tíng stop

这儿 zhèr here

Adding the 师傅 (shīfū) formalizes your tone a bit, and it increases your politeness.  师傅 (shīfū) is a polite term for almost any male worker.

Never-NEVER-call your taxi driver 司机 sījī. It’s just not kind, or polite.

这儿就到了

zhèr jiù dào le

“Here’s good”, or the semantically similar, “we’ve arrived” are appropriate translations of this phrase.

The Fapiao (or receipt) is good insurance against say, forgetting your favorite black slate in their back seat. If you’ve lived here long enough, I’m sure you’ve heard more than a few sob stories.

Once, in Xiamen I actually went to taxi central and had my taxi located by GPS in order to place a call and get my phone back. All taxi meters start and stop locations are stamped using the onboard GPS.

So if you DO happen to lose your device of choice and DON’T have a Fapiao, if you’re quick (and remember where you got in and out), HQ can find your cab, call the driver and get the phone. As long as the driver cooperates.

Listen closely. Just as you stop, the driver may ask:

票, 要吗?

piào yào ma You want a receipt?

To which you can reply:

要

yào  Sure.

or

不要

bú yào  Nope.

Here’s how to ask for yourself, if the driver isn’t on the ball.

我要(发)票好吗?

wǒ yào (fā) piào hǎo ma. I’d like the receipt, ok.

票有吗?

piào yǒu ma   You have the receipt?

Say Goodbye

谢谢再见

Now that the language is out of the way, let’s explore those benefits….

1. Fast.  You can walk outside, see one driving by, wave your hand and hop in.  It’s generally the quickest way from point A to point B.  No need to wait for the bus or all the stops it makes along the way.  No need to stare at a subway map trying to find the line you need or where to transfer. Apart from rush hour traffic-taxis are your best bet.

2.  Convenient.  There are usually taxis EVERYWHERE!  No need to figure out which bus or subway stop is closest.  All you need is the name of the place you’re going.  If you have it written down, just show it to your driver: No Chinese skills necessary.  Door to door service baby. Boom.

3.  Affordable.  Taxis are cheap.  Not THE cheapest form of transportation, but compared to taxis in most of our home countries, it’s incredible.  In my city of Tianjin, they start at eight yuan– just over a dollar.  Most of the places I want to go cost me between $2-4.

Other perks include being all by yourself/or with your traveling companion.  (Not being sandwiched in a jam-packed bus or subway train that may or may not be full of all kinds of odors, noises and stares can really make a difference-especially in those first few weeks.)

Maybe I’m lazy.  Maybe I’m a privileged foreigner.  But taxis are my favorite way to get around town.

Knowing a little bit of taxi language CAN be useful however.

Question for you: What the most important phrase for taking a Chinese taxi?

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