I watch an inhuman amount of Taiwanese dramas.

In fact, when I was in high school, I would spend full days binging on dramas desperate to make sure that the main characters ended up together (and of course, they always do…after some fainting, hospital visits, fireworks and visits from ex’s).

However, all of the hours I logged back then hearing Chinese weren’t as useful as watching Taiwanese dramas while I seriously studied Mandarin.

Once I was studying it with, gusto, let’s say, I began to hear so many more words, phrases, & constructions, and it became pretty clear to me which phrases were said over and over again.

Here are the 9 phrases you’ll definitely hear while watching a Taiwanese drama.

1.) 先睡覺. – First go to sleep.

xiān shuìjiào

ㄒㄧㄢ ㄕㄨㄟˋ ㄐㄧㄠˋ

This is usually said between two people who have some kind of friendship or relationship. It’s said usually just before bedtime either when someone announces they want to go to sleep or that they’re tired.

2.) 不送你. － I won’t see you out.

búsòng nǐ

ㄅㄨˊㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄋㄧˇ

Alt. I will see you out.

我送你

wǒ sòng nǐ

ㄨㄛˇ ㄙㄨㄥˋ ㄋㄧˇ

Seeing someone out is seen as the polite thing to do when they’re in your home.

If you see a friend leaving somewhere in his car and you stop and say hi, he might end the conversation with something like “Since you’re not going my way, I won’t take you”.

This may sound rude in English, but it’s normal in Chinese.

3.) 怪怪的. – How strange.

guài guài de

ㄍㄨㄞˋ ㄍㄨㄞˋ ㄉㄜ˙

When people are acting oddly, like when someone knows a secret and is acting strangely toward another character, you’ll often hear this said.

4.) 你先去休息一下. – You should first rest a little bit.

nǐ xiān qù xiūxí yíxià

ㄋㄧˇ ㄒㄧㄢ ㄑㄩˋ ㄒㄧㄡ ㄒㄧˊ ㄧˊ ㄒㄧㄚˋ

Like the suggestion to go to sleep, this is said between members of a family or friends. They are often suggesting how to stay healthy or take care of yourself.

5.) 我好感動啊. – I’m so touched.

wǒ hǎo gǎn dòng a

ㄨㄛˇ ㄏㄠˇ ㄍㄢˇ ㄉㄨㄥˋ ㄚ˙

Because wonderful things do happen in the drama world.

6.) 我心痛. － My heart hurts.

wǒ xīntòng

ㄨㄛˇ ㄒㄧㄣ ㄊㄨㄥˋ

This is used when something bad has happened that has made someone really upset.

7.） 去忙.－ Get back to work.

qù máng。

ㄑㄩˋ ㄇㄤˊ。

While it literally means “go busy”, it has a general meaning of telling someone to get back to whatever they were doing before the conversation began.

8.）你說得對。 － What you said is right.

nǐ shuō dé duì。

ㄋㄧˇ ㄕㄨㄛ ㄉㄜˊ ㄉㄨㄟˋ。

9.) 那怎麼辦？ － Then, what do we do?

nà zěnmebàn？

ㄋㄚˋ ㄗㄜˇ ㄇㄜ˙ ㄅㄢˋ？

Because there is usually a crisis.

Have any to add? Leave ’em in the comments below!