{"id":2667,"date":"2019-02-28T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T14:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.pimsleur.com\/?p=2667"},"modified":"2025-11-05T13:47:03","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T18:47:03","slug":"taking-a-taxi-in-beijing-understanding-the-beijing-hua-dialect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pimsleur.com\/blog\/taking-a-taxi-in-beijing-understanding-the-beijing-hua-dialect\/","title":{"rendered":"Taking a Taxi in Beijing – Understanding the Beijing Hua Dialect"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taking a Taxi in Beijing: the Beijing Hua<\/strong><\/h2>\n

So, you have finally arrived in China, and want to take a taxi to your hotel or other destination. You assume you can simply give the driver your address, and you’ll arrive at your destination in a few minutes. Wrong. You are being optimistic. For a foreigner, taking a taxi in China is difficult. But taking a taxi in Beijing can be a nightmare.<\/p>\n

Beijing is unlike Shanghai, where you can typically find some English speakers, especially in tourist spots. In Beijing, taxi drivers, as well as most waiters, receptionists, and service workers, do not speak any English. You will either need to have a small grasp of Mandarin<\/a> or be prepared for long exchanges of Google translate texts.<\/p>\n

Why is it so Hard to Take a Taxi in Beijing?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

I remember the first day of my first visit to China. I needed to go from my university to a hotel in the same neighborhood. And I could speak Mandarin, so that would be easy, I had assumed.<\/p>\n

I called a taxi and we spent one full hour driving in circles. At some point, I thought I would never return to my hotel. I had this same feeling often in the months that followed.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s Wrong With Beijing Taxi Drivers?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The drivers often\u00a0don\u2019t know the streets<\/strong>. Whenever I found myself explaining the way to the drivers, I thought that was crazy. They were supposed to<\/em> know the streets,<\/em> right? Then I discovered that Beijing, the<\/em> most populated capital city in the world, is half the size of Belgium. From that point, I became more sympathetic to the taxi drivers. Decently knowing most of the neighborhoods was a near impossibility.<\/p>\n

The distances are very long, so it rarely takes less than half an hour to get to your destination. If you check a map and see you are just on the next street, remember it could take you a long time to get there, even if it looks close!<\/p>\n

Beijing is so crowded there are always scores of people looking for a taxi, no matter the time of day or night. Hailing a taxi is a competitive sport. People will wave, shout, and take your place. If you manage to finally get a taxi to stop, always jump inside before giving your destination to the driver. Otherwise, someone else may slip in while you’re negotiating through the window.<\/p>\n

The Wonder of the Beijing\u00a0Hua Dialect<\/strong><\/h2>\n

When you are finally sitting in the taxi, you will have the first encounter with one thing that will constantly accompany you during your stay in the city: the notorious Beijing Hua<\/em> (\u5317\u4eac\u8bdd), that much-feared Beijing dialect!<\/p>\n

All the taxi drivers proudly speak it. You cannot escape from it. Sorry.<\/p>\n

On paper, Mandarin (the official language of China) and the Beijing dialect are almost identical. This is mainly because Standard Chinese is based on Beijing pronunciation.<\/p>\n

However, some differences make “Beijingers” sound like…they have a sock in their mouth. To express it in a more formal <\/em>way, we are talking about the \u00e9rhu\u00e0<\/strong><\/em> (\u513f\u5316) or rhotacization<\/a><\/u>.<\/p>\n

This phonological phenomenon consists of basically adding the “\u00e9r” (\u513f) sound (transcribed in IPA as [\u025a]<\/a><\/u>) to Chinese syllables. Some words used with this final sound have been even recognized as official in Standard Chinese, such as:<\/p>\n

\u54ea\u513f n\u01cer <\/em>(where)<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u70b9\u513f y\u00ecdi\u01cenr<\/em> (a little)<\/p>\n

\u597d\u73a9\u513f h\u01ceow\u00e1nr<\/em> (fun)<\/p>\n

Since people from the south of China might have problems pronouncing this er<\/em> sound, they usually replace these words altogether with the following:<\/p>\n

\u54ea\u91cc n\u01cel\u01d0<\/em> (where)<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u70b9 y\u00ecdi\u01cen <\/em>(a little)<\/p>\n

\u597d\u73a9 h\u01ceow\u00e1n <\/em>(fun)<\/p>\n

Other examples:<\/p>\n

\u4e00\u74f6 (y\u00ecp\u00edng<\/em>, one bottle)\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u4e00\u74f6\u513f (y\u00ecp\u00edngr<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u516c\u56ed (g\u014dngyu\u00e1n<\/em>, public garden)\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u516c\u56ed\u513f (g\u014dngyu\u00e1nr<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u5c0f\u5b69 (xi\u01ceoh\u00e1i<\/em>, small child)\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u5c0f\u5b69\u513f (xi\u01ceoh\u00e1ir<\/em>)<\/p>\n

\u4e8b (sh\u00ec<\/em>, thing)\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u4e8b\u513f (sh\u00ecr<\/em>)<\/p>\n

There are also some words with the er <\/em>that are used in Beijing Hua dialect, but they would not be used or even understood by people from other parts of China:<\/p>\n

\u500d\u513f b\u00e8ir<\/em> \u2013 very, especially (referring to manner or attribute)<\/p>\n

\u852b\u513f ni\u0101r<\/em> \u2013 no backbone, spiritless<\/p>\n

\u6413\u706b\u513f cu\u014dhu\u01d2r<\/em> \u2013 to be angry<\/p>\n

Beijing Hua Taxi Phrases:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here are some useful phrases to help you manage the taxi stress<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u53bb\u90a3\u513f (q\u00f9 n\u01cer<\/em>)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2192 Where to?<\/p>\n

\u6253\u8f66 (d\u01ce ch\u0113<\/em>)<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 Take a taxi<\/p>\n

\u51fa\u79df\u8f66 (ch\u016bz\u016bch\u0113<\/em>)<\/strong> \u2192 Taxi<\/p>\n

\u96f6\u94b1\u4e0d\u7528\u627e\u4e86 (l\u00edngqia\u0301n b\u00fay\u00f2ng zh\u01ceole<\/em>)<\/strong>\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 Keep the change.<\/p>\n

\u6211\u8981\u4e0b\u8f66\u4e86 (w\u01d2 y\u00e0o xi\u00e0 ch\u0113 le<\/em>)\u00a0<\/strong> \u2192\u00a0 I want to get off.<\/p>\n

\u8ba9\u6211\u4e0b\u8f66 \u00a0(r\u00e0ng w\u01d2 xi\u00e0 ch\u0113<\/em>)\u00a0<\/strong> \u2192\u00a0 Let me get off.<\/p>\n

\u8bf7\u7ed9\u6211\u8f66\u8d39\u6536\u636e (q\u00ecng g\u011bi w\u01d2 ch\u0113f\u00e8i sh\u014duju)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong> \u2192\u00a0 \u00a0Please give me the taxi fare receipt.<\/p>\n

\u8bf7\u9001\u6211\u5230\u8fd9\u91cc (q\u01d0ng s\u00f2ng w\u01d2 d\u00e0o zh\u011bli)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 \u00a0Please take me here.<\/p>\n

\u6162\u70b9\u5f00\u8f66 (m\u00e0n di\u01cen k\u0101i ch\u0113)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0\u2192\u00a0 Drive slowly.<\/p>\n

\u4ea4\u901a\u5835\u585e (ji\u0101ot\u014dng d\u01d4s\u0101i)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0\u2192\u00a0 Traffic jam.<\/p>\n

\u8fd8\u8981\u591a\u4e45 (H\u00e1i y\u00e0o du\u014dji\u01d4?)<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong> \u00a0\u2192\u00a0 How much longer?<\/p>\n

\u8bf7\u5728\u8fd9\u91cc\u7a0d\u7b49\u4e00\u4e0b\u513f (q\u01d0ng z\u00e0i zh\u00e8li sh\u0101o d\u011bng y\u00edxi\u00e0)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0 \u2192\u00a0 Please wait here for a moment.<\/p>\n

\u5230\u3002\u3002\u3002\u591a\u5c11\u94b1\u00a0 (d\u00e0o … du\u014dsh\u01ceo qia\u0301n?)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0\u2192\u00a0 \u00a0How much is it to\u2026?<\/p>\n

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Need Mandarin Learning On the Go?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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