How difficult is living in Taiwan when you don't speak Chinese?

For my first five years, I didn’t speak much mandarin, just a couple words and phrases. Taiwanese people were always so willing to help and offer translation, try their best to use body language, or help in any way they could! That’s one of the main reasons I love Taiwan! Taiwan’s convenience is the reason to visit, but the people are what makes foreigners want to stay! ❤️ good luck on your mandarin journey! You’ve got this!

臺灣是一個非常便利的國家，而且不斷進步中， 也越來越國際化，未來即將成為一個雙語國家， 歡迎英國叔叔繼續住臺灣，謝謝分享你的生活！👍😀🙏

台灣人非常友善 即使語言不通 還是會盡可能地猜測與幫助對方的 😊

一個正常在別的國家住10年的人，幾乎都會當地的語言， 就是台灣的(人情味)讓英國叔叔就算只會一點點中文，也能住14年 所以說人情味好或不好? 如果沒有人情味，他可能中文學得更快，但沒人情味他還會在這住14年嗎? 更多的人情味，才能吸引更多外國人願意來台工作，甚至居住，這是台灣人的軟實力.....

艾倫，了解台灣生活運作比會不會中文重要，畢竟這不是你的母語。當然，多學一樣也是很好的，祝你在台灣有幸福的生活！

對這個主題滿有感觸的 以前在美國生活就是這樣，英文不好，就處處得求朋友幫助，好像自己是小孩一樣 英文流利的華人朋友明顯生活順利、社交圈融入當地許多 只有三條路可走: 永遠維持這種生活、逃回中文國家、把當地語言練好 每條都是得放棄某些東西，或者過得辛苦

在台灣生活不要怕！說錯話！只要笑容跟優默的笑一笑！台灣人都很包容的！而且會盡可能的去幫助你与你相互溝通協調的！朋友加油啦！💪

Hello from the UK! I've been a fan right at the beginning and I love your content, always so insightful. You have truly embraced the culture and introduced Taiwan in-depth, which as a Taiwanese expat, I find perfect for showing my friends here for them to learn about my country. However every time I hear you refer Taiwanese Mandarin as “Chinese”, my heart sinks because I’ll need to pause the video and explain to my British friends that Taiwan is not China, which is surprisingly confusing to westerners. I appreciate your explanation in the video, but I really hope that you recognise the difference between Chinese and Taiwanese Mandarin and the fact that a lot of people mistake Taiwan for China, and calling the language we speak “Chinese” is not helping the constant battle of convincing people around us that Taiwan is not part of the PRC.

語言是溝通的橋樑，不要怕説錯被笑或被翻白眼，只要多説、多聽、多問、多上傳統市場或夜市，自然而然就會説了，加油！

No problem. Same thing. I have difficulty in tax reporting even though I mandarins is my native language.

其實我覺得帥倫中文算不錯了，雖然不算非常流利，但我相信帥倫中文有一天一定可以說的非常流利的，加油帥倫💖💖💖😽😽😽💪💪💪

其實Allan中文算不錯了，可以跟市長一起逛街，也可以做為中文現場活動的來賓，我覺得聽懂的程度至少有70-80%，狠厲害了 我自己覺得台灣人其實不太在意音調是否正確，音調很容易猜出來，而外國人好像相對在意音調，覺得發音不對就沒信心，其實不必太在意的

You're definitely right. You can do just about anything in English in most cities and even in the country. When I came here back in 95, it was completely different. Almost no one could understand me. I went everywhere with a dictionary and a phrasebook.

我在廣東的客家人為主的城市從2014待到現在，跟他們互動這麼久了，我也沒能學會客家話。當有其他代替語音或是方式時，是很難學會新的語言。人都會習慣的用最符合自己利基點的方式去生活，沒什麼！

Great insight, thank you for sharing!

Mastering the language of the country you're in is the ladder to success.

Pretty insightful video. Thanks man

Speaking the local language is very important to live in any country especially where English does not help much. So it is better to learn Taiwanese to live in Taiwan. Just like how it would help to speak Japanese in Japan or Italian in Italy. I am talking about those who want to live in foreign countries and not for those who are just visiting.

加油 ALLAN 你是兒子的指標 你可以的，就像你其他好兄弟在台灣也努力學中文這樣

The chefs of a restaurant are generally skilled at 2 or 3 dishes at least nationwide and rarely are they only confined to being good at only 1 dish. You can get around Taiwan without speaking local languages because students have had to learn English since primary schools through senior high schools for at least 20 years in Taiwan. Even though most people you encounter here aren't good in English they're pretty familiar with the English environments but if you want to get involved deeper in the environment, being able to communicate in local languages is a bonus.