In recent years, bubble teas have taken the world by storm and see growing popularity nearly on every continent (minus Antarctica!). Surely, having a taste of the OG bubble tea must be on your to-do list while you’re in Taiwan. Then, how do we order bubble teas in Chinese? Well, let me walk you through the steps!

First, right off the bat, tell the clerk what beverages you have a craving for.

Customer:

nǐ hǎo, wǒ xiǎng yào yì bēi ______

你好，我想要一杯…

Hi, I would like a …

For example,

nǐ hǎo, wǒ xiǎng yào yì bēi zhēn zhū nǎi chá

你好，我想要一杯珍珠奶茶

Hi, I would like a bubble tea.

Cashier:

Tián dù, bīng kuài?

甜度, 冰塊?

Sweetness, ice?

Customer:

wǒ yào quán táng wēn de

我要全糖溫的

100% sweet and warm.

bīng kuài 冰塊 ice

zhèng cháng (biāo zhǔn) 正常 （標準）normal (standard)

shǎo bīng 少冰less ice

qù bīng 去冰no ice

wēn 溫warm

rè 熱hot

Tián dù 甜度 (sweetness)

Wú táng 0% 無糖

wuí táng [sān fēn tián] 30% 微糖 [三分甜]

bàn táng [wǔ fēn tián] 50% 半糖 [五分甜]

shǎo táng [qī fēn tián] 70% 少糖 [七分甜]

quán táng, zhèng cháng (biāo zhǔn) 100% 全糖, 正常 （標準）

Cashier:

nǐ yào dà bēi, zhōng bēi, hái shì xiǎo bēi?

你要大杯、中杯還是小杯？

Would you like large, medium, or small?

bēi zi de dà xiǎo ne ？

杯子的大小呢？

What about the size?

大小 dà xiǎo (size)

大 (大杯) dà (dà bēi) large

中 (中杯) zhōng (zhōng bēi) medium

小 (小杯) xiǎo (xiǎo bēi) small

Customer:

wǒ yào dà bēi de

我要大杯的

I’d like to get large.

Cashier:

zhè yàng jiù hǎo le ma ？

這樣就好了嗎？

Is that everything?

Customer:

Zhè yàng jiù hǎo le. (jiàng jiù hǎo le)

這樣就好了

That’s it.

Last but not the least, here comes the transaction part:

這樣一共是…塊（元）

Zhè yàng (jiàng) yí gòng shì ______ kuài (yuán).

The total is $___

找你…塊（元）

Zhǎo nǐ ______ kuài (yuán).

Here’s the change: $___

If they didn’t give you the change correctly, you can say:

不好意思，找錯錢了

bù hǎo yì si, zhǎo cuò qián le

I’m sorry but you gave me the wrong change.

你多找了我…塊（元）

nǐ duō zhǎo le wǒ … kuài (yuán) (You gave me $… extra)

你少找了我…塊（元）

nǐ shǎo zhǎo le wǒ … kuài (yuán) (I’m $… short)