Taking a taxi in Chinese: the address, the price and the payment
Taxis in China are cheap, metered and everywhere. The hard part is the first ten seconds: the driver needs your destination in Chinese, and a spoken street address usually means nothing to them.
So the most useful preparation is not a sentence, it's a screenshot. Save your hotel's Chinese name and address where you can show it without unlocking your phone — and ask the hotel front desk to write it out for you when you check out.
7 steps · 7 phrases · tap any phrase to hear it
Listen to all 7
Hands-free playback — good for a taxi, a queue, or the plane.
Back-to-back Chinese — good once the phrases are familiar.
- 1
Show the address, then say it
You may hear
好的，上车吧。
Hǎo de, shàng chē ba.
OK, get in.
Show the screenshot first, then read the sentence. Chinese addresses run largest-to-smallest (city, district, street, building) — the opposite of English — which is another reason not to try reading one aloud from your booking email.
- 2
If the driver isn't sure where
You may hear
哪里？再说一遍。
Nǎlǐ? Zài shuō yí biàn.
Where? Say that again.
这里 (zhèlǐ) is here and 哪里 (nǎlǐ) is where — nearly the same sound, and the tone is all that separates them. Having the address on screen makes this step unnecessary, which is exactly the point.
- 3
Ask how long before you set off
You may hear
大概四十分钟。
Dàgài sìshí fēnzhōng.
About forty minutes.
Times come as 分钟 (fēnzhōng, minutes) and 小时 (xiǎoshí, hours). Rush hour roughly doubles any estimate — in Beijing and Shanghai the metro is often the faster option, and drivers will happily tell you so.
- 4
Check the meter, not the price
You may hear
打表，三十八。
Dǎ biǎo, sānshíbā.
On the meter — thirty-eight.
打表 (dǎ biǎo) means the meter is running; taxis at the official rank always do. Anyone approaching you inside an airport or station offering a car is not the official rank — walk outside instead.
- 5
Settle payment before you arrive
You may hear
微信还是支付宝？
Wēixìn háishì Zhīfùbǎo?
WeChat or Alipay?
This is the most common question you'll be asked anywhere in China. Set up Alipay or WeChat Pay before you fly and link a card inside the app — many drivers no longer carry change, and a few won't take cash at all.
- 6
Pay by scanning
You may hear
你扫我。
Nǐ sǎo wǒ.
You scan me.
扫 (sǎo) means to scan. The driver will hold up a QR code or point at one stuck to the dashboard: scan it in Alipay or WeChat Pay, type the amount the meter shows, and confirm. Show them the green success screen before you get out.
- 7
Take the printed slip
You may hear
电子发票，在手机上。
Diànzǐ fāpiào, zài shǒujī shàng.
Electronic receipt, on your phone.
发票 (fāpiào) is the official tax invoice you need for expense claims; a plain payment record is 收据 (shōujù). Taxi meters print a small slip automatically — keep it, since it carries the car number and the fare if you leave something behind.
Also worth having ready
Not part of the flow, but the ones people wish they'd practised before this situation.
Common questions
- How do I tell a Chinese taxi driver where to go?
- Show the Chinese address on your phone and say 请带我去这个地址 (please take me to this address). Spoken addresses are unreliable because Chinese addresses run from city down to building; a screenshot of the hotel page in Chinese works every time.
- Can I pay a taxi in China with cash?
- Often, but not always — many drivers now expect QR payment and don't carry change. Alipay or WeChat Pay linked to a foreign card is the safe default; ask 收现金吗 (do you take cash?) before you get in if cash is all you have.
- Is it cheaper to take a taxi or Didi in China?
- They're usually within a few yuan of each other. Didi (in Alipay, or as its own app) avoids any conversation about the address because you type it in, which makes it the easier first ride if you're not confident speaking yet.
Every phrase used here, in full
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