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Taiwanese (台語) for Elderly Care

Many elderly people in Taiwan speak Taiwanese (台語 / Hokkien) every day, not Mandarin. Read the Latin letters under the characters to say it.

How to read: the Latin spelling is Taiwan's official Ministry of Education romanization (台羅). Marks above letters show the tone. There's no Taiwanese voice yet; the 🔊 button reads the meaning in Mandarin.

你早！

Lí tsá!

Good morning!

早安！

食飽未？

Tsia̍h-pá buē?

Have you eaten?

吃飽了嗎？

佗位無爽快？

Tó-uī bô sóng-khuài?

Where do you feel unwell?

哪裡不舒服？

疼無？

Thiànn--bô?

Does it hurt?

會痛嗎？

會寒袂？

Ē kuânn bē?

Are you cold?

會冷嗎？

會熱袂？

Ē jua̍h bē?

Are you hot?

會熱嗎？

啉水。

Lim tsuí.

Drink some water.

喝水。

食藥仔矣。

Tsia̍h io̍h-á--ah.

Time for your medicine.

吃藥了。

欲放尿無？

Beh pàng-jiō--bô?

Do you need to pee?

要尿尿嗎？

欲放屎無？

Beh pàng-sái--bô?

Do you need the toilet (poo)?

要上大號嗎？

去洗身軀。

Khì sé sin-khu.

Let's take a bath.

去洗澡。

起來坐。

Khí-lâi tsē.

Let's sit up.

起來坐。

慢慢仔行，莫跋倒。

Bān-bān-á kiânn, mài pua̍h-tó.

Walk slowly, don't fall.

慢慢走，不要跌倒。

欲出去行行咧無？

Beh tshut-khì kiânn-kiânn--leh bô?

Shall we go out for a walk?

要出去走走嗎？

欲睏矣未？

Beh khùn--ah buē?

Ready to sleep?

要睡了嗎？

小等一下。

Sió-tán--tsi̍t-ē.

Wait a moment.

等一下。

毋免驚。

M̄-bián kiann.

Don't be afraid.

不用怕。

我來共你鬥相共。

Guá lâi kā lí tàu-sann-kāng.

Let me help you.

我來幫你。

阿公、阿媽

A-kong, a-má

Grandpa, grandma

爺爺、奶奶

多謝！

To-siā!

Thank you!

謝謝！

Tip: ask your employer or the family to say it for you, and record it on your phone.

Spelling source: 教育部《臺灣台語常用詞辭典》