Eastern Asia
Video Chat with People from Taiwan
Taiwan is an island of night markets, mountain trails and hot springs, and the person you meet might be in Taipei, in Kaohsiung by the southern harbor, in Taichung, in historic Tainan, or out on the east coast near Hualien and Taroko Gorge. Mandarin is the main language, written in Traditional Chinese characters, and many people also speak Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka or one of the Indigenous languages. English is widely studied, and younger adults often enjoy a chance to use it.
With Taiwan on UTC+8 and no daylight saving, its evenings fall in the morning on the US East Coast and in the early afternoon in the UK. Food could fill an hour on its own: beef noodle soup, braised pork rice, xiaolongbao, stinky tofu for the brave, and bubble tea, which was born in Taiwan. Baseball has a passionate following, Mandopop and indie bands are popular, and people love recommending hikes, hot springs and trips to the outlying islands. Want some Mandarin before you start? Our Chinese practice page has starter phrases.
Taiwan at a glance
| Flag | 🇹🇼 |
|---|---|
| Region | Asia · Eastern Asia |
| Official language | Chinese |
| Currency | New Taiwan dollar ($, TWD) |
| Calling code | +886 |
| Time zone | Taiwan Standard Time (Asia/Taipei) |
How to say hello
A few words of Chinese make a great first impression, even if you switch to English right after.
| Language | Phrase | Say it | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 你好！ | nee HOW | Hello! |
| Chinese (Mandarin) | 哈囉，最近好嗎？ | hah-LOH, zway-jin HOW mah | Hi, how have you been? |
| Taiwanese Hokkien | 食飽未？ | jiah-PAH buay | Have you eaten? (a friendly hello) |
Tips for chatting with people from Taiwan
- Taiwan writes in Traditional characters (謝謝 rather than 谢谢 for "thank you"), and many people type with Zhuyin, also called Bopomofo; ask to see how their keyboard works.
- Ask for a night market recommendation; most people have a favorite market and a snack you simply have to try.
- If someone asks "食飽未?", it's a greeting, not an invitation; "食飽矣" (jiah-PAH-ah), "I've eaten," is the easy reply.
- Many people in Taiwan use an English name alongside their Chinese name, so don't be surprised if someone introduces themselves as Kevin or Annie.
Only meet people from Taiwan
Omlet matches you Worldwide by default. To meet only people from Taiwan, use the country filter, the only filter Omlet has:
- Open Omlet and press Country on the control panel.
- Search for Taiwan and select it.
- Press Start. Press Next to meet someone else from Taiwan, or switch back to Worldwide any time.
Your first day is free: you add a card through Stripe to start it, and nothing is charged that day. When the 24 hours end, the country filter costs $3 one time, charged to that card, unless you cancel before then in Settings (if you cancel, you can still pick a country until the day ends). It's not a subscription, and it stays unlocked on that device and browser. It doesn't carry over to other devices or browsers, and clearing your browser data removes it. There's one free day per device, home network and card. Payment goes through Stripe, so Omlet never sees your card number.
The filter works both ways, and matching can be slower when fewer people from Taiwan are online. Chatting itself is free, and Worldwide matching never costs anything.
Your own country is detected automatically and shown to the people you meet as a flag.
Nearby countries
Other countries in Eastern Asia: