Taxis, Didi and getting out at the right place
Two sentences do most of the work in a Chinese taxi: 师傅，去这里。 ("Driver, go here" — while showing the address) and 请打表。 ("Please use the meter"). Show a written address rather than saying it: place names are tonal minefields, and a screen removes the guesswork for both of you.
What actually happens
A metered taxi in a Chinese city is cheap, plentiful and — once the destination problem is solved — genuinely easy. The destination problem is the whole difficulty: tones make spoken place names unreliable from a beginner, and drivers outside the biggest cities speak no English at all. Every experienced traveller solves this the same way, by showing rather than saying.
Didi (滴滴) is the local Uber and its app has an English interface. It removes the address problem entirely and pays automatically, which is why most visitors end up using it — but it needs a working data connection and a payment method that already works in China, so it is not a plan for your first hour in the country. A metered taxi from the official rank is.
The one thing to be firm about is the meter. A driver who quotes a flat price before you get in (一口价, yìkǒujià) is quoting above the meter, and anyone approaching you inside an airport terminal offering a ride is not a licensed taxi. Both are handled the same way: walk to the official rank, get in, say 请打表.
What they'll say back to you
Understanding the reply is the half of the conversation phrasebooks skip. These are the lines you will actually hear in this situation — learn to recognise them, not to say them.
What to say
Getting in and getting going
Directions on the way
Getting out
Ride-hailing and problems
The bit that isn't language
Before you leave the hotel, screenshot the hotel's Chinese address as well as your destination's. Getting there is only half the trip, and "I don't know the name of my hotel in Chinese" is a much worse conversation to have at 11pm.
Quick quiz — 5 questions
Five questions built from the phrases above: you get the English, you pick the Chinese. No sign-up, no score kept — just a check that they have stuck.
How do you say this?
Common mistakes
| ✗ What visitors do | ✓ What works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Saying the destination out loud and hoping | Showing it written in Chinese | Place names are dense with tones and homophones. A screen the driver can read removes the entire problem — this is what locals do too when the address is unfamiliar. |
| Getting into a car with someone who approached you | Walking to the official rank | Anyone touting rides inside a terminal is unlicensed and will charge several times the meter. The rank is signposted 出租车 (chūzūchē). |
| 先生，去这里。 | 师傅，去这里。 | 先生 is not wrong, but 师傅 is what everyone actually says to a driver, a repair-person or anyone with a trade. It reads as normal rather than stiff. |
Taxis and ride-hailing — frequently asked questions
How do I tell a Chinese taxi driver where to go?
Show the address in Chinese characters on your phone and say 师傅，去这里 (shīfu, qù zhèlǐ) — "driver, go here". Speaking the address aloud is the unreliable option: tones matter and many place names sound alike. Our free address card tool prints a destination in large characters for exactly this.
What does 打表 (dǎ biǎo) mean?
It means "run the meter". 请打表 (qǐng dǎ biǎo) is the standard, polite way to decline a flat fare and ask for the metered price. Licensed taxis are required to use the meter, so the request is entirely normal and drivers expect it.
Can I use Uber in China?
No — Uber sold its China business to Didi (滴滴) in 2016. Didi's app has an English interface and works as you would expect, but it needs mobile data and a payment method that works in China, so have a metered-taxi plan for your first day as well.
Do Chinese taxi drivers speak English?
Generally no, including in Beijing and Shanghai. This is not a problem in practice, because the interaction is short and visual: show the address, watch the meter, hand over payment. The phrases on this page cover everything else that comes up.
Next
Before you fly
Work through the whole trip in Ready for a trip to China in 30 days, play Travel Survival Sprint to make the phrases automatic, practise saying them aloud in Airport Roleplay, or look up anything else in the Chinese → Pinyin translator.