Unpleasant Sounds or Awkward Pronunciation

膩 (nì) – Greasy, overly rich (often used for food but also for excessive behavior).

黏 (nián) – Sticky, clinging (can refer to textures or overly attached people).

齁 (hōu) – Overly sweet or salty (common in Taiwanese Mandarin but sounds rough).

癢 (yǎng) – Itchy (some dislike the way it sounds when spoken).

喳喳叫 (zhā zhā jiào) – Chattering noisily (annoying both in sound and meaning).

Gross or Unpleasant Associations

痰 (tán) – Phlegm.

膿 (nóng) – Pus.

流湯 (liú tāng) – To ooze fluid (used for wounds or food, can sound disgusting).

爛 (làn) – Rotten, bad quality (commonly used to insult things or people).

發臭 (fā chòu) – To stink.

Overused or Annoying Phrases in Taiwanese Culture

馬上 (mǎ shàng) – "Right away" (often said but not always meant literally).

隨便啦 (suí biàn la) – "Whatever" (can sound dismissive or rude).

沒差啦 (méi chā la) – "Doesn’t matter" (casual, sometimes frustrating to hear).

你家在哪裡？(nǐ jiā zài nǎ lǐ?) – "Where’s your house?" (Common but feels nosy in Taiwan).

這樣可以嗎？(zhè yàng kě yǐ ma?) – "Is this okay?" (Overused in customer service settings).

Forced Taiwanese Internet Slang

母湯 (mǔ tāng) – Taiwanese Hokkien loanword meaning "don’t do that," some find it cringey.

87 (bā qī) – Internet slang for "idiot" (八七 sounds like 白癡 bái chī, meaning stupid).

安安 (ān ān) – Taiwanese internet greeting, can feel outdated.

尬聊 (gà liáo) – "Forced awkward chat" (often overused online).

好扯哦 (hǎo chě ò) – "So ridiculous!" (Overused in younger circles).

Taiwan-Specific Business or Social Annoyances

報稅 (bào shuì) – Tax filing (dreaded every year).

塞車 (sāi chē) – Traffic jam (a huge problem in Taiwan).

外送 (wài sòng) – Food delivery (used too often in daily conversation).

可以加LINE嗎？(kě yǐ jiā LINE ma?) – "Can we add each other on LINE?" (Some find it intrusive).

租屋 (zū wū) – Renting a house (frustrating for many due to high prices in Taiwan).

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The U.S. is taking steps to ban TikTok—so what does this mean for users, creators, and businesses? In this episode of Mandarin Monkey, Ula (speaking Mandarin) and Tom (speaking English) dive into the controversy surrounding TikTok’s potential ban in America. We discuss why the U.S. government is pushing for it, what might happen next, and whether TikTok can survive this legal battle.

Join us for a bilingual discussion that breaks down the issue from multiple angles—political, economic, and cultural. Is this really about security, or is something else at play? Tune in and find out!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.