Traditional Chinese course

Lesson 38 of 240

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Pay with cash or card in Traditional Chinese

At Banyan Breakfast, you see A-Li tap the EasyCard hanging from his neck string. When it is your turn, you search your wallet and find a fifty-dollar note.

Learn how to pay by cash or card, ask whether EasyCard is accepted, and handle a short wait. Then pass over money and receive change.

The slip remains folded in the till, and A-Li's soy milk stays unfinished.

By the end of this lesson

Say whether you will pay with cash or card, ask about using EasyCard, hand something over, and understand a brief wait.

  • 付現金Pay by cash.
  • 刷卡Pay by card.
  • 悠遊卡可以嗎？Is EasyCard okay?
  • 我沒有零錢I don't have change.
  • 請稍等一下Please wait a moment.
  • 來，給你Here you go.

Scene — paying at breakfast

Morning is busy at Banyan Breakfast. A-Li sits on his two stools at the back, with his soy milk still unfinished.

His EasyCard hangs from a string as he pays. Maya checks her wallet at the counter and finds a fifty-dollar note among her coins.

Maya checks her wallet at the counter while Ali sits at the back with unfinished soy milk and his EasyCard hanging from a string.

Learn — cash, cards, and change

Learn six useful lines for paying at a small breakfast shop. Listen for the EasyCard question, then practice offering cash and passing something over.

The examples keep the payment simple: A-Li uses his card, and Maya finds cash.

  1. Maya holds out a banknote to pay while Ali remains at the back with his unfinished soy milk.

    付現金

    Pay by cash.

    When to use it: Use this to say you will pay with cash.

    Learn it as one piece.

  2. Ali reaches his EasyCard toward the payment reader as the shop clerk serves him.

    刷卡

    Pay by card.

    When to use it: Use this to say you will pay by card.

    Learn it as one piece.

  3. Maya gestures toward Ali’s dangling EasyCard and the payment reader as she checks with the clerk.

    悠遊卡可以嗎？

    Is EasyCard okay?

    When to use it: Ask whether you can pay with an EasyCard.

    Learn it as one piece.

    Say it: 遊 in 悠遊 is a second tone.

  4. Maya searches through coins in her open wallet with a concerned expression.

    我沒有零錢

    I don't have change.

    When to use it: Say this when you do not have small change.

    Learn it as one piece.

  5. The shop clerk raises a reassuring hand while Maya waits with her wallet open.

    請稍等一下

    Please wait a moment.

    When to use it: Use this to ask someone to wait briefly.

    Learn it as one piece.

  6. Maya hands the banknote across the counter to the shop clerk.

    來，給你

    Here you go.

    When to use it: Say this as you hand something to someone.

    Learn it as one piece.

Story — a payment at the counter

A-Li pays at the breakfast counter with the EasyCard on his string. Maya pays next, searching her wallet for small change.

She finds a fifty-dollar note, and Auntie Lin gives her change. A-Li's soy milk is still waiting at the table.

  1. Auntie Lin怎麼付？How will you pay?
  2. A-Li悠遊卡可以嗎？Is EasyCard okay?
  3. Auntie Lin可以。Yes, you can.
  4. A-Li刷卡。I'll pay by card.
  5. Auntie Lin瑪雅，你呢？Maya, and you?
  6. Maya付現金。I'll pay by cash.
  7. Maya我沒有零錢。I don't have change.
  8. Auntie Lin請稍等一下。Please wait a moment.
  9. Maya五十塊。Fifty dollars.
  10. Auntie Lin來，給你。Here you go.
  11. Maya謝謝。Thank you.

Practice — choose how to pay

Try ten quick exercises about choosing a payment method, waiting, and handing over money. Listen carefully and choose the line that fits each moment.

Some questions revisit greetings and prices you have already learned.

0 of 10 done

  1. What does it mean?

    付現金

  2. What do you say?

    At the counter, choose to pay by card.

  3. Build the line

    Please wait a moment.

    Tap the words in order.

  4. Fill the gap

    I don't have change.

    我沒有____

  5. What did you hear?

  6. What do you say?

    Hand a fifty-dollar note to Auntie Lin.

  7. Pick the reply

    Clerk says:

    這個多少錢？

    How much is this?

    And you reply with:

  8. Pick the reply

    Auntie Lin says:

    來，給你。

    Here you go.

    And you reply with:

  9. Match the pairs

    Traditional Chinese

    付現金Drop the English here
    刷卡Drop the English here
    悠遊卡可以嗎？Drop the English here
    我沒有零錢Drop the English here

    English

    Drag an English line onto its Traditional Chinese, or tap one and then the other.

  10. What do you say?

    After saying how you will pay, ask the other person what they will do.

Say it — your turn at the counter

You are Maya at the breakfast counter. Listen to the clerk and Auntie Lin, then say what you would do or say in each moment.

Tap the microphone for your turn. Keep your replies short and friendly as you pay and hand over the money.

  1. Maya is ready to pay at Banyan Breakfast.
  2. Clerk怎麼付？How will you pay?
  3. Maya (you)Tell the clerk you will pay with cash.

    付現金

    Pay by cash.

0 of 4 said

Recap — what you can say now

Traditional ChineseEnglish
付現金Pay by cash.
刷卡Pay by card.
悠遊卡可以嗎？Is EasyCard okay?
我沒有零錢I don't have change.
請稍等一下Please wait a moment.
來，給你Here you go.
Next: lesson 39At the 7-Eleven counter

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