Hong Kong taxis are cheap, quick and everywhere, right up until you climb in and find you can’t pronounce where you’re staying. That’s when a few Cantonese phrases earn their keep.

The good news is that a taxi ride is one of the most predictable conversations you’ll ever have: where to, which way, where to stop and how much. This guide is for first-time travellers, foreigners living in Hong Kong and heritage learners who understand more than they speak. Every phrase comes in traditional Chinese characters with Jyutping, in the colloquial form locals actually use.

In this guide you’ll learn what to say at each stage of a ride, in order: choosing a taxi, giving your destination, directions, stopping and settling up. Then come a little etiquette, the lines you’ll hear back and a phrase table to screenshot. No grammar needed.

Why Cantonese, not English or Mandarin?

Drivers on the airport and hotel runs often speak enough English, but many older cabbies speak little English and only some Mandarin. Cantonese is the language of daily life, and a few words of it, even with wobbly tones, get a warmer welcome than either. The difference matters: Mandarin is a different spoken language, so a Mandarin phrase from a phrasebook won’t always land, even though both are written in Chinese characters.

Don’t let the tones scare you. If you say 機場 slightly off while holding a suitcase, nobody doubts where you’re going. One pronunciation tip: Cantonese keeps the clipped k, t and p endings that Mandarin lost, so 直 (zik6) ends in a swallowed k. Our guide to Cantonese sounds covers the rest.

How to take a taxi in Hong Kong: red, green or blue?

The word for taxi is borrowed from English: 的士 (dik1 si2). Taking one is 搭的士 (daap3 dik1 si2), and flagging one down is 截的士 (zit6 dik1 si2), usually shortened to 搭的 and 截的. Before you stick your arm out, check the colour, because it tells you where the taxi can go.

Red taxis: urban

Red taxis go almost everywhere, including the airport, and they’re the default in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island. The flag fall is HK$29.

Green taxis: New Territories

Green taxis stay mostly in the New Territories and north Lantau. They start at HK$25.50 but can’t take you into the city.

Blue taxis: Lantau

Blue taxis only work on Lantau, so you’ll meet them when you arrive at the airport, in Tung Chung and up at Ngong Ping. They start at HK$24.

Finding a free taxi

A lit red “For Hire” sign means the taxi is free. Wave from the kerb where the road markings allow it, or queue at a taxi stand, 的士站 (dik1 si2 zaam6). Taxis are hardest to find in rush hours, in the rain and around shift change in the late afternoon.

Telling the taxi driver your destination

Expect a quick 去邊度呀？ (heoi3 bin1 dou6 aa3), “Where to?”. Your answer is the most useful phrase for any taxi ride: 唔該去… (m4 goi1 heoi3 …), “Please go to…”.

So 唔該去機場 (m4 goi1 heoi3 gei1 coeng4) is “To the airport, please”, and 唔該去中環 (m4 goi1 heoi3 zung1 waan4) is “To Central, please”. Locals navigate by buildings, malls, MTR stations and hotels rather than street numbers, so give a landmark if you can. Many hotels, for example, have a Chinese name that has nothing to do with the English one.

For anywhere tricky, have the address in Chinese on your phone and show it while you say 唔該去呢度 (m4 goi1 heoi3 ni1 dou6), “Please go here”. It’s polite, clear and completely normal.

Crossing the harbour

Between Kowloon and Hong Kong Island you may be asked 過唔過海呀？ (gwo3 m4 gwo3 hoi2 aa3), “Crossing the harbour?”, and then which tunnel:

• 紅隧 (hung4 seoi6), the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, the most central and often the busiest

• 東隧 (dung1 seoi6), the Eastern Harbour Crossing

• 西隧 (sai1 seoi6), the Western Harbour Crossing, often quickest when the others are jammed

Say 行西隧，唔該 (haang4 sai1 seoi6, m4 goi1), “Take the Western tunnel, please”, or 你話事 (nei5 waa6 si6), “You decide”. The toll goes on top of the meter, usually with the return toll too, unless you got in at a cross-harbour taxi stand.

Giving directions on the way

These short words cover most directions:

• 直去 (zik6 heoi3), “Straight on”

• 轉左 (zyun3 zo2), “Turn left”

• 轉右 (zyun3 jau6), “Turn right”

• 前面 (cin4 min6), “Up ahead”

• 喺路口轉左 (hai2 lou6 hau2 zyun3 zo2), “Turn left at the junction”

Put them together: 前面轉左，唔該 (cin4 min6 zyun3 zo2, m4 goi1), “Left up ahead, please”. 唔該 is the most useful word in this guide. It means please, excuse me and thank you, and it makes any instruction polite.

Faster, slower, cooler

唔使咁趕 (m4 sai2 gam3 gon2), “No need to rush”, asks for a calmer ride, and 我趕時間 (ngo5 gon2 si4 gaan3), “I’m in a hurry”, does the opposite. If the air-con is turning the back seat into a fridge, try 唔該冷氣細啲 (m4 goi1 laang5 hei3 sai3 di1), “Air-con down a bit, please”.

Stopping and getting out

As you arrive, you may be asked 停邊度呀？ (ting4 bin1 dou6 aa3), “Where shall I stop?”. The answer you’ll use most is 喺度停得喇，唔該 (hai2 dou6 ting4 dak1 laa3, m4 goi1), “Here’s fine, thanks.”

Locals also commonly say 前面有落 (cin4 min6 jau5 lok6), “Getting out up ahead”, the same 有落 people shout on a minibus. Or try 前面停就得 (cin4 min6 ting4 zau6 dak1), “Just up ahead is fine”. On double yellow lines the taxi will keep going until it’s legal to stop.

Getting your bags out

Ask 唔該開尾箱 (m4 goi1 hoi1 mei5 soeng1), “Could you open the boot, please?”. Each bag in the boot adds a small charge to the fare.

Settling the fare: Octopus, cards and cash

The fare is on the meter, 咪錶 (mai1 biu1), but you can always ask 幾多錢呀？ (gei2 do1 cin2 aa3), “How much?”. Our numbers guide will help you understand the answer.

Octopus, cards and QR codes

Since April 2026, every Hong Kong taxi has to accept at least two kinds of electronic payment, shown by stickers on the window. That usually means the Octopus card, 八達通 (baat3 daat6 tung1), plus a QR-code wallet or bank card. Ask 收唔收八達通呀？ (sau1 m4 sau1 baat3 daat6 tung1 aa3), “Do you take Octopus?”, or 碌卡得唔得呀？ (luk1 kaat1 dak1 m4 dak1 aa3), “Can I pay by card?”.

Cash, change and receipts

Cash still works, and small notes are appreciated. Tipping isn’t expected, but plenty of people round up with 唔使找喇 (m4 sai2 zaau2 laa3), “Keep the change”. For a receipt, ask 唔該畀張收據我 (m4 goi1 bei2 zoeng1 sau1 geoi3 ngo5). Then a quick 唔該 as you get out, 落車 (lok6 ce1), and the ride is over.

Hong Kong taxi etiquette

Greetings and small talk

There’s no need for a formal greeting. Most people just get in and say where they’re going. A 你好 (nei5 hou2), or 早晨 (zou2 san4) before noon, is friendly but optional, and silence is perfectly normal in local taxi culture.

Seat belts and doors

Passengers must wear a seat belt wherever one is fitted, back seat included. If you forget, you may hear 綁安全帶呀 (bong2 on1 cyun4 daai2 aa3), “Seat belt on”. Doors are opened and closed by hand, so shut yours, and get out on the kerb side.

No bargaining

The meter sets the fare, so there’s nothing to bargain over. Tolls and luggage go on top, and that’s it.

What the taxi driver might say to you

Beyond the questions above, these are the colloquial lines you’re most likely to hear:

• 行邊條路呀？ (haang4 bin1 tiu4 lou6 aa3), “Which way do you want to go?”

• 呢度停唔到 (ni1 dou6 ting4 m4 dou2), “I can’t stop here”

• 我要交更 (ngo5 jiu3 gaau1 gaang1), “I’m changing shift”, a polite no to a long trip

If a question goes past you, don’t worry: 唔該講多次 (m4 goi1 gong2 do1 ci3), “Could you say that again?”, buys you a second go.

Cantonese taxi phrases in traditional Chinese characters

Screenshot this table and show it if a phrase deserts you mid-ride.

Taking a taxi in Hong Kong: quick questions

Do Hong Kong taxi drivers speak English?

Some do, especially at the airport and big hotels, but many speak only basic English. Your destination in Chinese characters plus a few Cantonese phrases is the safest bet.

Can I speak Mandarin to a taxi driver?

Many understand some Mandarin, and you won’t be refused for using it. But a single Cantonese phrase often gets a bigger smile than a whole sentence in Mandarin.

How do you say taxi in Cantonese?

的士 (dik1 si2), borrowed from the English “taxi”, often shortened to 的 (dik1).

A taxi is a five-minute Cantonese lesson with a captive teacher. Next time, say the address yourself, even if you show the screen too. And for the cheaper, louder way across town, our guide to the Hong Kong minibus teaches you to shout 有落.