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What to say when the Didi driver calls (Chinese phrases)Free in the app

Your Didi driver is calling because he can't find you. Thirty seconds of fast Chinese are coming — here's how to survive them.

What you'll say

Tap play to hear it. Everything on this page runs in your browser — nothing is uploaded.

Heads-up: the voice you hear here is your browser’s built-in Mandarin — the app sounds considerably better. On iPhone it uses Apple’s enhanced and premium system voices, plays at real conversational speed, and has a slow mode for practising.

This device has no Chinese voice installed, so audio can’t play here. The app doesn’t have that problem — it uses the Mandarin voices built into iOS.

师傅,我在门口。
Shīfu, wǒ zài ménkǒu.
Driver, I'm at the entrance.
师傅 (shīfu) is the standard friendly way to address any driver.
我穿黑色的衣服。
Wǒ chuān hēisè de yīfu.
I'm wearing black clothes.
Describing yourself is often faster than describing the location. Set your color before you head out.
你到了吗?
Nǐ dào le ma?
Have you arrived?
等一下,我马上到。
Děng yíxià, wǒ mǎshàng dào.
Wait a moment, I'll be right there.
马上 (mǎshàng) = immediately. In practice it means 1–5 minutes, like everywhere.
我看不到你的车。
Wǒ kàn bú dào nǐ de chē.
I can't see your car.

What they'll say back

This is the part nobody teaches. Real Mandarin comes back fast and blunt, so hear it at natural speed first.

Press play before you read. In the app, anything you miss comes back slower and then again later, until you catch it at full speed.

They say
喂,你在哪儿?
Wéi, nǐ zài nǎr?
Hello, where are you?
You can answer
我在门口,穿黑色的衣服。
Wǒ zài ménkǒu, chuān hēisè de yīfu.
I'm at the entrance, wearing black.
They say
我到了,你快点。
Wǒ dào le, nǐ kuài diǎn.
I've arrived, hurry up.
You can answer
好,马上来!
Hǎo, mǎshàng lái!
OK, coming right now!
They say
你是尾号八八六六的吗?
Nǐ shì wěihào bā bā liù liù de ma?
Are you the one with phone number ending 8866?
You can answer
对,是我。
Duì, shì wǒ.
Yes, that's me.

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