GLOBAL CUISINE 100 Chinese Food/Drink Words and Phrases

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GLOBAL CUISINE
100 Chinese Food/Drink Words and Phrases
A cheat sheet for ordering in Mandarin

Food Republic

Article featured image
chinese new year foods
The Year of the Dragon is approaching — happy Spring festival! As one of the oldest cuisines in history, Chinese food is deep-rooted in symbolic traditions. Long noodles represent a long life, for example, while dumplings shaped like gold nuggets stand for prosperity and fortune.

Before you head over to your favorite Chinese restaurant to celebrate with American-Chinese dishes like Moo Goo Gai Pan or General Tso’s Chicken (tasty as they are), try your hand at these Chinese food and drink phrases. Expand your culinary range, and ask your server what’s good to eat — you just may be surprised. For those looking to travel to the Middle Kingdom, this list should be particularly useful. The variations in every region are mind-blowing, and should definitely be sampled. Keep this list handy as you travel along and you should have no problem ordering a fresh soymilk to wash down your mouth-numbingly spicy food, should the craving strike.

*A note on pronunciation: Mandarin Chinese uses four tones. A shift in tone can change a word’s meaning entirely, but a system called pinyin transcribes characters into the Roman alphabet to help English-speakers pronounce the word they mean (lest you order something very strange). Happy New Year — Xīnnián Kuàilè!
Drinking

Alcoholic

Píjiǔ: Beer
Báijiǔ: Literally means “white liquor”
Shàoxīngjiǔ: Shaoxing fermented rice wine
Hóng pútáojiǔ: Red wine
Bái pútáojiǔ: White wine
Gānbēi: Cheers!

GLOBAL CUISINE
100 Chinese Food/Drink Words and Phrases
A cheat sheet for ordering in Mandarin

Food Republic

Article featured image
chinese new year foods
The Year of the Dragon is approaching — happy Spring festival! As one of the oldest cuisines in history, Chinese food is deep-rooted in symbolic traditions. Long noodles represent a long life, for example, while dumplings shaped like gold nuggets stand for prosperity and fortune.

Before you head over to your favorite Chinese restaurant to celebrate with American-Chinese dishes like Moo Goo Gai Pan or General Tso’s Chicken (tasty as they are), try your hand at these Chinese food and drink phrases. Expand your culinary range, and ask your server what’s good to eat — you just may be surprised. For those looking to travel to the Middle Kingdom, this list should be particularly useful. The variations in every region are mind-blowing, and should definitely be sampled. Keep this list handy as you travel along and you should have no problem ordering a fresh soymilk to wash down your mouth-numbingly spicy food, should the craving strike.

*A note on pronunciation: Mandarin Chinese uses four tones. A shift in tone can change a word’s meaning entirely, but a system called pinyin transcribes characters into the Roman alphabet to help English-speakers pronounce the word they mean (lest you order something very strange). Happy New Year — Xīnnián Kuàilè!

Drinking

Alcoholic

Píjiǔ: Beer
Báijiǔ: Literally means “white liquor”
Shàoxīngjiǔ: Shaoxing fermented rice wine
Hóng pútáojiǔ: Red wine
Bái pútáojiǔ: White wine
Gānbēi: Cheers!
Non-alcoholic

Guǒzhī: Fruit juice
Yī píng shuǐ: One bottle of water
Bīng shuǐ: Ice water (not really something you should order in China)
Kěkǒukělè or Kělè: Coca-Cola
Xuěbì: Sprite
Kāfēi: Coffee
Dòujiāng: Fresh soymilk
Niúnǎi: Literally “cow’s milk”
Tea (of course)

Hóngchá: Black tea
Lǜchá: Green tea
Mòlìhuāchá: Jasmine tea
Wūlóngchá: Oolong tea
Júhuā chá: Chrysanthemum tea
Nǎichá: Milk tea/bubble tea
Food

For the carnivore

Ròu: Meat
Jī ròu: Chicken
Niúròu: Beef
Zhū ròu: Pork
Yáng ròu: Mutton
From the sea

Hǎixiān: Seafood
Yú: Fish
Xiā: Shrimp
Xiè: Crab
Lóngxiā: Lobster
Vegetables

Dòufu: Tofu
Dòuyá: Bean sprout
Bōcài: Spinach
Báicài: Cabbage
Cōng: Scallion/Onion
Sǔn: Bamboo shoot
Mógu: Mushroom
Xīhóngshì/ Fān qié: Tomato
Yùmǐ: Corn
Tǔdòu: Potato
Qiézi: Eggplant
Menu Mainstays

Mǐfàn: White rice
Chǎo fàn: Fried rice
Jiǎozi: Dumplings
Húntún: Wonton
Tāng: Soup
Bāozi: Stuffed steamed bun
Mántou: Plain steamed bun
Chǎomiàn: Fried noodles
Tāngmiàn: Noodle soup
Zhōu: Congee/Porridge

Yóutiáo: Cruller (to accompany Zhōu)
Jīdàn: Egg
Cháyè dàn: Tea-soaked egg
Pídàn: Century-old egg (preserved duck egg)
Good Regional Dishes to Know

Sìchuān Huǒguō: Sichuan hot pot
Chāshāo: Cantonese barbeque pork
Běijīng kǎoyā: Beijing roast duck
Lánzhōu lāmiàn: Lanzhou hand-pulled noodles
Xiǎolóng bāo: Shanghai small steamed buns
Yángròu chuan: Chinese Muslim barbeque mutton skewers
Dōng pō zhū ròu: Hangzhou braised pork belly
Hézǐ jiān: Fujian oyster omelet
Chǎngshā chòu dòufu: Changsha-style stinky tofu
Flavor

Là: Spicy
Má là: Numbing spicy
Suān: Sour
Xián: Salty
Tián: Sweet
Kǔ: Bitter
Xiān: Similar to “umami”
Chòu: Smelly or pungent
Wèidào: Taste/smell
Spices/Seasoning

Jiàngyóu: Soy sauce
Cù: Vinegar
Dàsuàn: Garlic
Jiāng: Ginger
Zhīma: Sesame
Làjiāo: Hot pepper
Huājiāo: Sichuan peppercorn (literally “flower pepper”)
Good To Know

Chī fàn: To eat (literally “eat rice”)
Zǎocān: Breakfast
Wǔcān/Wǔfàn: Lunch
Wǎncān/Wǎnfàn: Dinner
Diǎnxīn: Dessert
Cānguǎn: Restaurant
Gè rén: (Number) of people
Fúwùyuán: Waiter/waitress
Do NOT call your waitress Xiǎojiě. While it typically means “Miss,” in the service industry it is slang for “prostitute.”
Kuàizi: Chopsticks

Chā: Fork
Wǒ chī sù: I am vegetarian.
Wǒ yào zhège: I would like this one.
Yǒu shénme hào chī de: What’s good to eat?
Zhè shì shénme: What is this?
Càidān: Menu
Diǎn cài: To order
Duōshǎo qián: How much (does it cost)?
Hěn hào chī: Delicious
Zhēn bàng: Awesome
Now that you’ve mastered Chinese, move on to the 100 Italian Food and Drink Phrases You Need To Know. Already mastered Italian? Try your hand at French.