Goal
Learn how to order food and drinks in Chinese, ask for the menu, and handle simple interactions with restaurant staff.
1. Key Vocabulary
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 菜单 | cài dān | menu |
| 点菜 | diǎn cài | to order food |
| 服务员 | fú wù yuán | waiter/waitress |
| 饭 | fàn | rice, meal |
| 面条 | miàn tiáo | noodles |
| 一份 | yí fèn | one portion |
| 一杯 | yì bēi | one cup |
| 一碗 | yì wǎn | one bowl |
| 一盘 | yì pán | one plate |
| 饺子 | jiǎo zi | dumplings |
| 鸡肉 | jī ròu | chicken |
| 牛肉 | niú ròu | beef |
| 米饭 | mǐ fàn | (cooked) rice |
| 水 | shuǐ | water |
| 茶 | chá | tea |
| 汤 | tāng | soup |
| 好吃 | hǎo chī | delicious, tasty |
| 不要 | bú yào | don’t want |
| 一点儿 | yì diǎnr | a little |
| 辣 | là | spicy |
2. Useful Phrases
Asking for the menu
请给我菜单。
(Qǐng gěi wǒ cài dān.)
→ Please give me the menu.
是扫码点单吗。
(Shì sǎo mǎ diǎn dān ma?)
→ Do we order by scanning the QR code?
Ordering food
我要点菜。
(Wǒ yào diǎn cài.)
→ I want to order food.
我要一份饺子。
(Wǒ yào yí fèn jiǎo zi.)
→ I want one portion dumplings.
来一碗米饭。
(Lái yì wǎn mǐ fàn.)
→ One bowl of rice, please. (literally: bring one bowl of rice) (could be rude depending on tone)
Asking for drinks
你们有什么喝的？
(Nǐ men yǒu shén me hē de?)
→ What drinks do you have?
我要一杯水。
(Wǒ yào yì bēi shuǐ.)
→ I want a glass of water.
3. Grammar Focus
Using “要 (yào)” to express desire or intention
- 要 (yào) means “to want”
- Common structure: Subject + 要 + object
Examples:
- 我要一杯茶。
(Wǒ yào yì bēi chá.) → I want a cup of tea. - 我们要两份面条。
(Wǒmen yào liǎng fèn jiǎozi.) → We want two portions of noodles.
Using “不要 (bú yào)” to say “don’t want”
- 我不要辣的。
(Wǒ bú yào là de.) → I don’t want spicy ones.