Food and drinks are a recurring talking point, not only while eating out on vacation. So let’s learn the most common words and phrases related to this topic.

This lesson is part of the chapter “Learning Chinese (Mandarin)“.

Food & Drinks in Chinese

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Basic Food & Spices

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
bread [Sg]面包miàn bāo
breads [Pl]面包miàn bāo
roll [Sg]面包卷miàn bāo juǎn
rolls [Pl]面包卷miàn bāo juǎn
butter黄油huáng yóu
cheese芝士zhī shì
honey蜂蜜fēng mì
jam [Sg]果酱guǒ jiàng
jams [Pl]果酱guǒ jiàng
egg [Sg]dàn
eggs [Pl]dàn
noodles面条miàn tiáo
rice
yoghurt [Sg]酸奶suān nǎi
yoghurts [Pl]酸奶suān nǎi
sugartáng
saltyán
pepper胡椒hú jiāo
spice [Sg]香料xiāng liào
spices [Pl]香料xiāng liào
oilyóu

Basic Words & Phrases

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
(to) eatchī
food食物shí wù
(to) drink
drink [Sg]饮料yǐn liào
drinks [Pl]饮料yǐn liào
hungry饥饿的jī è de
hunger饥饿的jī è
thirsty口渴的kǒu kě de
thirst口渴kǒu kě
(to) cook烹煮pēng zhǔ
(to) taste品尝pǐn cháng
tasty好吃的hǎo chī de
delicious美味的měi wèi de
Bon appetit! / Enjoy your meal!祝你胃口好!
祝您用餐愉快!
zhù nǐ wèi kǒu hǎo!
zhù nín yòng cān yú kuài!

Cheers! / To your health!干杯!
祝你健康!
gān bēi!
zhù nǐ jiàn kāng!

breakfast早餐zǎo cān
lunch午餐wǔ cān
dinner晚餐wǎn cān
restaurant [Sg]餐厅cān tīng
restaurants [Pl]餐厅cān tīng
bar [Sg]酒吧jiǔ bā
bars [Pl]酒吧jiǔ bā
café咖啡厅kā fēi tīng

Dishes

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
soup [Sg]tāng
soups [Pl]tāng
salad [Sg]沙拉shā lā
salads [Pl]沙拉shā lā
french fries / chips炸薯条zhà shǔ tiáo

Dishes & Cutlery

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
cutlery餐具cān jù
fork餐叉cān chā
spoon汤勺tāng sháo
knife餐刀cān dāo
plate盘子pán zi
glass玻璃杯bō li bēi
cup杯子bēi zi
mug马克杯mǎ kè bēi

Drinks

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
watershuǐ
mineral water矿泉水kuàng quán shuǐ
soda water / sparkling water苏打水
汽水
sū dá shuǐ
qì shuǐ

still water纯净水chún jìng shuǐ
juice [Sg]果汁guǒ zhī
juices [Pl]果汁guǒ zhī
beer啤酒pí jiǔ
wine葡萄酒pú táo jiǔ
champagne香槟xiāng bīn
cocktail鸡尾酒jī wěi jiǔ
milk牛奶niú nǎi
cocoa热可可rè kě kě
coffee咖啡厅kā fēi tīng
teachá

Flavors

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
sweet甜的tián de
sour酸的suān de
spicy辣的là de
salty咸的xián de
bitter苦的kǔ de

Fruit & Vegetables

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
fruit水果shuǐ guǒ
vegetables蔬菜shū cài
apple [Sg]苹果píng guǒ
apples [Pl]苹果píng guǒ
orange [Sg]橙子chéng zi
oranges [Pl]橙子chéng zi
strawberry [Sg]草莓cǎo méi
strawberries [Pl]草莓cǎo méi
banana [Sg]香蕉xiāng jiāo
bananas [Pl]香蕉xiāng jiāo
potato [Sg]土豆tǔ dòu
potatoes [Pl]土豆tǔ dòu
cucumber [Sg]黄瓜huáng guā
cucumbers [Pl]黄瓜huáng guā

Meat & Sausages

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
meatròu
sausage [Sg]香肠xiāng cháng
sausages [Pl]香肠xiāng cháng
small sausage [Sg]小香肠xiǎo xiāng cháng
small sausages [Pl]小香肠xiǎo xiāng cháng
ham火腿huǒ tuǐ
chicken鸡肉jī ròu
fish鱼肉yú ròu
beef牛肉niú ròu
lamb羊肉yáng ròu

Sweets

EnglishChineseChinese
(Romanization)
Pronunciation
(Audio)
chocolate巧克力qiǎo kè lì
pie [Sg]pài
pies [Pl]pài
cake [Sg]蛋糕dàn gāo
cakes [Pl]蛋糕dàn gāo
biscuit [Sg]饼干bǐng gān
biscuits [Pl]饼干bǐng gān
icecream冰激凌bīng jī líng

Vocabulary trainer: Food & Drinks in Chinese

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mug
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