Food Vocabulary (食物词汇)

Learn names of common foods, drinks, meals, measure words, and how to order in Chinese.

Fruits & Vegetables

English	Chinese	Pinyin
apple	苹果	píngguǒ
banana	香蕉	xiāngjiāo
orange	橙子	chéngzi
grape	葡萄	pútáo
watermelon	西瓜	xīguā
carrot	胡萝卜	húluóbo
broccoli	西兰花	xīlánhuā
tomato	西红柿	xīhóngshì

Main Dishes & Sides

English	Chinese	Pinyin
rice	米饭	mǐfàn
noodles	面条	miàntiáo
dumplings	饺子	jiǎozi
soup	汤	tāng
chicken	鸡肉	jīròu
fish	鱼	yú
beef	牛肉	niúròu
pork	猪肉	zhūròu
tofu	豆腐	dòufu

Drinks & Beverages

English	Chinese	Pinyin
water	水	shuǐ
tea	茶	chá
coffee	咖啡	kāfēi
milk	牛奶	niúnǎi
juice	果汁	guǒzhī
beer	啤酒	píjiǔ

Measure Words (Classifiers) for Food

个 (gè) – general measure word (apple, orange, egg)
碗 (wǎn) – bowl of (rice, soup, noodles)
盘 (pán) – plate of (dumplings, meat)
杯 (bēi) – cup of (tea, coffee, juice)
瓶 (píng) – bottle of (water, beer)
斤 (jīn) – half a kilogram (常用 for fruit, meat)

Example: 一碗米饭 (yī wǎn mǐfàn) – one bowl of rice.
两斤苹果 (liǎng jīn píngguǒ) – two jin (1 kg) of apples.

Common Phrases for Eating & Ordering

Chinese	Pinyin	English
我饿了。	Wǒ è le.	I’m hungry.
我想吃饭。	Wǒ xiǎng chīfàn.	I want to eat (a meal).
菜单，谢谢。	Càidān, xièxie.	Menu, please.
我要...	Wǒ yào...	I want (to order)...
这个好吃吗？	Zhège hǎochī ma?	Is this delicious?
太辣了！	Tài là le!	Too spicy!
我不吃肉。	Wǒ bù chī ròu.	I don’t eat meat.
买单。	Mǎidān.	Check, please.
好吃！	Hǎochī!	Delicious!

Practice Dialogue (At a Chinese Restaurant)

Waiter: 您好！请问想吃什么？ (Nín hǎo! Qǐngwèn xiǎng chī shénme?) – Hello! What would you like to eat?

Customer: 我饿了。请给我菜单。 (Wǒ è le. Qǐng gěi wǒ càidān.) – I’m hungry. Please give me the menu.

Customer: 我要一碗牛肉面，一份饺子。还有一杯茶。 (Wǒ yào yī wǎn niúròu miàn, yī fèn jiǎozi. Hái yǒu yī bēi chá.) – I want a bowl of beef noodles, a portion of dumplings, and a cup of tea.

Waiter: 好的。饺子要什么馅？猪肉白菜可以吗？ (Hǎo de. Jiǎozi yào shénme xiàn? Zhūròu báicài kěyǐ ma?) – Sure. What filling for dumplings? Pork and cabbage okay?

Customer: 可以。我不吃辣，请不要放辣椒。 (Kěyǐ. Wǒ bù chī là, qǐng bùyào fàng làjiāo.) – Okay. I don’t eat spicy, please don’t put chili.

Waiter: 没问题。 (Méi wèntí.) – No problem.

(After eating): Customer: 太好吃啦！买单。 (Tài hǎochī la! Mǎidān.) – Very delicious! Check please.

Waiter: 一共45块。 (Yīgòng sì shí wǔ kuài.) – Total 45 yuan.

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the correct Chinese word:

Apple = ___________
Rice (cooked) = ___________
One bowl of noodles = 一___________ 面条
“Delicious!” = ___________
“I don’t eat meat.” = 我不___________ 。

Show answers

1. 苹果 (píngguǒ)
2. 米饭 (mǐfàn)
3. 碗 (wǎn)
4. 好吃 (hǎochī)
5. 吃肉 (chī ròu)

Cultural note: In Chinese dining culture, it’s polite to let the host order first. When using chopsticks, never stick them upright into a bowl of rice – it reminds of incense sticks used at funerals. Sharing dishes from the center is common. Compliment the food by saying “好吃” (hǎochī). If you finish all food on your plate, it shows you enjoyed it. Tipping is not required in most Chinese restaurants.

Learning tip: Visit a Chinese restaurant and try ordering in Chinese using phrases from this lesson. Use food apps (like 小红书 or YouTube) to watch Chinese food vlogs and listen to pronunciation. Label your kitchen with Chinese words – every time you cook, say the names of ingredients out loud.

Continue to Day 6

آج کا سبق – خلاصہ

آج آپ نے چینی میں کھانے پینے کی اشیاء (پھل، سبزیاں، گوشت، مشروبات)، پیمائش کے الفاظ (ایک پیالہ، ایک پلیٹ)، اور ریستوران میں آرڈر کرنے کے جملے سیکھے۔ ثقافتی نکات: چینی کھانے کے آداب اور چینی کاںٹا استعمال کے اصول۔

کل ہم چینی میں اعلیٰ درجے کے جملے، وقت اور تاریخ کے بارے میں سیکھیں گے۔ مشق جاری رکھیں!

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