Food & Drinks in Chinese 食物和饮料

Eating is the fastest way into a language, and Chinese food words come up at every meal. This list covers the staples you will see on a Chinese menu or market stall — staple foods, meat and vegetables, fruit, drinks and the day's three meals — with pinyin and English for every entry.

• 72 words
• Tone-colored pinyin
• Audio pronunciation on every word
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• 米饭mǐ fàn
  cooked rice
  你们有没有米饭？

  Do you have rice?
• 面条miàn tiáo
  noodles
  你吃面条还是吃饭？

  Do you want to eat noodles or rice?
• 面包miàn bāo
  bread
  她有点儿面包。

  She has a little bread.
• 饺子jiǎo zi
  dumplings
  这饺子是什么馅的啊？

  What is the filling in these dumplings?
• 包子bāo zi
  steamed stuffed bun
  我早餐吃了两个包子。

  I had two steamed stuffed buns for breakfast.
• 馒头mán tou
  steamed bun (plain, no filling)
  我给你吃个馒头。

  I'll give you a mantou to eat.
• 披萨pī sà
  pizza
  你最喜欢什么披萨？

  What kind of pizza do you like best?
• 玉米yù mǐ
  corn; maize
  玉米在这里不能成长。

  Corn doesn’t grow here.
• 鸡蛋jī dàn
  egg
  鸡蛋也卖完了。

  We're also out of eggs.
• 牛肉niú ròu
  beef
  比起羊肉我更喜欢牛肉。

  I like beef more than lamb.
• 猪肉zhū ròu
  pork
  猪肉不适合我。

  Pork doesn't agree with me.
• 鸡肉jī ròu
  chicken (the meat)
  别忘记买鸡肉。

  Don't forget to buy chicken.
• 香肠xiāng cháng
  sausage
  你要培根还是要香肠?

  Would you like bacon or sausage?
• 鱼yú
  fish
  这条鱼没有毒。

  This fish is free from poison.
• 虾xiā
  shrimp
  这个虾很新鲜。

  This shrimp is very fresh.
• 螃蟹páng xiè
  crab
  第一个吃螃蟹的人一定也吃过蜘蛛。

  The first person who ate crab must also have tried to eat a spider.
• 三文鱼sān wén yú
  salmon
  这家餐厅的三文鱼很新鲜。

  The salmon at this restaurant is very fresh.
• 金枪鱼jīn qiāng yú
  tuna
  日本人喜欢吃金枪鱼。

  Japanese people like to eat tuna.
• 扇贝shàn bèi
  scallop
  我最喜欢的海鲜是扇贝。

  My favorite seafood is scallops.
• 蔬菜shū cài
  vegetables
  我的意见是，我们要多吃蔬菜。

  My idea is that we should eat more vegetables.
• 生菜shēng cài
  lettuce
  我只想要一些生菜。

  I just want some lettuce.
• 芹菜qín cài
  celery
  我在削芹菜和土豆。

  I am peeling the celery and the potatoes.
• 白菜bái cài
  Chinese cabbage
  妈妈用白菜做了汤。

  Mom made soup with Chinese cabbage.
• 西兰花xī lán huā
  broccoli
  汤姆往炖菜里加了西兰花。

  Tom added broccoli to the stew.
• 莴笋wō sǔn
  celtuce; stem lettuce
  莴笋炒肉片是我爱吃的菜。

  Stir-fried celtuce with pork slices is a dish I love.
• 胡萝卜hú luó bo
  carrot
  胡萝卜要三美元。

  Carrots cost three dollars.
• 南瓜nán guā
  pumpkin; squash
  这个菜谱需要一些青南瓜。

  This recipe requires acorn squash.
• 大蒜dà suàn
  garlic
  汤姆捣碎了大蒜。

  Tom crushed the garlic.
• 土豆tǔ dòu
  potato
  土豆很便宜的。

  Potatoes are very cheap.
• 西红柿xī hóng shì
  tomato
  茄子，胡萝卜，西红柿。

  Eggplant, carrot, tomato.
• 黄瓜huáng guā
  cucumber
  那条黄瓜多长啊！

  What a long cucumber!
• 水果shuǐ guǒ
  fruit
  他们喜欢水果。

  They like fruit.
• 苹果píng guǒ
  apple
  他们喜欢苹果。

  They like apples.
• 香蕉xiāng jiāo
  banana
  猴子喜欢香蕉。

  Monkeys are fond of banana.
• 西瓜xī guā
  watermelon
  你想要几个西瓜？

  How many watermelons do you want?
• 葡萄pú tao
  grapes
  我给了他一串葡萄。

  I gave him a bunch or grapes.
• 橙子chéng zi
  orange (the fruit)
  橙子不是蔬菜。

  Oranges are not vegetables.
• 草莓cǎo méi
  strawberry
  我吃了你的草莓。

  I ate your strawberries.
• 桔子jú zi
  tangerine; mandarin orange
  这几个桔子有点酸。

  These tangerines are a little sour.
• 梨lí
  pear
  这只梨闻上去很香。

  This pear smells nice.
• 汤tāng
  soup
  趁热喝你的汤。

  Eat your soup while it is hot.
• 糖táng
  sugar
  我想要一颗糖。

  I want a piece of candy.
• 盐yán
  salt
  请把盐和胡椒递给我。

  Please pass me the salt and pepper.
• 醋cù
  vinegar
  我们要酱油和醋吗？

  Do we need some soy sauce and vinegar?
• 酱油jiàng yóu
  soy sauce
  把米饭和鸡蛋及酱油混一下。

  Mix the rice and eggs with soy sauce.
• 油yóu
  oil
  油漂浮在水上。

  Oil will float on water.
• 小吃xiǎo chī
  snack; street food
  夜市上有各种各样的小吃。

  The night market has all kinds of street food.
• 蛋糕dàn gāo
  cake
  我想要点蛋糕。

  I want some cake.
• 冰淇淋bīng qí lín
  ice cream
  热得想吃冰淇淋。

  The heat is making me crave for an ice cream.
• 饼干bǐng gān
  biscuits; cookies
  谁吃了全部饼干？

  Who has eaten all the cookies?
• 薯条shǔ tiáo
  french fries
  薯条蘸蛋黄酱很好吃！

  Chips with mayonnaise is delicious!
• 爆米花bào mǐ huā
  popcorn
  爆米花是我最喜欢的零食。

  Popcorn is my favorite snack.
• 热狗rè gǒu
  hot dog
  孩子们喜欢吃热狗。

  Children love hot dogs.
• 甜甜圈tián tián quān
  doughnut
  汤姆买了一打甜甜圈。

  Tom bought a dozen donuts.
• 巧克力qiǎo kè lì
  chocolate
  谁要热巧克力？

  Who wants hot chocolate?
• 酸奶suān nǎi
  yogurt
  今天早上吃酸奶。

  I ate yoghurt this morning.
• 菜单cài dān
  menu
  这是你的菜单。

  Here is your menu.
• 味道wèi dao
  taste; flavor
  禁果味道最好。

  Forbidden fruit tastes best.
• 水shuǐ
  water
  杯子里面有水。

  There is water in the glass.
• 绿茶lǜ chá
  green tea
  我不喜欢绿茶。

  I don't care for green tea.
• 红茶hóng chá
  black tea (lit. red tea)
  我要一杯冰红茶。

  I want a cup of iced tea.
• 奶茶nǎi chá
  milk tea; bubble tea
  今天的使命：奶茶跟麻糬。

  Today's mission: milk tea with mochi.
• 可乐kě lè
  cola
  与其喝可乐，倒不如喝香槟。

  Instead of drinking cola, why not drink champagne?
• 咖啡kā fēi
  coffee
  我想要杯咖啡。

  I sure could go for a cup of coffee.
• 牛奶niú nǎi
  milk
  我不能喝牛奶。

  I can't drink milk.
• 果汁guǒ zhī
  juice
  各位想喝果汁还是水？

  Would you all like to drink fruit juice or water?
• 葡萄酒pú tao jiǔ
  wine (grape wine)
  我喜欢葡萄酒。

  I like wine.
• 啤酒pí jiǔ
  beer
  这里没有啤酒。

  There's no beer here.
• 早餐zǎo cān
  breakfast
  你早餐吃什么？

  What do you have for breakfast?
• 午餐wǔ cān
  lunch
  我们吃完了午餐。

  We have finished lunch.
• 晚餐wǎn cān
  dinner
  出去吃晚餐如何？

  How about going out for dinner?
• 饿è
  hungry
  我肚子饿极了。

  I am terribly hungry.