Food
Point at things. Say "I want this." Pay. You can eat anywhere in China with three phrases and a finger.
The shortest food words
Single and two-syllable words only. These are the ones worth memorizing.
| English | Pinyin | Phonetic | Character |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water | shuǐ (shway) | shway | 水 |
| Tea | chá (chah) | chah | 茶 |
| Beer | pí jiǔ (pee jyoh) | pee jyoh | 啤酒 |
| Rice | fàn (fahn) | fahn | 饭 |
| Noodles | miàn (myen) | myen | 面 |
| Meat | ròu (roh) | roh | 肉 |
| Chicken | jī (jee) | jee | 鸡 |
| Pork | zhū (joo) | joo | 猪 |
| Spicy | là (lah) | lah | 辣 |
| Not spicy | bù là (boo lah) | boo lah | 不辣 |
| Delicious | hǎo chī (how chir) | how chir | 好吃 |
bù là = "not spicy." You already know bù (not). Now you can negate any single word. Bù ròu = no meat. Bù jī = no chicken. Same pattern.
Three phrases that do everything
I want this
wǒ yào zhè gè (woh yow juh guh) · 我要这个
Point at the menu. Say this. You never need to pronounce the dish name.
wǒ = I · yào = want · zhè gè = this one
The bill
mǎi dān (my dahn) · 买单
Say this when you want to pay. Servers in China do not bring the bill automatically — you must ask for it.
How much?
duō shǎo qián? (dwoh show chyen) · 多少钱？
Say this and hold up fingers if needed. The answer will be a number + kuài (kwye) · 块, which is the casual word for yuan.