Food & Drink in Chinese 饮食
yǐnshí
Food in Chinese is 食物 (shí wù).
Also searched for as: food, eat, drink, food words.
What do you eat and drink? 20 essential food & drink basics words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Food is at the heart of Chinese social life, and 你吃饭了吗？ (nǐ chī fàn le ma?), 'Have you eaten?', is a traditional friendly greeting as much as a real question. 饭 (fàn) means both cooked rice and a meal, so 早饭 (zǎo fàn), 午饭 (wǔ fàn) and 晚饭 (wǎn fàn) are breakfast, lunch and dinner. With 吃 (chī), 'to eat', and 喝 (hē), 'to drink', you can talk about any meal.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 吃 | chī | to eat |
| 喝 | hē | to drink |
| 饭 | fàn | meal; cooked rice |
| 早饭 | zǎo fàn | breakfast |
| 午饭 | wǔ fàn | lunch |
| 晚饭 | wǎn fàn | dinner |
| 米饭 | mǐ fàn | rice |
| 面条 | miàn tiáo | noodles |
| 面包 | miàn bāo | bread |
| 鸡蛋 | jī dàn | egg |
| 菜 | cài | dish; vegetable |
| 汤 | tāng | soup |
| 水 | shuǐ | water |
| 牛奶 | niú nǎi | milk |
| 甜点 | tián diǎn | dessert |
| 零食 | líng shí | snacks |
| 食物 | shí wù | food |
| 营养 | yíng yǎng | nutrition |
| 素食 | sù shí | vegetarian food |
| 口味 | kǒu wèi | taste; flavour |
Usage tips
- 菜 (cài) means both 'vegetable' and 'dish', so 点菜 (diǎn cài) is ordering dishes and 这个菜很辣 means 'this dish is spicy'; context tells you which.
- When someone asks 你吃饭了吗？, a simple 吃了 (chī le) or 还没呢 (hái méi ne) is enough; it's usually a friendly check-in rather than an invitation.
- Measure words: 一碗米饭 (yī wǎn mǐ fàn), 一碗面条 (yī wǎn miàn tiáo), 一个鸡蛋 (yī gè jī dàn), 一杯牛奶 (yī bēi niú nǎi), 一块面包 (yī kuài miàn bāo).
Common mistakes
- Saying 吃汤 for 'eat soup': soup is drunk in Chinese, so say 喝汤 (hē tāng).
- Using 米 (mǐ) for rice on your plate: 米 is uncooked rice grains, while cooked rice is 米饭 (mǐ fàn) or just 饭 (fàn).
- Using 食物 (shí wù) in casual speech, as in 我喜欢中国食物: it sounds bookish. Say 我喜欢吃中国菜 (wǒ xǐ huan chī Zhōng guó cài).
Mini dialogue
- A你吃饭了吗？Nǐ chī fàn le ma?Have you eaten?
- B还没呢，我好饿。Hái méi ne, wǒ hǎo è.Not yet, I'm starving.
- A我们去吃面条吧，那家的汤很好喝。Wǒ men qù chī miàn tiáo ba, nà jiā de tāng hěn hǎo hē.Let's go and get noodles. The soup at that place is really good.
- B好啊，走吧！Hǎo a, zǒu ba!Sounds good, let's go!
Example sentences
- 你想吃什么？What would you like to eat?
- 你要喝点儿什么？What would you like to drink?
- 你吃饭了吗？Have you eaten yet?
- 我每天七点吃早饭。I have breakfast at seven every day.
- 我们一起吃午饭吧。Let's have lunch together.
- 今天的晚饭是爸爸做的。Dad made dinner today.
- 南方人每天都吃米饭。People in the south eat rice every day.
- 我中午吃了一碗面条。I had a bowl of noodles at lunchtime.
- 早上我只吃了一块面包。I only had a piece of bread this morning.
- 我早饭吃了两个鸡蛋。I had two eggs for breakfast.
- 这个菜有点儿辣。This dish is a bit spicy.
- 先喝点儿热汤吧。Have some hot soup first.
- 多喝水对身体好。Drinking plenty of water is good for you.
- 孩子每天喝一杯牛奶。The child drinks a glass of milk every day.
- 吃完饭我们来个甜点吧。Let's have a dessert after the meal.
- 少吃零食，多吃水果。Eat fewer snacks and more fruit.
- 这里的食物很便宜。The food here is very cheap.
- 鸡蛋很有营养。Eggs are very nutritious.
- 我朋友只吃素食。My friend only eats vegetarian food.
- 这家店的菜口味很不错。The food at this place tastes great.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Food & drink basics speaking island has 8 everyday questions about food & drink basics to prepare your own answers to.