Meat & Seafood in Chinese 肉和海鲜
ròu hé hǎixiān
Meat and seafood in Chinese is 肉和海鲜 (ròu hé hǎi xiān).
Also searched for as: meat, chicken, fish, pork beef.
Ingredients: proteins. 15 essential meat & seafood 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.
The general word for meat in Chinese is 肉 (ròu), and most meats are simply an animal plus 肉, so chicken is 鸡肉 (jī ròu), beef is 牛肉 (niú ròu) and pork is 猪肉 (zhū ròu). These words will get you through menus, market stalls and dumpling fillings, while 海鲜 (hǎi xiān), literally 'sea fresh', covers everything from prawns to crab.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 肉 | ròu | meat |
| 鸡肉 | jī ròu | chicken |
| 牛肉 | niú ròu | beef |
| 猪肉 | zhū ròu | pork |
| 羊肉 | yáng ròu | lamb |
| 鸭 | yā | duck |
| 鱼 | yú | fish |
| 虾 | xiā | prawn; shrimp |
| 螃蟹 | páng xiè | crab |
| 海鲜 | hǎi xiān | seafood |
| 香肠 | xiāng cháng | sausage |
| 排骨 | pái gǔ | ribs |
| 鸡翅 | jī chì | chicken wings |
| 三文鱼 | sān wén yú | salmon |
| 鸡蛋 | jī dàn | egg |
Usage tips
- In much of mainland China, 肉 (ròu) on its own usually means pork by default, so a dish called 肉丝 (ròu sī) is normally shredded pork unless another meat is named.
- Fish take the measure word 条 (tiáo), as in 一条鱼 (yī tiáo yú), while whole chickens, ducks and crabs take 只 (zhī), as in 一只鸭 (yī zhī yā).
- 三文鱼 (sān wén yú) is a sound loan from English 'salmon'; you will also see the more formal 鲑鱼 (guī yú) on packaging and in Taiwan.
Common mistakes
- Saying 鱼 (yú) with a dipping third tone turns it into 雨 (yǔ), rain; keep it rising, as in 我爱吃鱼 (wǒ ài chī yú).
- Using 蛋 (dàn) on its own for 'egg' sounds clipped in everyday speech; say 鸡蛋 (jī dàn), as in 我要两个鸡蛋 (wǒ yào liǎng gè jī dàn).
Mini dialogue
- A晚上吃什么？鸡肉还是牛肉？Wǎn shang chī shén me? Jī ròu hái shi niú ròu?What shall we have tonight? Chicken or beef?
- B我想吃海鲜，我们做虾吧。Wǒ xiǎng chī hǎi xiān, wǒ men zuò xiā ba.I fancy seafood. Let's make prawns.
- A不行，我对虾过敏。Bù xíng, wǒ duì xiā guò mǐn.I can't, I'm allergic to prawns.
- B那我们吃鱼吧，再做一点儿排骨。Nà wǒ men chī yú ba, zài zuò yī diǎnr pái gǔ.Let's have fish then, and make some ribs too.
Example sentences
- 我不太爱吃肉。I don't really like eating meat.
- 鸡肉比牛肉便宜。Chicken is cheaper than beef.
- 我要一碗牛肉面。I'd like a bowl of beef noodles.
- 饺子里有猪肉和白菜。The dumplings have pork and cabbage in them.
- 冬天吃羊肉很暖和。Lamb keeps you warm in winter.
- 这只鸭烤得很香。This duck has been roasted beautifully.
- 今天晚上我们吃鱼。We're having fish tonight.
- 我对虾过敏。I'm allergic to prawns.
- 秋天的螃蟹最好吃。Crabs are best in autumn.
- 海边的海鲜很新鲜。Seafood by the coast is very fresh.
- 早饭有香肠和鸡蛋。There are sausages and eggs for breakfast.
- 周末妈妈给我们做排骨。Mum makes ribs for us at the weekend.
- 孩子们最爱吃烤鸡翅。The children love grilled chicken wings.
- 三文鱼可以生吃。Salmon can be eaten raw.
- 你要煎鸡蛋还是煮鸡蛋？Would you like a fried egg or a boiled egg?
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Meat & seafood speaking island has 8 everyday questions about meat & seafood to prepare your own answers to.