World Cuisines in Chinese 外国菜
wàiguó cài
Foreign food in Chinese is 外国菜 (wài guó cài).
Also searched for as: foreign food, western food, japanese food, italian food.
Specific cuisines beyond China. 15 essential world cuisines 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.
Chinese has neat ways of naming foreign food: 西餐 (xī cān), literally 'Western meal', covers European and American food, and many dishes are borrowed by sound, like 汉堡 (hàn bǎo), hamburger, 寿司 (shòu sī), sushi, and 咖喱 (gā lí), curry. Others are descriptive, so 意大利面 (yì dà lì miàn) is simply 'Italian noodles'. Once you know the patterns, you can often guess what's on a menu.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 外国菜 | wài guó cài | foreign food |
| 西餐 | xī cān | Western food |
| 日本料理 | Rì běn liào lǐ | Japanese food |
| 韩国料理 | Hán guó liào lǐ | Korean food |
| 意大利面 | yì dà lì miàn | pasta |
| 比萨饼 | bǐ sà bǐng | pizza |
| 汉堡 | hàn bǎo | hamburger |
| 薯条 | shǔ tiáo | chips; fries |
| 咖喱 | gā lí | curry |
| 寿司 | shòu sī | sushi |
| 牛排 | niú pái | steak |
| 沙拉 | shā lā | salad |
| 三明治 | sān míng zhì | sandwich |
| 快餐 | kuài cān | fast food |
| 清真 | qīng zhēn | halal |
Usage tips
- Japanese and Korean food are 日本料理 (Rì běn liào lǐ) and 韩国料理 (Hán guó liào lǐ); 料理 is used for these cuisines but rarely for Chinese food, which is 中国菜 (Zhōng guó cài).
- For steak, staff will ask 几分熟？ (jǐ fēn shú?), 'How would you like it cooked?'; 五分熟 (wǔ fēn shú) is medium and 全熟 (quán shú) is well done.
- 清真 (qīng zhēn) means halal, and you'll see these characters on restaurant signs wherever there are Muslim communities, including at many Hui and Uyghur restaurants.
Common mistakes
- Using 西餐 (xī cān) for all foreign food: it means Western food specifically, so Japanese or Thai food falls under 外国菜 (wài guó cài) instead.
- Reading 咖喱 as kā lí because of 咖啡: in 咖喱 the first character is read gā, so it's gā lí.
Mini dialogue
- A今天晚上我们吃西餐还是日本料理？Jīn tiān wǎn shang wǒ men chī xī cān hái shi Rì běn liào lǐ?Shall we have Western or Japanese food tonight?
- B我想吃寿司！Wǒ xiǎng chī shòu sī!I fancy sushi!
- A可是我昨天吃过寿司了。我们去吃意大利面吧。Kě shì wǒ zuó tiān chī guò shòu sī le. Wǒ men qù chī yì dà lì miàn ba.But I had sushi yesterday. Let's have pasta.
- B好吧，那我要一份沙拉和一个比萨饼。Hǎo ba, nà wǒ yào yī fèn shā lā hé yī gè bǐ sà bǐng.Fine, then I'll have a salad and a pizza.
Example sentences
- 你吃得惯外国菜吗？Are you used to foreign food?
- 我们今晚去吃西餐吧。Let's have Western food tonight.
- 这家日本料理店很贵。This Japanese restaurant is very expensive.
- 她特别喜欢韩国料理。She especially likes Korean food.
- 我会做意大利面。I can make pasta.
- 我们点个比萨饼吧。Let's order a pizza.
- 他午饭吃了一个汉堡。He had a hamburger for lunch.
- 这份薯条太咸了。These chips are too salty.
- 这个咖喱不太辣。This curry isn't very spicy.
- 这是我第一次吃寿司。It's my first time eating sushi.
- 你的牛排要几分熟？How would you like your steak cooked?
- 我晚饭只吃了一份沙拉。I only had a salad for dinner.
- 我带了三明治当午饭。I brought a sandwich for lunch.
- 快餐方便，但是不太健康。Fast food is convenient but not very healthy.
- 附近有清真餐厅吗？Is there a halal restaurant nearby?
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The World cuisines speaking island has 8 everyday questions about world cuisines to prepare your own answers to.