How to order food at a restaurant in Chinese
Chinese pronunciation help for ordering in a restaurant
When you go to a restaurant in China, in most cases you can choose the table by yourself. You will only be seated by the waiter or waitress if it is a really fancy restaurant, or it is very busy in the restaurant at that moment and there appear to be no seats available. In some restaurants the menu will be on the table already otherwise the waiter will bring it over to you as soon as possible. After being greeted you could get asked one of the following questions…
您要先喝点儿什么吗？
您已经选好了吗？
您要点什么？
您要开胃菜吗？
您要点儿什么？
您要点菜吗？
您想吃点儿什么？
Can't see the Chinese characters?
Go here for help: http://www.rocketlanguages.com/chinese/characterhelp.php
Sometimes all you might get asked is…
您要什么？
You could answer by saying one of these phrases…
请稍等一下。
我要先点点儿喝的。
我还不知道。
Not sure what you fancy eating? Just ask the waiter what he recommends…
你有什么可以向我推荐？
你们有什么特色菜？
Here are the names of some dishes and drinks that you might find on the menu…
矿泉水
果汁
啤酒
红葡萄酒
白葡萄酒
香槟
开胃菜
主菜
甜点
小菜
汤
沙拉
酱
蔬菜
土豆
米饭
肉
面条
猪肉
鸡肉
牛肉
To order the dish you would like simply say…
Once you finished your meal you ask for the bill…
In China the waiter or waitress will bring the bill to your table. Chinese people don’t normally pay the bill separately. If you are eating out with a group, it is the Chinese culture that everybody in the group will try to pay the whole lot. It is interesting that you will see everybody “fights” to pay the bill for the whole group at the end of the meal in the restaurant. Of course if someone “wins” and successfully pay for the whole group this time, next time it is someone else’s turn. But it is still important to know how to say the following words, especially if you are dining out with only your friends from western countries.
People don’t expect you to tip in Chinese restaurants. Unless you are very happy with the food and service and are kind of in a hurry and can’t be bothered to wait for small change, you can say the following sentence and leave the change a tip.
小费
别找了，算小费吧。
Xià cì jiàn! (下次见！)
Lin Ping
Rocket Chinese
P.S. Here is a little exercise for you to test your Chinese skills.
Exercise. Match the Chinese phrases and words with the correct English translation. Write the letter of the correct answer in the space provided.
| 1. Jiézhàng。 | 结账。 | ( ____ ) | a. I’ll have |
| 2. Yīqǐ fù。 | 一起付。 | ( ____ ) | b. Vegetables |
| 3. Wǒ yào… | 我要… | ( ____ ) | c. One moment, please. |
| 4. shūcài | 蔬菜 | ( ____ ) | d. The bill, please. |
| 5. Qǐng shāoděng yíxià。 | 请稍等一下。 | ( ____ ) | e. Pay together |
