Food & drink basics in Chinese 饮食
yǐnshí
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.
| 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 |
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.