Regional cuisines in Chinese 菜系
càixì
Specific cuisines: Sichuan, Cantonese and more. 15 essential regional 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 | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 菜系 | cài xì | regional cuisine |
| 川菜 | chuān cài | Sichuan cuisine |
| 粤菜 | yuè cài | Cantonese cuisine |
| 湘菜 | xiāng cài | Hunan cuisine |
| 鲁菜 | lǔ cài | Shandong cuisine |
| 东北菜 | dōng běi cài | Northeastern cuisine |
| 早茶 | zǎo chá | dim sum (morning tea) |
| 点心 | diǎn xin | dim sum; snacks |
| 麻辣 | má là | numbing and spicy |
| 清淡 | qīng dàn | light (in flavour) |
| 地道 | dì dao | authentic |
| 特色 | tè sè | speciality |
| 家常菜 | jiā cháng cài | home-style dish |
| 北方 | běi fāng | the north |
| 南方 | nán fāng | the south |
Example sentences
- 中国有八大菜系。China has eight major regional cuisines.
- 川菜又麻又辣。Sichuan food is numbing and spicy.
- 粤菜比较清淡。Cantonese food is fairly light.
- 湘菜比川菜还辣吗？Is Hunan food even spicier than Sichuan food?
- 鲁菜是山东的菜。Lu cuisine is the food of Shandong.
- 东北菜的分量很大。Northeastern dishes come in big portions.
- 周日我们去广州喝早茶。On Sunday we're going to Guangzhou for dim sum.
- 这些点心都是刚做好的。These dim sum are all freshly made.
- 我不太能吃麻辣的东西。I can't really handle numbing, spicy food.
- 医生让我吃得清淡一点。The doctor told me to eat lighter food.
- 这家店的川菜很地道。The Sichuan food at this place is very authentic.
- 这道菜是我们店的特色。This dish is our restaurant's speciality.
- 我最想念妈妈的家常菜。What I miss most is Mum's home cooking.
- 北方人喜欢吃面食。People in the north like wheat-based food.
- 南方的菜比较甜。Food in the south is rather sweet.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Regional cuisines speaking island has 8 everyday questions about regional cuisines to prepare your own answers to.