Mandarin: Food and drink

Part of MandarinTalking topics

Eating and drinking

In Mandarin, there are two important verbs to remember for food and drink:

  • chī - eat

  • hē - drink

A knife and fork by a plate of food.

There are two different ways to say delicious in Mandarin:

  • hǎo chī - good to eat
  • hǎo hē - good to drink

You can add hěn (very) to the beginning of these phrases too.

A knife and fork by a plate of food.
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Talking about food and drink

To say what food and drink you do or do not like in Mandarin use:

  • Wǒ xǐ huān chī - I like to eat…

  • Wǒ xǐ huān hē - I like to drink…

  • Wǒ bù xǐ huān chī - I don’t like to eat…

  • Wǒ bù xǐ huān hē - I don’t like to drink…

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Food and drinks

You can fill in the gap with some of the following foods and drinks:

MandarinPinyinEnglish
miàn bāobread
shǔ tiáochips
bǐ sàpizza
yúfish
shuǐ guǒfruit
shū càivegetables
sān míng zhìsandwich
bīng qí línice cream
shuǐwater
chéng zhīorange juice
niú nǎimilk
chátea
kā fēicoffee
A glass of orange juice and a selection of vegetables.

If you like orange juice, but you don’t like vegetables, try the following in Mandarin:

  • Wǒ xǐ huān hē chéng zhī - I like drinking orange juice

  • Wǒ bù xǐ huān chī shū cài - I don’t like eating vegetables

To combine these two statements, dàn shì (however) can be used.

A glass of water and a tray of chips.

You can also talk about food and drink in Mandarin using:

  • Wǒ xiǎng - I want to…

  • Wǒ bù xiǎng - I don’t want to

For example:

  • Wǒ xiǎng chī shǔ tiáo - I want to eat chips

  • Wǒ bù xiǎng hē shuǐ - I don’t want to drink water

A glass of water and a tray of chips.
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Conversation time

A boy smiles and points with a girl who is smiling.

Now you've learnt how to talk about food and drink in Mandarin, let's put it into a conversation!

(Two pupils are chatting in the queue for school dinners)

Andrew:

Nǐ xǐhuān chī shénme?

What do you like to eat?

Cara:

Wǒ xǐhuān chī sānmíngzhì. Nǐ ne?

I like to eat sandwiches. What about you?

Andrew:

Wǒ xǐhuān bǐsà hé shǔ tiáo. Hěn hǎo chī.

I like pizza and chips. Delicious.

Cara:

Wǒ xǐhuān bǐsà dànshì wǒ bù xǐhuān shǔ tiáo. Nǐ xǐhuān hē shénme?

I like pizza but I don’t like chips. What do you like to drink?

Andrew:

Wǒ xǐhuān hē kělè hé niúnǎi. Nǐ ne?

I like to drink cola and milk. What about you?

Cara:

Wǒ xǐhuān chéngzhī. Hěn hǎo hē.

I like orange juice. Delicious.

Andrew:

Wǒ bù xǐhuān chéngzhī. Bù hǎo hē.

I don’t like orange juice. Not nice!

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Take your learning further

Why not practise what you've learnt by reading I'm hungry! in Mandarin.

You could even make Chinese dumplings or snowflake cake - or find out what is eaten during special celebrations such as Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.

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