老板
Hi, here is the menu.
Beginner · 6-8 min
Order at a Small Restaurant小餐馆点餐
After this scene, you can order a dish and rice at a small restaurant, answer a simple spicy-level question, ask about drinks, and finish ordering naturally.
Learning
Scene setup
You stop at a small, casual restaurant in China and order a dish with rice directly from the owner. The owner asks how spicy you want the food and whether you would like a drink. At this restaurant, bottled drinks are kept in a refrigerator in the corner, so customers take one themselves and the owner adds it to the bill by checking the bottle later.
Core dialogue
你
I'd like one order of kung pao chicken and one bowl of rice.
老板
Do you eat spicy food? Kung pao chicken has chili peppers in it.
你
A little is okay, but not too much.
老板
Okay, mildly spicy. Do you want something to drink?
你
What do you have?
老板
The fridge is over there. You can take whatever you want to drink yourself.
你
Okay, that's all.
老板
Okay, please wait a moment.
Key phrases
Pick a phrase and see what it means here, and how to reuse it.
Phrase Card
Phrase 1 of 5
cài菜dān单
menu
From the dialogue
老板:你好，这是菜单。
Hi, here is the menu.
Use it here
Use “菜单” for the menu in a restaurant.
Say it another way
- zhè这shì是cài菜dān单。
Here is the menu.
- cài菜dān单zài在zhè这lǐ里。
The menu is here.
- wǒ我kàn看yí一xià下cài菜dān单。
I'll take a look at the menu.
Patterns
Pick a pattern and see how it helps you say new things in the same scene.
Pattern Card
Pattern 1 of 3
我要 + Amount + Food
Use this pattern to order a dish, rice, noodles, or another food item.
我要数量食物
数量 = 一份, 一碗, or another amount
食物 = the food you want
From dialogue
- wǒ我yào要yí一fèn份gōng宫bǎo保jī鸡dīng丁。
I'd like one order of kung pao chicken.
- wǒ我yào要yì一wǎn碗mǐ米fàn饭。
I'd like one bowl of rice.
Try also
- wǒ我yào要yí一fèn份chǎo炒fàn饭。
I'd like one order of fried rice.
Common mistakes
Small fixes that make your Chinese sound natural.
1. Use 一份 for a dish
Not natural
我要一个宫保鸡丁。
Natural
我要一份宫保鸡丁。
Why
For one order of a dish, 一份 is more natural than 一个.
2. Use 不要太多
Not natural
不要很多。
Natural
可以来一点，不要太多。
Why
不要很多 can be understood, but 不要太多 sounds more natural when limiting the amount.
3. Finish ordering naturally
Not natural
结束了。
Natural
就这些吧。
Why
To say you are done ordering, 就这些吧 sounds natural.
Connected learning path