Multimedia Role Play for Chinese


Translation

English | 中文


1. Information page | 有关信息

This page provides the language information that you need in a Chinese  restaurant.


Reading a menu (看菜单kàn càidān V-O) 

There are usually many dishes on a menu. Although some may have elaborate names such as “dragon fights tiger”, most names are easy to work out. Normally the cooking method appears in the first part of the name, with the style of cutting sometimes appearing at the end of the name, as in 炒肉片. The first word here means "stir-fry", the last word means "thin slices", and the middle word means "meat” (ròu). “Meat" normally means pork, in Chinese menus. Other kinds of meat have the name of the animal in front of the word meat e.g. 牛肉 beef (lit: “ox/cow meat”).

Basic cooking ingredients

酱油

jiàngyóu

soy sauce

vinegar

yán

salt

táng

sugar

yóu

oil

胡椒

hújiāo

(black or white) pepper

辣椒

làjiāo

chilli

suàn

garlic

生姜

shēngjiāng

ginger

cōng

spring onion

香菜

xiāngcài

coriander

The following words are often seen in Chinese menus.

The cooking methods

Character

Pinyin

English

Example

chăo

stir-fry

炒虾仁stir-fried shelled prawns

shāo

stew after frying 

烧茄子stewed aubergine

红烧

hóngshāo

stew in soy sauce

红烧排骨spare ribs in soy sauce

dùn

pot-roast

东北乱炖炖牛肉pot-roasted beef

zhá

deep-fry

炸糕deep-fried cake

bào

quick-fry

宫爆鸡丁quick -fried diced chicken

kăo

roast

烤鸭Peking Duck

mēn

braise

红焖牛肉braised beef in tomato sauce

zhēng

steam

清蒸鱼steamed fish

zhŭ

boil

煮鸡蛋boiled egg

Jiān

shallow fry

煎鸡蛋fried egg

糖醋

Tángcù

sweet and sour (sugar and vinegar)

糖醋鱼sweet and sour fish

酸辣

Suānlà

sour and hot (spicy)

酸辣汤sour and hot soup        

Style of cutting

shred

炒土豆丝stir-fried shred potatoes 

Piàn

thin slice

鸡丝肉片汤shred chicken and sliced pork soup

Dīng

small dice

酱爆肉丁diced pork in soy sauce

Kuài

large dice deep

炸鸡块fried chicken pieces

Rén

shelled

果仁煎饼fried pancake with shelled nuts

Tiáo

twig, piece, bar

炸土豆条potato chips

 

Translate the above names of the dishes in “Example” into English

Utensils

筷子

kuàizi

chopsticks

勺子

sháozi

spoon

叉子

chāzi

fork

wǎn

bowl

杯子

bēizi

cup / glass

碟子

diézi

 

盘子

pánzi

big plate

茶壶

cháhú

teapot

餐巾纸

cānjīnzhǐ

paper napkin

碟子

diézi

small plate

Menu

凉菜liáng cài cold dishes

小葱拌豆腐

xiǎocōng bàn  dòufu

spring onion with bean curd 

糖拌西红柿

tángbàn xīhóngshì

sweet tomato

拍黄瓜

pāi huáng guā

cucumber

煮花生米

zhǔ huāshēngmǐ

cooked peanut

素菜 sùcài vegetarian dishes

炒西兰花

chǎo xīlánhuā

stir-fried broccoli

家常豆腐

jiācháng dòufu

home-cooked style bean curd

炒素

chăosù

mixed stir-fried vegetables

香菇菜心

xiānggū càixīn

Chinese mushrooms with green

荤菜hūncài non-vegetarian dishes

京酱肉丝

jīngjiàng ròusī

shredded pork in yellow bean sauce

鱼香肉丝

yúxiāng ròusī

shredded pork

铁板牛肉

tiěbǎnniúròu

sizzling beef

孜然羊肉

zīrán yángròu

cumin lamb

tāng soup

酸辣汤

suān là tāng

hot and sour soup

西红柿鸡蛋汤

xīhóngshì jīdàn tāng

tomato and egg soup

三鲜汤

sānxiān tāng 

three-meat soup

粟米羹

sùmǐ gēng

sweet-corn soup

主食zhǔshí rice and noodles

米饭

mǐfàn

plain rice

馒头

mántou

steamed buns

面条

miàntiáo

noodles

炒饭

chǎofàn

fired rice

饮料yǐnliào beverage

绿茶/菊花茶

lǜchá/júhuā chá

green tea / chrysanthemum tea

果汁儿

guǒzhīr

fruit juice

可口可乐

kěkǒukělè

coca cola

雪碧

xuěbì

Sprite

 

 

 

 

 

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