Order food in Chinese: 50 phrases that actually get used
Fifty restaurant phrases in Mandarin with hanzi, pinyin and English — from getting a table to splitting the bill — plus the customs that trip up visitors.
梅Teacher Jane · February 19, 2026 · 6 min read
民以食为天
“For the people, food is heaven.”
A student of mine, Tomás, spent three months learning restaurant vocabulary before a trip to Chengdu. He could name eleven vegetables. What defeated him on night one was that nobody handed him a menu — the table had a QR code, and the waiter had already asked him something he didn't catch: 几位？
So this list is not the vocabulary a textbook thinks you need in a restaurant. It is what actually gets said, in the order it gets said, from the door to the bill.
Getting a table
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 服务员 | fúwùyuán | Excuse me / waiter |
| 几位？ | jǐ wèi | How many of you? (they ask this first) |
| 两位 | liǎng wèi | Two people |
| 我们有四个人 | wǒmen yǒu sì ge rén | There are four of us |
| 有位子吗？ | yǒu wèizi ma | Do you have a table? |
| 要等多久？ | yào děng duō jiǔ | How long is the wait? |
| 我们坐这儿可以吗？ | wǒmen zuò zhèr kěyǐ ma | Can we sit here? |
| 菜单，谢谢 | càidān, xièxie | Menu, please |
| 有英文菜单吗？ | yǒu Yīngwén càidān ma | Do you have an English menu? |
| 扫码点餐吗？ | sǎo mǎ diǎn cān ma | Do we order by scanning the code? |
That last one is new and now essential. In most mainland restaurants you scan a code on the table, order on your phone, and pay there too. It is wonderful for shy learners and mildly insulting to three months of speaking practice.
Working out what to eat
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 这是什么？ | zhè shì shénme | What is this? |
| 有什么推荐的？ | yǒu shénme tuījiàn de | What do you recommend? |
| 你们的招牌菜是什么？ | nǐmen de zhāopáicài shì shénme | What is your signature dish? |
| 这个辣吗？ | zhège là ma | Is this spicy? |
| 这个是牛肉还是猪肉？ | zhège shì niúròu háishi zhūròu | Is this beef or pork? |
| 有素菜吗？ | yǒu sùcài ma | Do you have vegetarian dishes? |
| 这个够几个人吃？ | zhège gòu jǐ ge rén chī | How many people does this serve? |
| 分量大吗？ | fènliàng dà ma | Is the portion big? |
| 有汤吗？ | yǒu tāng ma | Is there soup? |
| 那个看起来不错 | nàge kànqǐlai búcuò | That looks good (pointing at another table) |
有什么推荐的？ is the highest-value sentence on this page. It gets you the dish the kitchen is proud of, it flatters the person you are asking, and it saves you from ordering three variations of the same thing.
Also, treat 这个辣吗？ as a warning system rather than a yes-or-no question. In Sichuan and Hunan, "not spicy" is a regional opinion, not a fact.
Ordering
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我们点菜 | wǒmen diǎn cài | We would like to order |
| 我要这个 | wǒ yào zhège | I will have this one |
| 来一个宫保鸡丁 | lái yí ge gōngbǎo jīdīng | One kung pao chicken |
| 两碗米饭 | liǎng wǎn mǐfàn | Two bowls of rice |
| 再来一份 | zài lái yí fèn | One more portion |
| 一瓶啤酒 | yì píng píjiǔ | A bottle of beer |
| 一杯热水 | yì bēi rè shuǐ | A cup of hot water |
| 先这些 | xiān zhèxiē | That is all for now |
| 够了，谢谢 | gòu le, xièxie | That is enough, thank you |
| 打包 | dǎbāo | Box this up to take away |
来 (lái — literally "come") is the ordering verb nobody teaches beginners. 来一个… is how people order in real life: casual, fast, and it works for everything from dumplings to beer.
一杯热水 will get you a cup of plain hot water, and nobody will find that strange. Cold water is the odd request.
Special requests
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 不要辣 | bú yào là | No chilli |
| 微辣 | wēi là | Mildly spicy |
| 不要香菜 | bú yào xiāngcài | No coriander |
| 少放盐 | shǎo fàng yán | Less salt |
| 不放味精可以吗？ | bú fàng wèijīng kěyǐ ma | Can you leave out the MSG? |
| 我不吃猪肉 | wǒ bù chī zhūròu | I do not eat pork |
| 我吃素 | wǒ chī sù | I am vegetarian |
| 我对花生过敏 | wǒ duì huāshēng guòmǐn | I am allergic to peanuts |
| 里面有肉吗？ | lǐmiàn yǒu ròu ma | Is there meat in it? |
| 麻烦快一点 | máfan kuài yìdiǎn | Could you make it quick, please |
Two survival notes here. 我吃素 is understood, but vegetable dishes are often cooked with a little pork stock or lard, so 里面有肉吗？ is the follow-up that does the real work. And if you have an allergy, do not rely on 我对花生过敏 alone — have it written down, and show it. A serious allergy is not the place to practise your fourth tone.
Paying and leaving
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 买单 | mǎidān | The bill, please |
| 结账 | jiézhàng | The bill, please (same thing) |
| 一共多少钱？ | yígòng duōshao qián | How much altogether? |
| 可以刷卡吗？ | kěyǐ shuā kǎ ma | Can I pay by card? |
| 可以用支付宝吗？ | kěyǐ yòng Zhīfùbǎo ma | Can I use Alipay? |
| 我扫你还是你扫我？ | wǒ sǎo nǐ háishi nǐ sǎo wǒ | Shall I scan you, or you scan me? |
| 我请客 | wǒ qǐngkè | My treat |
| 我们AA | wǒmen AA | Let us split it |
| 要发票吗？ | yào fāpiào ma | Would you like a receipt? (they ask) |
| 很好吃，谢谢！ | hěn hǎochī, xièxie | It was delicious, thank you! |
Four customs worth knowing before the food arrives
Shouting for the waiter is not rude. 服务员！across a busy room is completely normal, and staff will not come over until called. Western learners tend to hover, make eye contact, and wait to be noticed, which in a Chinese restaurant means waiting forever. Say it at a volume that feels slightly too loud. It isn't.
Dishes belong to the table, not to you. You do not order "my dish" — the table orders together and everything goes in the middle. The working arithmetic is one dish per person plus one extra, plus rice and a soup. If you are three people and order three mains, that is polite and correct. If you are the guest, let the host order, and expect food to be placed in your bowl for you. That is affection, not an attack.
The bill fight is real, and it is theatre with rules. Whoever invited, pays. When someone says 我请客 (wǒ qǐngkè — my treat) and grabs the bill, a round of protest is expected before you concede — often gracefully, with 下次我请 (xià cì wǒ qǐng — next time is on me). Splitting, 我们AA, is normal among younger friends and colleagues, and increasingly the default. Read the table.
No tipping. None. In mainland restaurants a tip creates confusion, and staff may chase you down the street to return the money you "forgot". Say 很好吃，谢谢 and leave. That is the tip.
One last thing. When your food lands, someone may say 慢用 (màn yòng — take your time, enjoy). The correct response is to eat.
I have turned this into a one-page phrase card sized for a phone screen — the fifty phrases with audio, grouped exactly as above. It's in the free materials section. Download it before your flight, not during it.
Teacher Jane · 珂老师
Mandarin teacher (M.TCSOL), 900+ students from 40+ countries. I write the way I teach — practically, and with snacks.