Order food in Chinese: 50 phrases that actually get used

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.