Before we look up the meal words in Chinese, let me tell you a fact. In a Chinese meal, everyone will have their rice bowl; however, the accompanying dishes will be served on communal plates and shared by all people. The dishes are often eaten together with a mouthful of rice. Unlike western culture, the Chinese eat the main meal with vegetables first, then soup, and then dessert. Chinse Dessert is normally fresh fruit. Salad is not in our meal set, since we think serving uncooked food is not a good manner.
Meal Words in Chinese 1
| Simplify | China | Traditional | Taiwan | English | Korean | Japanese |
| 早餐 | zǎocān | 早餐 | zǎocān | Breakfast | 아침 | 朝食 |
| 行为 | xíngwéi | 行為 | xíngwéi | Behavior | 행위 | 行為 |
| 午餐 | wǔcān | 午餐 | wǔcān | Lunch | 점심 | 昼食 |
| 晚餐 | wǎncān | 晚餐 | wǎncān | Dinner | 저녁 | 夕食 |
| 快餐 | kuàicān | 快餐 | kuàicān | Fast food | 패스트푸드 | ファーストフード |
| 西餐 | xīcān | 西餐 | xīcān | Western food | 양식 | 洋食 |
| 收入 | shōurù | 收入 | shōurù | Income | 수입 | 収入 |
| 水平 | shuǐpíng | 水平 | shuǐpíng | Level | 수준 | 水準 |
| 条件 | tiáojiàn | 條件 | tiáojiàn | Condition | 조건 | 条件 |
| 中餐 | zhōngcān | 中餐 | zhōngcān | Chinese food | 중국요리 | 中華料理 |
Examples
For breakfast, lunch and dinner, we can use the character 飯/饭 fàn to replace 餐 cān without changing any meanings.
早餐 zǎocān = 早飯/早饭 zǎofàn
午餐 wǔcān = 午飯/午饭 wǔfàn
晚餐 wǎncān = 晚飯/晚饭 wǎnfàn
今天的早飯好豐盛啊
今天的早饭好丰盛啊
Jīntiān de zǎofàn hǎo fēngshèng a！
Today’s breakfast is very generous!
For 西餐 xīcān and 中餐 zhōngcān, we can also call them 西菜 xīcài and 中菜 zhōngcài
我吃中菜吃不慣
我吃中菜吃不惯
Wǒ chī Zhōngcài chī bú guàn.
I’m not used to eating Chinese food.
Other Words in Chinese 1
| Simplify | China | Traditional | Taiwan | English | Korean | Japanese |
| 西医 | xīyī | 西醫 | xīyī | Western medicine | 서양 의학 | 西洋醫學 |
| 中医 | zhōngyī | 中醫 | zhōngyī | Traditional Chinese medical | 중국 의학 | 漢方 |
| 温度 | wēndù | 溫度 | wēndù | Temperature | 온도 | 温度 |
| 行动 | xíngdòng | 行動 | xíngdòng | Action | 행동 | 行動 |
| 原因 | yuányīn | 原因 | yuányīn | Reason | 원인 | 原因 |
| 药片 | yàopiàn | 藥片 | yàopiàn | Tablet (medicinal) | 알약 | 丸薬 |
| 药水 | yàoshuǐ | 藥水 | yàoshuǐ | Liquid medicine | 물약 | 水薬 |
| 笑话 | xiàohuà | 笑話 | xiàohuà | Joke | 우스운 이야기 | 冗談 |
| 网站 | wǎngzhàn | 網站 | wǎngzhàn | Website | 웹 사이트 | ウェブサイト |
| 目的 | mùdì | 目的 | mùdì | Purpose; goal | 목적 | 目的 |
Examples
你試過中醫嗎？
你试过中医吗？
Nǐ shìguò Zhōngyī ma？
Have you ever tried Chinese medicine?
這個網站我點不開
这个网站我点不开
Zhège wǎngzhàn wǒ diǎn bùkāi.
I can’t open this website.
A2 Meal & Other
