HSK4 – Food and Ingredient

Posted on by tiffany

Chinese Vocabulary · 中文词汇

Food and Ingredient Words in Chinese

饮食与食材词汇 yǐnshí yǔ shícái cíhuì

Before we get into the vocab, here’s something that might surprise you: 快餐 (“fast food”) in Taiwan is often surprisingly healthy. McDonald’s sells fresh fruit boxes, fresh milk, chicken breast salad, and quinoa salad, and you can customize a burger to skip the sauce entirely and get free double lettuce instead. KFC offers oil-free roasted chicken served with quinoa rice, and MOS Burger will swap the bun for a big lettuce wrap on request. So if a Taiwanese friend tells you they’re eating McDonald’s while trying to lose weight, don’t be too shocked.

On the table

Food and Meal Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
白酒báijiǔBaijiu; Chinese liquor백주白酒
餐厅cāntīngRestaurant레스토랑レストラン
快餐kuàicānFast food패스트푸드ファーストフード
零食língshíSnack간식間食
美食měishíDelicious food; cuisine미식美食
葡萄酒pútaojiǔWine와인ワイン
汽水qìshuǐSoda; soft drink사이다サイダー
巧克力qiǎokèlìChocolate초콜릿チョコレート
食品shípǐnFood; food products식품食品
食堂shítángCafeteria; dining hall식당食堂
食物shíwùFood음식食べ物
汤tāngSoup국スープ
晚餐wǎncānDinner저녁夕食
午餐wǔcānLunch점심昼食
西红柿xīhóngshìTomato토마토トマト
小吃xiǎochīSnack; snack food간식スナック
月饼yuèbingMooncake월병月餅
早餐zǎocānBreakfast아침朝食
中餐zhōngcānChinese food; Chinese meal중국요리中華料理
馒头mántouSteamed bun만터우マントウ

番茄 vs 西红柿

Both mean “tomato,” but Taiwan almost always says 番茄 (fānqié), while mainland China tends to say 西红柿 (xīhóngshì) instead.

Putting it all together

Examples

老板lǎobǎn请qǐng我们wǒmen喝hē白酒báijiǔ，还hái叫jiào我们wǒmen干杯gānbēi The boss treated us to baijiu, and made us drink a toast too.

我wǒ早餐zǎocān习惯xíguàn吃chī馒头mántou配pèi豆浆dòujiāng For breakfast, I usually eat a steamed bun with soy milk.

In the kitchen

Ingredient and Flavor Words in Chinese

ChinesePinyinEnglishKoreanJapanese
饼干bǐnggānBiscuit; cookie과자クッキー
茶叶cháyèTea leaves; tea찻잎茶葉
厨房chúfángKitchen부엌キッチン
干gānDry마른乾いた
干杯gānbēiCheers; bottoms up건배乾杯
果汁guǒzhīFruit juice과일 주스フルーツジュース
烤kǎoTo roast; to grill; to bake굽다焼く
苦kǔBitter쓴苦い
辣làSpicy매운辛い
葡萄pútaoGrape포도ぶどう
生shēngRaw; uncooked날것의生
熟shúCooked; ripe; familiar익은熟した
酸suānSour; acidic신酸っぱい
酸奶suānnǎiYogurt요구르트ヨーグルト
味wèiTaste; flavor맛味
味道wèidàoTaste; flavor맛味わい
鲜xiānFresh; fresh-tasting; delicious신선한新鮮
咸xiánSalty짠塩辛い
盐yánSalt소금塩
油yóuOil기름油

干 is three characters squeezed into one

In simplified Chinese, 干 covers three separate traditional characters: 乾 (gān, “dry,” as in 乾杯), 幹 (gàn, “to do”), and 干 itself (gān, “shield,” rarely used alone). Traditional Chinese keeps all three distinct — worth knowing if a sentence with 干 in simplified ever looks ambiguous.

熟 — shóu or shú?

Same character, same meaning (“cooked,” “ripe,” or “familiar”), but the pronunciation differs by region: Taiwan tends to say shóu, while mainland China tends to say shú.

Putting it all together

Examples

这zhè道dào菜cài有点yǒudiǎn酸suān，也yě有点yǒudiǎn辣là This dish is a little sour, and a little spicy too.

这zhè个gè汤tāng太tài咸xián了le，可以kěyǐ加jiā点diǎn水shuǐ吗ma This soup is too salty, can I add a bit of water?

Test yourself

Vocabulary Quiz

B2
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