Food & Drinks: Vocabulary for meals, drinks, and common food items

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Pinyin is the standard romanisation used to show Mandarin pronunciation using the Latin alphabet. You’ll often see tone marks on the vowels to show the four tones (plus the neutral tone), for example mā / má / mǎ / mà / ma. “Numbered pinyin” shows the same tones using a number after the syllable instead of tone marks, for example ma1 / ma2 / ma3 / ma4 / ma (sometimes written as ma5 for the neutral tone). Numbered pinyin is handy when you can’t easily type tone marks, while tone-mark pinyin is usually easier to read once you’re used to it.

包子

• Pinyin: bāo zi
• Numbered pinyin: bao1 zi5
• English translation: steamed bun

杯

• Pinyin: bēi
• Numbered pinyin: bei1
• English translation: cup, glass

杯子

• Pinyin: bēi zi
• Numbered pinyin: bei1 zi5
• English translation: cup, glass

菜

• Pinyin: cài
• Numbered pinyin: cai4
• English translation: dish, vegetable

茶

• Pinyin: chá
• Numbered pinyin: cha2
• English translation: tea

吃饭

• Pinyin: chī fàn
• Numbered pinyin: chi1 fan4
• English translation: to have a meal

饭

• Pinyin: fàn
• Numbered pinyin: fan4
• English translation: meal, cooked rice

饭店

• Pinyin: fàn diàn
• Numbered pinyin: fan4 dian4
• English translation: restaurant, hotel

好吃

• Pinyin: hǎo chī
• Numbered pinyin: hao3 chi1
• English translation: delicious

喝

• Pinyin: hē
• Numbered pinyin: he1
• English translation: to drink

鸡蛋

• Pinyin: jī dàn
• Numbered pinyin: ji1 dan4
• English translation: egg

米饭

• Pinyin: mǐ fàn
• Numbered pinyin: mi3 fan4
• English translation: cooked rice

面包

• Pinyin: miàn bāo
• Numbered pinyin: mian4 bao1
• English translation: bread

面条儿

• Pinyin: miàn tiáo r
• Numbered pinyin: mian4 tiao2 r5
• English translation: noodles

奶

• Pinyin: nǎi
• Numbered pinyin: nai3
• English translation: milk

牛奶

• Pinyin: niú nǎi
• Numbered pinyin: niu2 nai3
• English translation: milk

肉

• Pinyin: ròu
• Numbered pinyin: rou4
• English translation: meat

水

• Pinyin: shuǐ
• Numbered pinyin: shui3
• English translation: water

水果

• Pinyin: shuǐ guǒ
• Numbered pinyin: shui3 guo3
• English translation: fruit

晚饭

• Pinyin: wǎn fàn
• Numbered pinyin: wan3 fan4
• English translation: dinner

午饭

• Pinyin: wǔ fàn
• Numbered pinyin: wu3 fan4
• English translation: lunch

早饭

• Pinyin: zǎo fàn
• Numbered pinyin: zao3 fan4
• English translation: breakfast

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