This week, we continue exploring videos from our Chinese learning platform NihaoCafe ☕️
Today, let's pick a story from Level 1.
NIHAOCAFE LEVEL 1 HSK1
Imagine going to a Chinese restaurant with a friend or colleague one day.
What would you say to the waiter?
And what vocabulary would you use to discuss the menu with your Chinese friend/colleague?
Discover all this and more in our today's Story as May and Li Ai visit Li Ai's favorite Chinese restaurant and discuss what to order.
餐厅 (cāntīng) ∙ restaurant
🍜 中餐 (zhōngcān) ∙ Chinese food (formal)
🍕 西餐 (xīcān) ∙ Western food (formal)
🍜 中国菜 (zhōngguócài) ∙ Chinese food (informal)
📝 菜单 (càidān) ∙ menu
🍲 菜 (cài) ∙ dish(es)
🐟 鱼 (yú) ∙ fish
🥩 牛肉 (niúròu) ∙ beef
🥦 西蓝花 (xīlánhuā) ∙ broccoli
🥬 蔬菜 (shūcài) ∙ vegetables
🌶️ 辣 (là) ∙ spicy
🍚 主食 (zhǔshí) ∙ staple food
🍚 米饭 (mǐfàn) ∙ (cooked) rice
🍜 面条 (miàntiáo) ∙ noodles
🥟 饺子 (jiǎozi) ∙ dumplings
🍋 酸 (suān) ∙ sour
🍭 甜 (tián) ∙ sweet
🍺 苦 (kǔ) ∙ bitter
🌶️ 辣 (là) ∙ spicy
🧂 咸 (xián) ∙ salty
Li Ai May Waiter
(May and Li Ai enter the restaurant)
服务员：你好，你们几位？
Fúwùyuán: Nǐ hǎo, nǐmen jǐ wèi?
Waiter: Hello. How many of you?
May：两位！
May: Liǎng wèi!
May: Two!
服务员：这边请。
Fúwùyuán: Zhèbiān qǐng.
Waiter: Right this way, please.
(The waiter shows them to a table and gives them a menu)
服务员：这是菜单，你们先看一下。
Fúwùyuán: Zhè shì càidān, nǐmen xiān kàn yīxià.
Waiter: Here's the menu, have a look first.
李爱：好的，谢谢。
Lǐ Ài: Hǎode, xièxie.
Li Ai: Ok, thank you.
(May and Li Ai look at the menu)
May：这是牛肉吗？辣吗？
May: Zhè shì niúròu ma? Là ma?
May: Is this beef? Is it spicy?
李爱：有点儿辣。
Lǐ Ài: Yǒudiǎnr là.
Li Ai: It's a bit spicy.
May：这个鱼怎么样？
May: Zhè gè yú zěnmeyàng?
May: How about this fish?
李爱：这个鱼太大了，我们两个人吃，有点儿多。
Lǐ Ài: Zhè gè yú tài dà le, wǒmen liǎng gè rén chī, yǒudiǎnr duō.
Li Ai: This fish is too big. It’s a bit too much for the two of us.
Let's bring the dialogue to life! Watch May and Li Ai visit a real-life Chinese restaurant, negotiate with the waiter, and discuss the menu.
What would you order?
To watch the rest of this video, discuss it with a teacher and learn more food-related vocabulary, book a free trial class with us 👇
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