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How to Say ‘Can you eat spicy food?’ in Simplified Chinese

你能吃辣吗？

nǐ néng chī là ma

[nee nung chī là ma]

🇨🇳 In China: Asking this before ordering is genuinely considerate, since many popular dishes, like Sichuan or Hunan food, can be very hot.

Phrase Breakdown

你能吃

nǐ néng chī

can you eat

能 (néng, rising tone) means 'can' or 'be able to'. 吃 (chī) means 'to eat'.

Example

你能吃很多吗？

Can you eat a lot?

Words in this phrase

你

nǐ

[nee]

you

The informal or neutral word for “you,” suitable for peers or casual conversation.

Example

如果对方和你年纪差不多，可以说“认识你”。

If the other person is about your age, you can say “nice to meet you” with 你.

能

néng

[nung]

can; be able to

Expresses ability or possibility to do something.

Example

能帮到你，我也很开心。

If I can help you, I’m also very happy.

吃

chī

[chī]

to eat

Basic verb for eating food.

Example

我们去吃火锅吧。

Let's go eat hotpot.

辣吗？

là ma

spicy (food)?

辣 (là) means 'spicy'. Use a strong falling tone, then add a light 吗 to make it a question.

Example

这个菜辣吗？

Is this dish spicy?

Words in this phrase

辣

là

[là]

spicy; hot

Adjective describing the burning taste of chili peppers.

Example

四川菜很辣。

Sichuan food is very spicy.

吗

[ma]

question particle

A sentence-final particle used to turn a statement into a yes-no question.

Example

你是第一次来吗？这里的“吗”表示提问。

Is this your first time here? Here, 吗 marks a question.

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