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Scene illustrating a Simplified Chinese-language ordering food conversation

Key Phrases

你好

nǐ hǎo

Hello

我们想点一些菜

wǒ men xiǎng diǎn yī xiē cài

We would like to order some dishes

你有什么推荐的?

nǐ yǒu shén me tuī jiàn de

Do you have any recommendations?

Skills You'll Learn

Greetings

问候

wèn hòu

Ordering in a restaurant

在餐厅点餐

zài cān tīng diǎn cān

Asking for recommendations

询问推荐

xún wèn tuī jiàn

Lesson Roleplay

Imagine you are in a Chinese restaurant and you are looking for a seat. You ask if you can sit at a particular table, and the waiter invites you to do so. You express your interest in sharing some dishes with your companion and ask the waiter for recommendations. The waiter suggests the fish-flavored shredded pork, which you decide to order. Additionally, you order a Kung Pao chicken. After confirming your order, the waiter assures you that the dishes will be prepared right away.

你好,我们可以坐这里吗?

nǐ hǎo wǒ men kě yǐ zuò zhè lǐ ma

Hello, may we sit here?

当然可以,请坐。

dāng rán kě yǐ qǐng zuò

Of course, please have a seat.

我们想点一些菜共享。

wǒ men xiǎng diǎn yī xiē cài gòng xiǎng

We would like to order some dishes to share.

好的,有什么想吃的吗?

hǎo de yǒu shén me xiǎng chī de ma

Sure, is there anything you would like to eat?

你有什么推荐的吗?

nǐ yǒu shén me tuī jiàn de ma

Do you have any recommendations?

Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases

👤

You

💬 Addressing one person informally.

🇨🇳 Often used with friends or peers.

See breakdown →
👍👋

hǎo

Good; Hello

💬 Can mean 'good' or form part of 'hello'.

🇨🇳 A common greeting when combined as [你好].

See breakdown →
👋

你好

nǐ hǎo

Hello

💬 Literally 'you good'.

🇨🇳 A universal and polite greeting.

See breakdown →
🙋

I; Me

💬 Represents the speaker.

🇨🇳 Commonly used in daily conversations.

See breakdown →

men

Plural suffix

💬 Makes pronouns plural.

🇨🇳 Used in many pronouns in Chinese.

See breakdown →

可以

kě yǐ

Can; May

💬 Often used in [当然] (of course).

🇨🇳 Used to confirm or agree with something.

See breakdown →
🙋➕

我们可以

wǒ men kě yǐ

May we

💬 Used for requests.

🇨🇳 Polite way to ask for something when dining.

See breakdown →
🪑

zuò

Sit

💬 Action verb for sitting down.

🇨🇳 In a restaurant context, often said as [请坐] (qǐng zuò, please sit).

See breakdown →
🟩

这里

zhè lǐ

Here

💬 Refers to a location.

🇨🇳 Often used to indicate where to sit or where something is happening.

See breakdown →
🚀

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