
Restaurant reservations Part 2: Specifying any dietary restrictions or special requests.
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Key Phrases
我想订今晚的晚餐。
wǒ xiǎng dìng jīn wǎn de wǎn cān
I'd like to make a reservation for tonight.
一家四口,想订六点半。
yī jiā sì kǒu xiǎng dìng liù diǎn bàn
A family of four, for 6:30.
一位老人不能吃辣,一个孩子对花生过敏。
yī wèi lǎo rén bù néng chī là yī gè hái zi duì huā shēng guò mǐn
One elderly family member can't eat spicy food, and one child is allergic to peanuts.
Skills You'll Learn
How to make a dinner reservation in Chinese
如何用中文预订晚餐
rú hé yòng zhōng wén yù dìng wǎn cān
How to state the number of guests and the reservation time
如何说明人数和订位时间
rú hé shuō míng rén shù hé dìng wèi shí jiān
How to explain dietary needs and request a quieter table toward the back
如何表达饮食要求并要求靠里面、安静一点的位置
rú hé biǎo dá yǐn shí yāo qiú bìng yāo qiú kào lǐ miàn ān jìng yì diǎn de wèi zhì
Lesson Roleplay
Imagine you are calling a restaurant in China to reserve dinner for your family, discussing the time, number of people, dietary needs, and a quieter table.
您好,我想订今晚的晚餐。
nín hǎo wǒ xiǎng dìng jīn wǎn de wǎn cān
Hello, I’d like to make a dinner reservation for tonight.
好的,您几位呢?
hǎo de nín jǐ wèi ne
Of course, for how many people?
我们一家四口,想订六点半。
wǒ men yī jiā sì kǒu xiǎng dìng liù diǎn bàn
There are four of us, and we’d like to book for 6:30.
没问题,请问有什么饮食要求吗?
méi wèn tí qǐng wèn yǒu shén me yǐn shí yāo qiú ma
No problem. Do you have any dietary requirements?
有,一位老人不能吃辣。
yǒu yī wèi lǎo rén bù néng chī là
Yes, one elderly family member can’t eat spicy food.
Lesson Vocabulary & Phrases
订
dìng
To book; to reserve
💬 [订] is the verb "book/reserve," and you can put the time right after it: [订六点半], [订七点]. You can also add what you're reserving after it, like [订晚餐] or [订房间].
See breakdown →晚餐
wǎn cān
Dinner
订晚餐
dìng wǎn cān
Make a dinner reservation
💬 This is just verb + object: [订] + [晚餐]. You can reuse the pattern with other things you book, like [订房间] for booking a room.
See breakdown →今
jīn
Now; this
💬 [今] often means "this" in time words, not just "now": [今天] (today), [今年] (this year), [今晚] (tonight). You'll usually meet it inside these set time expressions.
See breakdown →晚
wǎn
Evening; night
今晚
jīn wǎn
For tonight
我
wǒ
I; me
想
xiǎng
Want; would like to
💬 [想] before a verb often softens what you want into "would like to," so [我想订] sounds more polite than a blunt statement. Reuse it easily: [我想问一下] or [我想改时间].
See breakdown →我想订。
wǒ xiǎng dìng
I'd like to make a reservation.
🇨🇳 This is natural and polite for speaking to restaurant staff. In real life, people often add [一下] or the thing they want to book, but this short version still works fine.
See breakdown →Learn this vocabulary list the easy way
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