Ordering food: Ordering dishes to share
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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
你
nǐ
You
好
hǎo
Good; Hello
你好
nǐ hǎo
Hello
🇨🇳 [你好] is standard and polite, but in many everyday service situations in China people often skip it and go straight to the request.
See breakdown →我
wǒ
I; Me
们
men
Plural suffix
💬 [们] makes people words plural, like [我们] (we) and [你们] (you plural). You usually don't use it for ordinary things, so not *[桌子们] for tables.
See breakdown →可以
kě yǐ
Can; May
💬 [可以] is often for permission or whether something is allowed, not just ability. For example, [我们可以坐这里吗？] means 'May we sit here?'.
See breakdown →我们可以
wǒ men kě yǐ
May we
💬 [可以] here gives a polite 'may/can' meaning, so [我们可以...] is a useful soft way to start a request. Swap in another action: [我们可以点菜吗？] 'May we order?'.
See breakdown →坐
zuò
Sit
这里
zhè lǐ
Here
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