Eating and Drinking

Chapter: Eating and Drinking

Section 1: Food and Drinks Vocabulary

• Understand various types of Chinese dishes, for instance, 米饭 (mǐfàn) means rice, 面条 (miàntiáo) stands for noodles, and 包子 (bāozi) is a type of Chinese steamed bun.
• Recognise the names of different drinks like 水 (shuǐ) for water, 茶 (chá) meaning tea, and 咖啡 (kāfēi) which is coffee.
• Learn common fruits and vegetables used in Chinese cuisine such as 苹果 (píngguǒ) for apple, 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo) for banana, 西红柿 (xīhóngshì) for tomatoes, and 大蒜 (dàsuàn) for garlic.

Section 2: Eating Out

• Be familiar with phrases related to eating out such as 去餐厅吃饭 (qù cāntīng chīfàn) which means go to the restaurant to eat.
• Know how to order food using phrases like 我要一碗米饭 (wǒ yào yī wǎn mǐfàn) translating to I want a bowl of rice.
• Understand how to express dietary preferences or restrictions for example, 我不吃肉 (wǒ bù chī ròu) meaning I don’t eat meat.

Section 3: Cooking At Home

• Familiarise yourself with cooking verbs like 煮 (zhǔ) to boil, 炒 (chǎo) to fry, 切 (qiē) to cut, and 烤 (kǎo) to roast.
• Learn phrases related to meal planning, such as 制定饮食计划 (zhìdìng yǐnshí jìhuà) which means making a meal plan.
• Learn to talk about different meals of the day such as 早餐 / 早饭 (zǎocān / zǎofàn) for breakfast, 午餐 / 午饭 (wǔcān / wǔfàn) for lunch, and 晚餐 / 晚饭 (wǎncān / wǎnfàn) for dinner.

Key Vocabulary Exercise

On completing each section, practice writing sentences including the new vocabulary you’ve grasped. Regular revision is crucial to memorising these new words and phrases effectively.