Point and Eat

About

We have good news for gourmands. When it comes to ordering food in China, you're on a level playing

field with the most famous Sinologists. Want to know how John Fairbank and John DeFrancis ordered

beef noodles back in the day, or how Victor Mair gets his chicken and peanuts to this very day?

The secret is that no matter how high-class the restaurant, China is a country where you can still get away

with pointing at the menu and grunting. Chinese menus actually encourage this. And while grunting may

be frowned upon in some finer establishments, we can replace those with a few choice words and you'll

be good to go, charming serving staff throughout the Orient and blending in with the locals. Listen up

and learn how.

Sentences

服务员!

fúwùyuán !

Waiter!

我要一个这个,两个这个,一个那个。

wǒ yào yī ge zhège , liǎng ge zhège , yī ge nàge 。

I want one of these, two of these, and one of those.

您一个人吗?

nín yī ge rén ma ?

Are you eating alone?

我饿了。

wǒ è le 。

I'm hungry.

Vocabulary

服务员

fúwùyuán

waiter

noun

我

wǒ

I

pronoun

您

nín

you

pronoun

要

yào

to want

verb

一

yī

one number 两 liǎng two number 个 ge (measure word) measure word 人 rén person

noun

吗

ma

(question marker) question marker 饿è hungry

adjective

这

zhè

this determiner 那 nà that determiner 这个 zhège this one

phrase

那个

nàge

that one

phrase