Here are Chinese words for cooking to start with: 烹饪 (pēng rèn, cook), 切 (qiè, cut), 刀 (dāo, knife), 煮沸 (zhǔ fèi, boil). Below are 40 words (A1–C1) with their English translations, part of speech and a romanization to help you say them, across 5 themed lists.
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| cook | 烹饪pēng rèn | verb | A1 |
| cut | 切qiè | verb | A1 |
| knife | 刀dāo | noun | A1 |
| boil | 煮沸zhǔ fèi | verb | A2 |
| bowl | 碗wǎn | noun | A2 |
| oven | 烤箱kǎo xiāng | noun | A2 |
| pan | 平底锅píng dǐ guō | noun | A2 |
| stove | 炉灶lú zào | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| bake | 烘焙hōng bèi | verb | A2 |
| pour | 倒dào | verb | A2 |
| prepare | 准备zhǔn bèi | verb | A2 |
| raw | 生的shēng de | adj | A2 |
| smoke | 熏制xūn zhì | verb | A2 |
| flambé | 火焰料理huǒ yàn liào lǐ | verb | B1 |
| food preparation | 备餐bèi cān | noun | B1 |
| fry | 炸zhà | verb | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| reduction | 浓缩酱汁nóng suō jiàng zhī | noun | B1 |
| blanch | 焯水chāo shuǐ | verb | C1 |
| caramelize | 焦糖化jiāo táng huà | verb | C1 |
| culinary technique | 烹饪技巧pēng rèn jì qiǎo | noun | C1 |
| dehydration | 脱水tuō shuǐ | noun | C1 |
| emulsify | 乳化rǔ huà | verb | C1 |
| marinade | 腌料yān liào | noun | C1 |
| simmer | 文火慢炖wén huǒ màn dùn | verb | C1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| to fold | 翻拌fān bàn | verb | B1 |
| to marinate | 腌制yān zhì | verb | B1 |
| to reduce | 收汁shōu zhī | verb | B1 |
| to sauté | 炒chǎo | verb | B1 |
| to season | 调味tiáo wèi | verb | B1 |
| to simmer | 煨wēi | verb | B1 |
| to strain | 沥干lì gān | verb | B1 |
| to whisk | 搅打jiǎo dǎ | verb | B1 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| measuring cup | 量杯liàng bēi | noun | A2 |
| measuring spoon | 量匙liàng shi | noun | A2 |
| timer | 计时器jì shí qì | noun | A2 |
| grater | 刨丝器páo sī qì | noun | B1 |
| ladle | 汤勺tāng sháo | noun | B1 |
| peeler | 削皮器xiāo pí qì | noun | B1 |
| spatula | 锅铲guō chǎn | noun | B1 |
| tongs | 夹子jiā zi | noun | B1 |
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Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
These lists show a sample of the A1–C1 words for cooking. The packs in Watch Your Language hold more and reach the advanced levels, along with every other topic.
The app shows them to you a few at a time, in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and brings back the ones you keep forgetting.
You could start with words like 烹饪 (pēng rèn, cook), 切 (qiè, cut), 刀 (dāo, knife), 煮沸 (zhǔ fèi, boil). This page lists 40 Chinese words for cooking (A1–C1), each with its English translation and part of speech.
Reading a list once is rarely enough. Watch Your Language shows Chinese words like these in a widget on your iPhone Lock Screen and on your Apple Watch face, and schedules repeats so the words you keep forgetting come back more often.
Yes. The lists on this page are free to read, with no sign-up. The app holds more words for each topic.