Chinese Food Vocabulary
The 75 beginner words (A1–A2) for food, with their English translations and part of speech, across 15 themed lists. These are the ones worth knowing first.
The 75 beginner words (A1–A2) for food, with their English translations and part of speech, across 15 themed lists. These are the ones worth knowing first.
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| breakfast | 早餐zao can | noun | A1 |
| coffee | 咖啡ka fei | noun | A1 |
| delicious | 美味的mei wei de | adj | A1 |
| restaurant | 餐厅can ting | noun | A1 |
| waiter | 服务员fu wu yuan | noun | A1 |
| water | 水shui | noun | A1 |
| bill | 账单zhang dan | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| bread | 面包mian bao | noun | A1 |
| cheese | 奶酪nai lao | noun | A1 |
| dinner | 晚餐wan can | noun | A1 |
| fruit | 水果shui guo | noun | A1 |
| lunch | 午餐wu can | noun | A1 |
| meal | 餐can | noun | A1 |
| vegetable | 蔬菜shu cai | noun | A1 |
| cooking | 烹饪peng ren | noun | A2 |
| dessert | 甜点tian dian | noun | A2 |
| mushroom | 蘑菇mo gu | noun | A2 |
| sweet | 甜的tian de | adj | A2 |
| wine | 葡萄酒pu tao jiu | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| diet | 饮食yin shi | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| butter | 黄油huang you | noun | A1 |
| egg | 蛋dan | noun | A1 |
| potato | 土豆tu dou | noun | A1 |
| rice | 米mi | noun | A1 |
| sugar | 糖tang | noun | A1 |
| tomato | 番茄fan qie | noun | A1 |
| flour | 面粉mian fen | noun | A2 |
| garlic | 蒜suan | noun | A2 |
| oil | 油you | noun | A2 |
| onion | 洋葱yang cong | noun | A2 |
| pasta | 意大利面yi da li mian | noun | A2 |
| pepper | 胡椒hu jiao | noun | A2 |
| salt | 盐yan | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| chili | 辣椒la jiao | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| curry | 咖喱ga li | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| beans | 豆子dou zi | noun | A2 |
| carrot | 胡萝卜hu luo bo | noun | A2 |
| peas | 豌豆wan dou | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| apple | 苹果ping guo | noun | A1 |
| banana | 香蕉xiang jiao | noun | A1 |
| grape | 葡萄pu tao | noun | A1 |
| lemon | 柠檬ning meng | noun | A2 |
| lime | 青柠qing ning | noun | A2 |
| melon | 甜瓜tian gua | noun | A2 |
| pear | 梨li | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| corn | 玉米yu mi | noun | A1 |
| yogurt | 酸奶suan nai | noun | A1 |
| cream | 奶油nai you | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| beef | 牛肉niu rou | noun | A1 |
| ground beef | 碎牛肉sui niu rou | noun | A2 |
| ham | 火腿huo tui | noun | A2 |
| meatball | 肉丸rou wan | noun | A2 |
| sausage | 香肠xiang chang | noun | A2 |
| steak | 牛排niu pai | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| juice | 果汁guo zhi | noun | A1 |
| milk | 牛奶niu nai | noun | A1 |
| tea | 茶cha | noun | A1 |
| champagne | 香槟酒xiang bin jiu | noun | A2 |
| lemonade | 柠檬水ning meng shui | noun | A2 |
| soda | 汽水qi shui | noun | A2 |
| sparkling water | 气泡水qi pao shui | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| mayonnaise | 蛋黄酱dan huang jiang | noun | A2 |
| sour cream | 酸奶油suan nai you | noun | A2 |
| yolk | 蛋黄dan huang | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| biscuit | 饼干bing gan | noun | A1 |
| bagel | 百吉饼bai ji bing | noun | A2 |
| baguette | 长棍面包zhang gun mian bao | noun | A2 |
| donut | 甜甜圈tian tian quan | noun | A2 |
| muffin | 玛芬ma fen | noun | A2 |
| pastry | 酥皮su pi | noun | A2 |
| waffle | 华夫饼hua fu bing | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| hot sauce | 辣酱la jiang | noun | A2 |
| olive oil | 橄榄油gan lan you | noun | A2 |
| soy sauce | 酱油jiang you | noun | A2 |
| English | Chinese | Type | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| creamy | 绵密的mian mi de | adj | A2 |
Watch Your LanguageVocabulary widgets for iPhone & Apple Watch
These lists stop at A1–A2, the words a beginner needs first. The food packs keep going through B1, B2 and C1 inside Watch Your Language, 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.
