Why Do Chinese People Always Ask "Have You Eaten?"
When Chinese people say "吃了吗?" what do they mean? Asking "have you eaten" in Chinese is surprisingly similar to "how are you?"
TutorMing will teach you how to order food at a Chinese restaurant in Mandarin. Impress the staff and your friends with your fluency in Chinese!
Have you ever walked into a Chinese restaurant and noticed that the staff is much friendlier to Chinese-speaking customers? It’s partially because they don’t have to deal with a language barrier, and also partially because they love anyone that’s from their homeland. You certainly shouldn’t take it personally!
That being said, there are few things that Chinese people find more impressive than a foreigner attempting to speak their language. Take Mark Zuckerberg, for example. His decision to answer a Q&A completely in Mandarin Chinese won our respect.
Being Chinese, we know exactly how difficult our language can be for others. And as we've mentioned before, the fastest way to achieve Chinese fluency is to practice. So here are some phrases you can use in a Chinese restaurant (or a restaurant with Chinese staff.)
Basics:
请 (qǐng)
Please. (Only used at the beginning of a sentence, and never used on it's own.)
谢谢 (xiè xiè!)
Thank you!
We hope that this post encourages you to speak Chinese in a Chinese restaurant! Are there specific Chinese foods you want to try or other phrases you want to know? Let us know in the comments or tweet us @TutorABCChinese!
Need help on pronunciation? You can check out TutorABC Chinese’s pinyin table here.
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