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💗 🍜 餐厅 (cān tīng) - At the Restaurant

Learn essential vocabulary for dining at restaurants and ordering food. Practice expressing hunger, ordering meals, and interacting with restaurant staff using HSK1-HSK2 level vocabulary.

Chinese lesson from Wednesday, July 2, 2025

🍽️ Restaurant Basics

Learn fundamental restaurant phrases including expressing hunger, ordering food, and basic interactions with waiters.

Perfect for beginners and essential concepts

📚 Key Phrase: 我饿了 (wǒ è le)

📖

Grammar Focus

💗 Restaurant Essentials

Today we learn essential phrases for dining experiences using characters you already know. These expressions help you navigate restaurants, order food, and communicate with staff confidently.
🍽️ Hunger and Want Pattern:
我 + Feeling/Want + Object

Expressing needs and desires:
• 我饿了 (wǒ è le) - I am hungry (state change with 了)
• 我要米饭 (wǒ yào mǐ fàn) - I want rice (direct want)
• 我吃饱了 (wǒ chī bǎo le) - I am full (completed eating)
🍜 Restaurant Action Pattern:
Verb + Object
• 点菜 (diǎn cài) - order dishes (literally "point dishes")
• 买单 (mǎi dān) - pay bill (literally "buy receipt")
• 坐下来 (zuò xià lái) - sit down (directional complement)

点 means "to point/select", 买单 is a fixed expression.
很好吃
hěn hǎo chī
Very delicious
😋 Food Evaluation:
很好吃 is the most common way to compliment food:
• 很 (hěn) - very
• 好吃 (hǎo chī) - delicious/tasty

Literally means "good to eat" - essential for restaurant conversations!
👥 People in Restaurants:
• Staff: 服务员 (fú wù yuán) - waiter/waitress
• Actions: 点菜 (diǎn cài) - order dishes
• Payment: 买单 (mǎi dān) - pay the bill

服务员 literally means "service person" - very respectful term.
🔄 State Changes with 了:
Notice how 了 shows completed states:
• 我饿了 (wǒ è le) - I became hungry
• 吃饱了 (chī bǎo le) - I became full

了 indicates the change from not hungry → hungry, not full → full.
我饿了
wǒ è le
I am hungry
Tengo hambre

词汇 Vocabulary Practice

Practice writing the phrases from today's Chinese lesson!

我饿了
wǒ è le
English:
I am hungry
Español:
Tengo hambre
点菜
diǎn cài
English:
Order dishes
Español:
Pedir platos
我要米饭
wǒ yào mǐ fàn
English:
I want rice
Español:
Quiero arroz
很好吃
hěn hǎo chī
English:
Very delicious
Español:
Muy delicioso
买单
mǎi dān
English:
Pay the bill
Español:
Pagar la cuenta
服务员
fú wù yuán
English:
Waiter/waitress
Español:
Camarero/camarera
坐下来
zuò xià lái
English:
Sit down
Español:
Sentarse
吃饱了
chī bǎo le
English:
Full (after eating)
Español:
Estar lleno/saciado

文化 Cultural Insights

🍜 Chinese Dining Etiquette

In Chinese restaurants, calling 服务员 (waiter) is completely normal and polite. Unlike Western cultures, it's expected to get their attention directly. Saying 很好吃 (very delicious) is greatly appreciated by restaurant staff.

🥢 Shared Dining Culture

Chinese dining is typically family-style with shared dishes. When you 点菜 (order dishes), you usually order for the table. 坐下来 (sit down) often happens around a round table where everyone can reach the food easily.

💳 Payment Customs

买单 (paying the bill) often involves friendly competition over who pays. It's common for one person to insist on paying for everyone. Mobile payments through WeChat Pay or Alipay are extremely common in modern Chinese restaurants.

😋 Dining Experience

Master expressions for describing food, paying the bill, and completing your restaurant experience with polite interactions.

For students ready to dive deeper

📖 Reading Practice

📖 餐厅的一天 - A Day at the Restaurant

Xiǎo Lì hé péng you qù cān tīng chī fàn.
小李和朋友去餐厅吃饭。
Tā men jìn le cān tīng, fú wù yuán shuō: "Huān yíng!"
他们进了餐厅，服务员说："欢迎！"
Fú wù yuán shuō: "Qǐng zuò xià lái."
服务员说："请坐下来。"
Xiǎo Lì shuō: "Wǒ è le, wǒ men kuài diǎn cài ba!"
小李说："我饿了，我们快点菜吧！"
Tā duì fú wù yuán shuō: "Wǒ yào mǐ fàn hé yú."
他对服务员说："我要米饭和鱼。"
Chī wán hòu, xiǎo Lì shuō: "Hěn hǎo chī! Wǒ chī bǎo le."
吃完后，小李说："很好吃！我吃饱了。"
Zuì hòu, tā men jiào fú wù yuán mǎi dān.
最后，他们叫服务员买单。
Fú wù yuán shuō: "Xiè xie, huān yíng zài lái!"
服务员说："谢谢，欢迎再来！"

📝 Vocabulary from this reading:

餐厅
cān tīng
restaurant
欢迎
huān yíng
welcome
进
jìn
enter
鱼
yú
fish
吃完
chī wán
finish eating
最后
zuì hòu
finally
再来
zài lái
come again

作业 Homework & Practice

💗 Restaurant Practice

📝 Writing Practice:
1. Write 5 restaurant sentences using: 我饿了, 我要..., 很好吃
2. Create restaurant dialogues: Customer ↔ 服务员 conversations
3. Practice ordering: 我要 + [food item] + 和 + [drink]

🗣️ Speaking Practice:
4. Practice restaurant vocabulary: 点菜, 买单, 坐下来, 吃饱了
5. Learn to compliment food: 很好吃, 太好吃了, 好吃极了
6. Practice polite requests: 请 + action (请坐下来, 请点菜)

🎯 Real Life Application:
7. Visit a Chinese restaurant and use these phrases
8. Practice ordering different foods: 米饭, 面条, 汤, 菜
9. Learn 3 more restaurant words: 菜单, 茶, 筷子

💡 Bonus Challenge:
Create a complete restaurant visit from entering to paying

🌟 Cultural Reflection:
Think about: How does restaurant service differ between your country and China? What makes Chinese dining special?

Practice Checklist:

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