Chinese Food and Food in Chinese – Chinese Vocabulary on Food

Food is an essential part of our lives. For Chinese people, food is more than its necessity to feed. It provides joy, serves as a medium to entertain, to connect and to unite.

In Chinese, a common greeting is “吃了吗？(Chīle ma?Did you eat?)” When friends meet in the street, they would invite each other “一起去吃顿饭吧！（Yīqǐ qù chī dùn fàn ba!　Let’s go and have a meal together!)”

Food is not only for the casual meetups among friends and acquaintance, but also an important part for any of the festivals in China. People get together to have specific food for the family reunion dinners such as Spring Festival dinner, Mid-autumn dinner and lots more. Friends and families choose restaurants to celebrate any events from weddings, birthday parties to casual gathering. That’s why many restaurants in China have individual rooms so to offer opportunities for such events. What’s more, believe it or not, in China, many business talks also take place at the dinner table.

What are the common food in China?

More or less, Chinese people have similar food as people living in the rest of the world. Meat, vegetables, beverage are pretty much the same. Certain food which are typical Chinese include dumpling　饺子, tofu　豆腐 and tea 茶.

Below is a list of some common food in Chinese:

Let’s also have a look at a nursery rhythm about food:

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Relevant Resources:

My Colourful Fruits and Vegetables Mini Books and Worksheets
Appetizer, Main Dishes and Dessert.. Let’s Categorize Chinese Dishes into Courses

Learning Chinese Food Vocabulary for Kids and Beginners

Chinese Food Chinese Vocabulary Montessori 3-Part Learning Flashcards with English