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:
Food | Chinese | Pinyin |
fish | 鱼肉 | yúròu |
beef | 牛肉 | niúròu |
pork | 猪肉 | zhūròu |
chicken | 鸡肉 | jīròu |
duck | 鸭肉 | yā ròu |
rice | 米饭 | mǐfàn |
noodles | 面条 | miàntiáo |
dumpling | 饺子 | jiǎozi |
Mantou (Steamed bread) | 馒头 | mántou |
bread | 面包 | miànbāo |
tomato | 西红柿 | xīhóngshì |
potato | 土豆 | tǔdòu |
cucumber | 黄瓜 | huángguā |
carrot | 胡萝卜 | húluóbo |
eggplant | 茄子 | qiézi |
green beans | 青豆 | qīngdòu |
onion | 洋葱 | yángcōng |
Chinese cabbage | 大白菜 | dà báicài |
egg | 鸡蛋 | jīdàn |
tofu | 豆腐 | dòufu |
tea | 茶 | chá |
milk | 牛奶 | niúnǎi |
coffee | 咖啡 | kāfēi |
Coke | 可乐 | kělè |
juice | 果汁 | guǒzhī |
Let’s also have a look at a nursery rhythm about food:
白白米饭
Báibái mǐfàn
White rice,
豆腐鸡蛋
Dòufu jīdàn
Tofu eggs,
肉汤青菜
Qīngcài ròu tāng
meat soup, Vegetables,
喷香喷香
Pènxiāng pènxiāng
Good smells, good smells,
我要做个大老虎
Wǒ yào zuò gè dà lǎohǔ
I want to be a big tiger,
啊呜一口都吃光
A wū yīkǒu dōu chī guāng
Ah woo eat it all up with one bite!
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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