Important Chinese Restaurant vocabulary

The following characters are crucial when it comes to talk about eating but may not be taught in beginner classes. If you are a foodie or interested to learn Chinese vocabulary that is food related, then look no further.

Words

尝 cháng- Taste
e.g.来尝尝 (Lái cháng cháng)-Come have a taste.

You can use this phrase to encourage others to come have a bite of your yummy food.

Or if you want to relate it to a specific food item美味的羊肉串，来尝尝吧！(měi wèi de yáng ròu chuàn，lái cháng cháng ba!)- Delicious lamb kebabs, have a taste!

嚼 jué- Chew
e.g. 咀嚼（jǔ jué）Chew the food slowly in your mouth. You can use this to emphasize that the food is good so you take extra time to savor it.

Or in a sentence咀嚼大量的口香糖不利于你的牙齿健康 (jǔ jiáo dà liàng de kǒu xiāng táng bú lì yú nǐ de yá chǐ jiàn kāng)- Chewing a lot of gum is bad for your teeth.

喝 hē- Drink
e.g. 喝水（hē shuǐ）Drink water. You can use this phrase to describe that you or someone is drinking something by adding 喝 in front of the liquid.

In a sentence, 喝水有利于身体健康 (hē shuǐ yǒu lì yú shēn tǐ jiàn kāng)- Drinking water is good for your health.

吞 tūn- Swallow
e.g. 吞咽（tūn yān)-To eat food fast. You can use this phrase to describe someone that eats food very fast.

Or 吞咽一般指吃东西又猛又急 (tūn yān yī bān zhǐ chī dōng xī yòu měng yòu jí)-To swallow is to eat something suddenly and quickly

But if you really want to sound like a native speaker and improve your Chinese vocabulary then I suggest you add some idioms to your vocabulary. In China idioms are used very frequently in conversation, hence why it’s such a huge part of the HSK exam. Because it’s an essential part of Chinese communication.

Chinese food related idioms

狼吞虎咽 (láng tūn hǔ yàn)- Eat like a wolf and a tiger
This may sound strange if you heard it mid sentence when talking about food! But it means to gobble up or ‘wolf down’ your food, get it?

饥不择食 (jī bù zé shí)- Hungry finds no fault with cookery
Basically means when you are hungry you eat what is available! This idiom is often mixed with another meaning, when hungry you eat what you can, when cold you wear what you have.

津津有味 (jīn jīn yǒu wèi)- To relish
You can use this when you really enjoy your meal, it can also be used to describe something you are doing that you really take pleasure in.

囫囵吞枣 (hú lún tūn zǎo)- Swallow a date whole
Dates are a very typical snack or ingredient in many Chinese recipes. They can be eaten in porridge or added to tea for flavor. This idiom means to swallow with one gulp. It can also be used to mean you accept something without thinking.

大快朵颐 (dà kuài duǒ yí)- Eat with great relish
It basically means to eat heartily or to gorge yourself on yummy food.

细嚼慢咽 (xì jiáo màn yàn)- Chew carefully and swallow slowly
I think this one is self explanatory, it means you need to eat at a slower pace and enjoy your meal! Now that you have this vocabulary you need to practice using it and memorizing it.