How to Order Food in Chinese (Restaurant Phrases)

To order food in China you rarely need full sentences — you point at what you want and say wo yao zhege (我要这个), "I want this one." You call the server over with a clear fuwuyuan (服务员), and when you're done you ask for the check with maidan (买单). Pointing is completely accepted, so you can eat well from your very first meal.

Here's the whole arc, from walking in to paying up.

Walking in (the QR-code menu)

A shop-entry huanying guanglin (欢迎光临) usually greets you, and at casual places you simply seat yourself — no host stand, no waiting to be shown to a table. Then comes the modern twist: many restaurants now order by QR code. You'll hear saoma (扫码), "scan the code" — scan the sticker on your table, browse a photo menu on your phone, and often pay right there too.

If the app defeats you, wave someone over. A paper menu is always an option, and these two questions get you one.

Ordering: point and count

When you're ready, a clear fuwuyuan across the room is how you call the server — normal and polite, never rude. Point at a dish, a photo, or the next table's food and say wo yao zhege. Nobody minds pointing.

To order more than one, count with the measure word ge (个): yi ge (一个) is "one," liang ge (两个) is "two." Note that "two of something" is liang, not er — a quirk worth remembering.

Spice, drinks, and rice

Spice control is survival gear in places like Sichuan and Hunan. Bu la (不辣) means "not spicy"; wei la (微辣) means "mildly spicy" — and even wei la can surprise you in the southwest.

Drinks run warm here. The default is hot: kai shui (开水), plain hot water, or a pot of cha (茶), tea. Cold water is genuinely uncommon, so ask specifically if you want it. For a cold beer, say pijiu (啤酒).

One rice note: mifan (米饭), steamed rice, often arrives late in the meal — it fills you up after the dishes rather than anchoring them. If you'd like it early, just ask for mifan up front.

Sharing, leftovers, and paying

Chinese meals are shared. Dishes land in the middle, often on a lazy Susan, and everyone eats from the communal plates. Turn the lazy Susan slowly — and never spin it while someone is serving themselves.

Didn't finish? Taking food home is completely normal; ask to da bao (打包), "wrap it up." To settle, catch the server's eye and say maidan, "the check, please." You'll usually pay by scanning a code, and there's no tipping in mainland China, so the number on the screen is the number you pay — more on that in our guide to tipping in China.

Bookend the meal the way locals do: a happy hao chi (好吃), "delicious," to whoever cooked, and a warm xie xie (谢谢) on the way out.

Keep learning Chinese

With these phrases you can walk into any restaurant in China — QR menu or paper, street stall or banquet hall — and eat exactly what you want. Build out your menu vocabulary with our free Chinese food and dining phrases, then practice ordering out loud with audio in the Pretalk app so the words are ready the moment the fuwuyuan arrives.