One of the most useful (and tasty!) things you can use your Chinese skills for is to order food.
If you have a good fundamental understanding of the language up to this point, you should try and put these skills to practical use and learn some of the most common and helpful Chinese characters found on a menu.
Let’s start off with a few simple names for some of the most common types of animals found on a menu.
Common Meats
牛 (niú) – cow
蟹 (xiè) – crab
鸡 (jī) – chicken
羊 (yáng) – sheep
猪 (zhū) – pig
鸭 (yā) – duck
鱼 (yú) – fish
虾 (xiā) – prawn
You are probably used to eating many different types of meat such as those listed above, but in China, a whole new selection may be available to you, from goose gizzards to beef tongue, depending on which restaurants you choose to dine at. We will discuss some of these possible delicacies here.
鸭肝 (yā gān) – duck liver
鸭膀 (yā bǎng) – duck wings
牛舌 (niú shé) – beef tongue
肺 (fèi) – lung
牛腱 (niú jiàn) – beef intestine
腰 (yāo) – kidney
牛筋 (niú jīn) – beef tendon
猪脑 (zhū nǎo) – pork brain
猪肘 (zhū zhǒu) – pork knuckle
猪耳 (zhū ěr) – pig ear
鸭掌 (yā zhǎng) – duck feet
肠 (cháng) – intestine
八爪鱼 (bā zhuǎ yú) – octopus
牛肚 (niú dù) – tripe
How to Read Chinese Menus 读菜单
1 宫 爆 鸡 丁 gōng bào jī dīng
Stir-fried diced chicken with chilli and peanuts
2 红 烧 排 骨 hóng shāo pái gǔ
Pork ribs in Brown Sauce
3 虎 皮 尖 椒 hǔ pí jiān jiāo
Tiger-skin green peppers
4 松 仁 玉 米 sōng rén yù mĭ
Pine nuts with sweet corn
5 皮 蛋 豆 腐 pí dàn dòu fu
Tofu mixed with salted duck eggs
6 糖 醋 藕 片 táng cù ǒu piàn
Sweet and sour lotus root slices
7 凉 拌 茄 泥 liáng bàn qié ní
Mashed eggplant in sauce
8 糖 醋 鲤 鱼 táng cù lĭ yú
Carp in sweet and sour sauc
9 鱼 香 肉 丝 yú xiāng ròu sī
Fish-flavored shredded pork
10 清 蒸 螃 蟹 qīng zhēng páng xiè
Steamed crabs
11 麻 婆 豆 腐 má pó dòu fu
Stir-fired bean curd in spicy sauce
12 铁 板 牛 柳 tiĕ băn niú liǔ
Beef with ginger and scallions on a hot plate
13 红 烧 肉 hóng shāo ròu
Braised pork with soy sauce
14 回 锅 肉 huí guō ròu
Stir-fried pork slices in hot sauce
15 香 酥 鸡 xiāng sū jī
Crispy fried chicken
16 白 斩 鸡 bái zhăn jī
Tender-boiled chicken with soy sauce
17 盐 水 鸭 yán shuĭ yā
Salted duck
18 水 煮 鱼 shuĭ zhǔ yú
Boiled fish fillet in spicy Sichuan sauce
