酒 [jiǔ] Alcoholic drinks
Let’s begin with alcoholic drinks. For sure, there will be times that you will be spending time with friends at bars or at restaurants, and would like to share an alcoholic drink together. Below are some of the most common terms for various kinds of such drinks.
| 酒 | [jiǔ] | Alcoholic drink |
| 白葡萄酒 | [bái pútao jiǔ] | White wine |
| 红葡萄酒 | [hóng pútao jiǔ] | Red wine |
| 白酒 | [báijiǔ] | Chinese Liquor |
| 鸡尾酒 | [jīwěijiǔ] | cocktail |
| 清酒 | [qīngjiǔ] | Sake |
| 烧酒 | [shāojiǔ] | Shochu |
| 啤酒 | [píjiǔ] | beer |
水 [shuǐ] Water
Of course, the most natural drink of all is water. But what kind of water will you want? After all, you can have it in different temperatures, or with some kind of flavor, right? Below are some of the more common types of water you should know how to ask for.
| 水 | [shuǐ] | Water |
| 热水 | [rè shuǐ] | Hot water |
| 温水 | [wēn shuǐ] | Warm water |
| 冰水 | [bīng shuǐ] | Ice water |
| 常温水 | [chángwēn shuǐ] | Normal temperature water |
| 柠檬水 | [níngméng shuǐ] | lemonade |
| 苏打水 | [sūdǎ shuǐ] | soda water |
| 矿泉水 | [kuàngquán shuǐ] | mineral water |
饮料 [yǐnliào] drinks, beverage
There are other types of drinks that you may want to try as well that are not alcoholic or just plain water. Below are some of the most common types of drinks that you may have to ask for or order when you are at a restaurant or a store.
| 饮料 | [yǐnliào] | drinks, beverage |
| 牛奶 | [niúnǎi] | Milk |
| 酸奶 | [suānnǎi] | Yogurt |
| 果汁 | [guǒzhī] | fruit juice |
| 咖啡 | [kāfēi] | Coffee |
| 茶 | [chá] | tea |
| 奶茶 | [nǎichá] | Milk tea |
| 豆浆 | [dòujiāng] | Soy milk |
| 无酒精饮料 | [wú jiǔjīng yǐnliào] | Soft drinks |
| 可乐 | [kělè] | Cola |
甜度 [tián dù] the level of sweetness
Milk tea is a very popular drink among the Chinese. One characteristic of milk tea is that you can order it with different levels of sugar. If you’re going to order milk tea, you have to be clear how much sugar you want with it. Below are some of the ways to ask for the various levels of sugar in milk tea.
| 常规糖 | [chángguī táng] | Regular sugar |
| 七分糖 | [qī fēn táng] | 70% sugar |
| 半糖 | [bàn táng] | half sugar |
| 三分糖 | [sān fēn táng] | 30% sugar |
| 无糖 | [wú táng] | Sugar free |
冰度 [bīng dù] the amount of ice
There will be times when you will want to order cold drinks, which of course means the drink may come with ice. Or, it may be possible that the drink will be served cold, but you don’t want it with ice. If so, here are some terms that can help you order or ask for your drink with more, less, or no ice at all.
| 多冰 | [duō bīng] | More ice |
| 少冰 | [shǎo bīng] | Less ice |
| 去冰 | [qù bīng] | Ice-free |
在哪喝？Where to drink
After ordering the drinks, the staff may ask you “在哪喝？”(where to drink?) There are often two options. One is “在这喝” (zài zhè hē / drink here.), the other is “打包带走” (dǎbāo dài zǒu / take away).
怎么点单？ How to order drinks?
The words above are the regular drinks which we often order and drink in our daily lives. What we have below are some commonly used sentences which you can use when ordering these drinks.
1.
你好，我想要一杯冰水。(Nǐ hǎo, wǒ xiǎng yào yībēi bīng shuǐ.)
Hello, I want a glass of ice water.
2.
A：我要一个大杯热拿铁。(Wǒ yào yīgè dà bēi rè ná tiě.)
I want a big cup of hot latte.
B：还要别的吗？(Hái yào bié de ma?)
Do you want anything else?
A：不要了。(Bùyàole.)
No.
B：在这喝还是带走？(Zài zhè hē háishì dài zǒu?)
Drink here or take away?
A：打包带走，谢谢！(Dǎbāo dài zǒu, xièxie!)
Take away, thank you!
3.
A：我要一杯奶茶。(Wǒ yào yībēi nǎichá.)
I want a cup of milk tea.
B：什么杯？(Shénme bēi?)
Which cup?
A：中杯。(Zhōng bēi.)
The middle one.
B：要什么甜度？(Yào shénme tián dù?)
What sweetness do you want?
A：七分糖。(Qī fēn táng.)
70% sugar.
B：加冰吗？(Jiā bīng ma?)
Add ice?
A：去冰。(Qù bīng.)
Ice-free.
These are, of course, just some of the types of drinks you can order in China. Over time, you’re sure to learn a lot more, which will mean that you will be able to order even more tasty drinks. One thing is for sure: if you master these words for drinks and beverages in Chinese, you won’t be going thirsty in China anymore!