Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →Mandarin Chinese · HSK 3.0 Band 3 · Chapter 8
在饭店点菜 Ordering at a restaurant
Ordering dishes; 老张 enters as the restaurant owner. Teaches 给 + N + V (beneficiary) and 来 + (number) + N (light ordering verb).
Dialogue
老板, 给我们推荐一个菜 — Boss, recommend us a dish
- 老张 欢迎! 你们要点什么? Welcome! What would you like to order?
- 林雪 听说这家是附近最好吃的, 给我们推荐一个菜吧. Heard this is the best place nearby — recommend a dish for us.
- 老张 菜单上的招牌菜很多人喜欢. The signature dish on the menu is a guest favourite.
- 王明 好, 给我们来一盘. Great, bring us a plate.
- 林雪 再来一碗汤, 一杯茶. And a bowl of soup, a cup of tea.
- 老张 好, 我马上给你们上菜. OK, I'll serve you right away.
Dialogue
我们都吃饱了 — We're all stuffed
- 林雪 你吃一口这个招牌菜, 真好吃. Have a bite of this signature dish — delicious.
- 王明 汤也很好. 我吃饱了. The soup is great too. I am stuffed.
- 林雪 老板, 给我们一个账单, 谢谢. Boss, the bill please.
- 老张 马上. 你们的菜怎么样? Right away. How was the food?
- 林雪 都很好吃, 比昨天的饺子还好, 下次再来. All delicious — even better than yesterday's dumplings. We'll come back.
- 老张 欢迎欢迎. 下次给你们更好的位子. You're welcome. Better seats for you next time.
Vocabulary
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 点 | diǎn | v. | order (food) (recall Bk1) |
| 菜 | cài | n. | dish; vegetable (recall Bk1) |
| 老板 | lǎobǎn | n. | boss; owner |
| 客人 | kèrén | n. | guest; customer |
| 给 | gěi | prep. | for; to (beneficiary marker) (recall Bk1) |
| 来 | lái | v. | bring (in ordering: give me) (recall Bk1) |
| 碗 | wǎn | m. | bowl (measure word) |
| 盘 | pán | m. | plate (measure word) |
| 汤 | tāng | n. | soup |
| 茶 | chá | n. | tea (recall Bk1) |
| 推荐 | tuījiàn | v. | recommend |
| 招牌菜 | zhāopáicài | n. | signature dish |
| 上菜 | shàng cài | v. | serve (the dishes) |
| 账单 | zhàngdān | n. | bill; check |
| 吃饱 | chībǎo | v. | eat to the full |
| 林雪 | Lín Xuě | pn. | Lin Xue (persona — recall ch01) |
| 王明 | Wáng Míng | pn. | Wang Ming (persona — recall ch01) |
| 老张 | Lǎo Zhāng | pn. | Old Zhang (persona — 45, restaurant owner) |
New characters
| 汉字 | Pinyin | POS | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 板 | bǎn | board (in 黑板) (recall Bk2) 老板 lǎobǎn — boss; owner黑板 hēibǎn — blackboard (recall Bk2) | |
| 推 | tuī | push (recall Bk2) 推荐 tuījiàn — recommend推车 tuī chē — push (a cart) | |
| 荐 | jiàn | (in 推荐 = recommend) 推荐 tuījiàn — recommend | |
| 招 | zhāo | (in 招牌菜 = signature dish) 招牌菜 zhāopáicài — signature dish打招呼 dǎ zhāohu — greet; say hello | |
| 牌 | pái | (in 招牌菜 = signature dish) 招牌菜 zhāopáicài — signature dish | |
| 盘 | pán | plate (measure word) | |
| 碗 | wǎn | bowl (measure word) | |
| 汤 | tāng | soup | |
| 账 | zhàng | (in 账单 = bill; check) 账单 zhàngdān — bill; check | |
| 顿 | dùn | ||
| 支 | zhī | ||
| 笔 | bǐ | (in 笔记 = notes (recall Bk2)) 笔记 bǐjì — notes (recall Bk2) | |
| 种 | zhǒng | ||
| 份 | fèn |
Hanzi — writing & recognition
gěi give; for (recall Bk1) Writing
diǎn order (food); dot (recall Bk1) Writing
tāng soup Recognition
tián sweet (recall plan-context) Recognition
Grammar
动量词: 口 / 眼 / 顿 (三10) Verbal measure words: 口 / 眼 / 顿 (三10)
动量词放在动词后, 数一个动作的"量". 喝一口 (one mouthful) / 看一眼 (one glance) / 说一顿 (a telling-off). 结构: 动词 + 数词 + 动量词 (看一眼). 有宾语时: 动词 + 数词 + 动量词 + 宾语, 或宾语在前. 点菜时常说: 你尝一下 / 喝一口.
Verbal measure words follow the verb to count the "amount" of an action. 喝一口 (one mouthful) / 看一眼 (one glance) / 说一顿 (a scolding). Structure: verb + number + verbal-MW (看一眼). When ordering food: 你喝一口 / 看一眼菜单.
- 你喝一口吧. Nǐ hē yì kǒu ba. Take a sip.
- 让我看一眼. Ràng wǒ kàn yì yǎn. Let me have a look.
- 我看了他一眼. Wǒ kàn le tā yì yǎn. I glanced at him.
- 妈妈说了他一顿. Māma shuō le tā yí dùn. Mum gave him a telling-off.
Grammar
名量词: 张 / 把 / 支 / 种 / 份 (三09) Noun measure words: 张 / 把 / 支 / 种 / 份 (三09)
上一课 (grammar-01) 数动作; 本课数名词. 三级扩展名量词: 张 (平面: 一张桌子 / 一张票) / 把 (有把手: 一把椅子) / 支 (细长: 一支笔) / 种 (类别: 两种菜) / 份 (一份: 一份菜). 结构: 数词 + 名量词 + 名词.
Grammar-01 counted actions; here we count nouns. Band 3 expands noun measure words: 张 (flat things: 一张桌子 / 一张票) / 把 (things with a handle: 一把椅子) / 支 (thin long things: 一支笔) / 种 (kinds: 两种菜) / 份 (a portion: 一份菜). Structure: number + MW + noun.
- 给我一张桌子. Gěi wǒ yì zhāng zhuōzi. Give me a table.
- 我要一支笔. Wǒ yào yì zhī bǐ. I want a pen.
- 来两种菜. Lái liǎng zhǒng cài. Bring two kinds of dishes.
- 我们要三份米饭. Wǒmen yào sān fèn mǐfàn. We want three portions of rice.
Want to actually learn this — with audio, spaced repetition and progress tracking?
Study in the app →