Chinese word

点菜

Pronunciation

Pinyindiǎn cài

Meaning

  • verborder food

Example

我们先看看菜单再点菜。wǒ men xiān kàn kàn cài dān zài diǎn cài

We look at the menu first, then order food.

Illustration for 点菜 (order food)

More examples

吃饭时我们轮流点菜，每个人都能选到想吃的。chī fàn shí wǒ men lún liú diǎn cài měi gè rén dōu néng xuǎn dào xiǎng chī de

When we eat, we take turns ordering food, and everyone can choose what they want.

Core concept

A finger or cursor marks dishes on a list until the meal takes shape.

Common phrases

  • 在餐厅点菜zài cān tīng diǎn cài

    order dishes at a restaurant

  • 用手机点菜yòng shǒu jī diǎn cài

    order dishes using a phone

Similar words

点单diǎn dān: Tell restaurant staff which dishes, often by name or number, to include in the order.
点餐diǎn cān: Select dishes and request them from a restaurant or food delivery service.
下单xià dān: Finalize a selection and send it as an order through a digital service or register.
点diǎn: Refer informally to selecting dishes from a menu and ordering them.

Definition in Chinese

向服务员或在点餐系统上，从菜单中挑选并下单所要吃的菜品。xiàng fú wù yuán huò zài diǎn cān xì tǒng shàng cóng cài dān zhōng tiāo xuǎn bìng xià dān suǒ yào chī de cài pǐn

Word origin

点菜 (diǎncài, "order food") joins the selecting sense of 点 (diǎn, "indicate or choose") to 菜 (cài, "dish"), linking a choice on a menu with the resulting order.

Usage tips

  • A number and measure phrase can follow the verb when discussing dishes, making it useful for saying how many items a group plans to order.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word