Chinese word

退菜

Pronunciation

Pinyintuì cài

Meaning

  • verbsend a dish back

Example

这道菜有问题，我想退菜。zhè dào cài yǒu wèn tí wǒ xiǎng tuì cài

There is something wrong with this dish, so I want to send it back.

Illustration for 退菜 (send a dish back)

More examples

这道菜太咸了，我要退菜并换一份。zhè dào cài tài xián le wǒ yào tuì cài bìng huàn yí fèn

This dish is too salty, so I want to send it back and exchange it for another.

Core concept

A restaurant dish is taken out of the current meal, whether it is still part of the order or already on the table.

Common phrases

  • 退菜并换一份tuì cài bìng huàn yí fèn

    send a dish back and exchange it for another

  • 直接退菜zhí jiē tuì cài

    directly send a dish back

Similar words

取消qǔ xiāo: Stopping an order or reservation before it is carried out.
退单tuì dān: Calling off an entire order after it has been placed.
退款tuì kuǎn: Receiving a return of money already paid.
换菜huàn cài: Exchanging an ordered dish for another dish.

Definition in Chinese

将已点但不想要的菜取消，或把已上桌的菜要求收回，表示不再要该道菜，常因菜品质量或点错而发生。jiāng yǐ diǎn dàn bù xiǎng yào de cài qǔ xiāo huò bǎ yǐ shàng zhuō de cài yāo qiú shōu huí biǎo shì bú zài yào gāi dào cài cháng yīn cài pǐn zhì liàng huò diǎn cuò ér fā shēng

Word origin

退 (tuì, "withdraw or return") + 菜 (cài, "dish") forms a literal service term for withdrawing a prepared dish from a meal.

Usage tips

  • For takeaway or delivery, refund or order-cancellation language is clearer because there is no table-service dish to bring back.

Other meanings

  • cancel the orderverb

Opposites

  • 吃完chī wánfinish eatingverb

Word lists with this word