How to order the food and drinks

When we talk about the food and drinks, the measure words are often used. In Chinese, we always use a measure word for a noun with a number. Here are some examples about food.

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• 一份牛肉 (yí fèn niúròu) an order of beef
• 一份羊肉 (yí fèn yángròu) an order of lamb
• 一份炒饭 (yí fèn chǎofàn) an order of fried-rice
  “份(fèn)” is a measure word for an order of something.

• 一碗米饭 (yì wǎn mǐfàn) a bowl of rice
• 一碗面条 (yì wǎn miàntiáo) a bowl of noodles
  “碗(wǎn)” literally means bowl. If the food is put in the bowls, we use the measure word “碗(wǎn)”.

Here are more examples about different drinks.
一杯茶 (yì bēi chá) a cup of tea
一瓶茶 (yì píng chá) a bottle of tea
一壶茶 (yì hú chá) a pot of tea
一杯咖啡 (yì bēi kāfēi) a cup of coffee
两瓶啤酒 (liǎng píng píjiǔ) two bottles of beer

So if it is some liquid, the measure word comes from the container.

There is another measure word we use often, which is “个(gè)”.
三个人 (sān gè rén) three persons
两个苹果 (liǎng gè píngguǒ) two apples
一个杯子 (yí gè bēizi) one cup

The following sentence pattern can be used for ordering the food and drink.
我(Wǒ) 要(yào)+food or drink

“要(yào)” means want something. In restaurant or store, if you want to be more polite, you can say “我想要(wǒ xiǎng yào)”.

Are you accustomed to using measure words now? If you still feel confused about measure words, you are welcome to leave us comments.