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In Mandarin, there are two important verbs to remember for food and drink:

• ³Ô ³¦³ó¨© - eat

• ºÈ ³ó¨¥ - drink

There are two different ways to say delicious in Mandarin:

• ºÃ³Ô h¨£o ³¦³ó¨© - good to eat
• ºÃºÈ h¨£o ³ó¨¥ - good to drink

You can add ºÜ ³ó¨§²Ô (very) to the beginning of these phrases too.

To say what food and drink you do or do not like in Mandarin use:

• ÎÒϲ»¶³Ô °Â¨¯ x¨« hu¨¡n ³¦³ó¨© - I like to eat¡­

• ÎÒϲ»¶ºÈ °Â¨¯ x¨« hu¨¡n ³ó¨¥ - I like to drink¡­

• ÎÒ²»Ï²»¶³Ô °Â¨¯ ²ú¨´ x¨« hu¨¡n ³¦³ó¨© - I »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù like to eat¡­

• ÎÒ²»Ï²»¶ºÈ °Â¨¯ ²ú¨´ x¨« hu¨¡n ³ó¨¥ - I »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù like to drink¡­

You can fill in the gap with some of the following foods and drinks:

If you like orange juice, but you »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù like vegetables, try the following in Mandarin:

• ÎÒϲ»¶ºÈ³ÈÖ­ °Â¨¯ x¨« hu¨¡n ³ó¨¥ ch¨¦ng zh¨© - I like drinking orange juice

• ÎÒ²»Ï²»¶³ÔÊß²Ë °Â¨¯ ²ú¨´ x¨« hu¨¡n ³¦³ó¨© sh¨± c¨¤i - I »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù like eating vegetables

To combine these two statements, µ«ÊÇ d¨¤n sh¨¬ (however) can be used.

You can also talk about food and drink in Mandarin using:

• ÎÒÏë °Â¨¯ ³æ¾±¨£²Ô²µ - I want to¡­

• ÎÒ²»Ïë °Â¨¯ ²ú¨´ ³æ¾±¨£²Ô²µ - I »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù want to

For example:

• ÎÒÏë³ÔÊíÌõ °Â¨¯ ³æ¾±¨£²Ô²µ ³¦³ó¨© sh¨³ ti¨¢o - I want to eat chips

• ÎÒ²»ÏëºÈË® °Â¨¯ ²ú¨´ ³æ¾±¨£²Ô²µ ³ó¨¥ ²õ³ó³Ü¨« - I »å´Ç²Ô¡¯³Ù want to drink water

Now you've learnt how to talk about food and drink in Mandarin, let's put it into a conversation!

(Two pupils are chatting in the queue for school dinners)

Andrew: Äãϲ»¶³Ôʲô?

N¨« x¨«hu¨¡n ³¦³ó¨© sh¨¦nme?

What do you like to eat?

Cara: ÎÒϲ»¶³ÔÈþÃ÷ÖÎ. ÄãÄØ?

°Â¨¯ x¨«hu¨¡n ³¦³ó¨© s¨¡nm¨ªngzh¨¬. N¨« ne?

I like to eat sandwiches. What about you?

Andrew: ÎÒϲ»¶±ÈÈøºÍÊíÌõ. ºÜºÃ³Ô.

°Â¨¯ x¨«hu¨¡n b¨«s¨¤ h¨¦ sh¨³ ti¨¢o. H¨§n h¨£o ³¦³ó¨©.

I like pizza and chips. Delicious.

Why not practise what you've learnt by reading I'm hungry! in Mandarin.

You could even make Chinese dumplings or snowflake cake - or find out what is eaten during special celebrations such as Chinese New Year and the Mid-Autumn Festival.