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

• ³Ô ³¦³ó¨© - eat

• ºÈ ³ó¨¥ - drink

Did you know?

While this is the same as English, it does mean that 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.

Talking about food and drink in Mandarin

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