Chinese dish names are assembled, not invented. Nearly every one is cooking method + flavour + main ingredient: 红烧 red-braised + 肉 pork = 红烧肉. Learn about a dozen method characters, eight flavour characters and twenty ingredients — roughly 50 characters — and a menu with no pictures and no English becomes readable, including dishes you have never seen.
Every learner has the same restaurant story. The menu arrives, there are no pictures, the waiter is standing there, and the only strategy left is to point at something and hope. Sometimes you get a plate of extraordinary food. Sometimes you get a bowl of chicken feet in chilli oil, which is also extraordinary food, but not what anyone ordered on purpose.
What makes this frustrating is that Chinese menus are more systematic than English ones. An English menu says “Grandma’s Special.” A Chinese menu tells you exactly how the thing was cooked, what it tastes of and what is in it — in three or four characters. The information is right there. You just need the key.
The twelve method characters
Notice that almost all of them carry 火 (fire) or the four-dot fire radical 灬 underneath. That is not decoration — it is the category marker, and it is how you can guess that an unfamiliar character on a menu is a cooking method.
The flavour characters, including the one English has no word for
鲜 deserves its own note: it is fish 鱼 beside lamb 羊, and it names the deep savoury taste English borrowed from Japanese as umami. On a menu it promises freshness and depth rather than seasoning.
Set 3 · What is in itTwenty ingredients that cover most of the menu
| Character | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鸡 | jī | chicken (鸡蛋 jīdàn = egg) |
| 牛 | niú | beef |
| 猪 / 肉 | zhū / ròu | pork — and note that bare 肉 on a menu means pork by default |
| 羊 | yáng | lamb, mutton |
| 鱼 | yú | fish |
| 虾 | xiā | prawn, shrimp |
| 豆腐 | dòufu | tofu |
| 鸡蛋 | jīdàn | egg |
| 土豆 | tǔdòu | potato (literally earth-bean) |
| 茄子 | qiézi | aubergine, eggplant |
| 白菜 | báicài | Chinese cabbage |
| 青菜 | qīngcài | green leafy vegetables |
| 木耳 | mù'ěr | wood ear fungus (literally tree ear) |
| 香菇 | xiānggū | shiitake mushroom |
| 米饭 | mǐfàn | steamed rice |
| 面 | miàn | noodles |
| 丝 | sī | shredded (a cutting style, not an ingredient) |
| 片 | piàn | sliced |
| 丁 | dīng | diced into cubes |
| 块 | kuài | cut in chunks |
Those last four are the quiet heroes. 肉丝 is shredded pork, 肉片 sliced pork, 鸡丁 diced chicken, 鸡块 chicken pieces — the same animal, four different dishes, decided by one character.
AssemblyTen famous dishes, taken apart
Section headings and ordering words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 凉菜 | liángcài | Cold dishes — ordered first, eaten while the kitchen works. |
| 热菜 | rècài | Hot dishes — the main body of the menu. |
| 主食 | zhǔshí | Staples: rice, noodles, dumplings, buns. |
| 汤 | tāng | Soup. |
| 小吃 | xiǎochī | Snacks, small plates — literally small-eats. |
| 饮料 | yǐnliào | Drinks. |
| 招牌菜 | zhāopáicài | Signature dish — order this one. |
| 份 / 例 | fèn / lì | A portion. 大份 large, 小份 small. |
| 微辣 | wēi là | Mildly spicy. Scale: 不辣 → 微辣 → 中辣 → 特辣. |
| 不要香菜 | bù yào xiāngcài | No coriander — possibly the single most useful sentence here. |
| 打包 | dǎbāo | To take the leftovers away. |
| 买单 | mǎidān | The bill, please. 结账 jiézhàng works too. |
What actually changes when you can read the menu
It is not really about food. It is that the menu is the first wall most learners hit where studying and living stop being separate activities. Every character above is an HSK character you were going to learn anyway — 牛, 鱼, 香, 水, 红, 肉 — but here they arrive attached to something you want. That is the moment the language stops feeling like homework.
Point your camera at the menu
Hanzijo's on-device OCR scanner reads any menu, sign or label through your camera and returns characters, pinyin and meaning — then anything you scan becomes a flashcard with an exclusive mnemonic built from real components. The 7-stage SRS engine schedules each one for the moment before you would forget, the tone trainer and native audio fix the pronunciation, and the home, lock screen and test widgets keep it all in front of you. Then the full path: HSK 1–9 characters, vocabulary and grammar, reading and listening practice, HSK mock tests, and a conversation track with shadowing for ordering out loud.
Learn Chinese with Hanzijo - FreeQuick reference
- The formula: cooking method + flavour + ingredient (+ cut).
- Methods: 炒 爆 炸 煎 蒸 煮 炖 焖 烧 烤 拌 涮 — most carry 火 or 灬.
- Flavours: 辣 chilli heat vs 麻 Sichuan-pepper numbness. 鲜 is savoury depth.
- Cuts: 丝 shredded, 片 sliced, 丁 diced, 块 chunks.
- Traps: 鱼香 has no fish, 水煮 is not gentle, bare 肉 means pork.
- Ordering: 微辣 mild, 不要香菜 no coriander, 打包 takeaway box, 买单 the bill.
Frequently asked questions
Do 鱼香 dishes contain fish?
No. 鱼香 is a Sichuan seasoning of pickled chilli, garlic, ginger, sugar and vinegar traditionally used for cooking fish. 鱼香肉丝 is shredded pork in that sauce, with no fish in it at all.
What is the difference between 麻 and 辣?
辣 is chilli heat; 麻 is the tingling numbness of Sichuan pepper. 麻辣 is both together. For heat without numbness, look for 香辣.
How do I order food less spicy?
The scale is 不辣 → 微辣 → 中辣 → 特辣. Say 微辣，谢谢. Also useful: 不要香菜 (no coriander), 不要葱 (no spring onion).
What does 红烧 mean?
Red-braised: slow-cooked in soy sauce, sugar and rice wine until the sauce reduces dark and glossy. Its relatives are 清蒸 plainly steamed, 干煸 dry-fried, 水煮 poached in chilli oil and 糖醋 sweet and sour.
How can I read a menu if I only know a few characters?
Learn the three sets rather than dish names: twelve methods, eight flavours, twenty ingredients. That is around fifty characters, and it decodes thousands of dishes. Scan whatever is left with the OCR scanner and keep it as review cards.
Keep reading
How to Order Food in Chinese
The sentences that go with the menu, from 来一个 to 买单.
The 60 Chinese Signs You See Every Day
Doors, tills, warnings and the discount rule that catches everyone out.
Free HSK Level Test
24 questions across HSK 1 to 6. Find your real level in five minutes.