Ordering Beverages

China's most famous beverage is tea, and rightly so. The Chinese have been cultivating tea for thousands of years, and the methods for processing tea have remained virtually unchanged for hundreds of years.

There are many types of tea within the three main categories: green tea, oolong tea and black tea. Any visit to China or Taiwan is not complete without a sampling of the fine tea that's available.

More Than Tea

But tea is not the only drink you can buy. There are all kinds of fruit juices, soft drinks, beers and wines to sample. Non-alcoholic drinks are available at coffee shops and tea stands, and bars and restaurants also serve beer, wine, and liquor.

Many drinks are served sweetened, but you can also order them without sugar (bù jiā táng) or with just a bit of sugar (bàn táng). Coffee is usually served with creamer and bags of sugar on the side. Green tea and oolong tea are usually served without sugar or milk. Black tea with milk is called "milk tea," and may be sweetened according to taste.

Here are some popular beverages you will find in China and Taiwan. Click on the link in the Pinyin column to hear the pronunciation.

 

English	Pinyin	Traditional Characters	Simplified Characters
Tea	chá	茶	茶
Black tea	hóng chá	紅茶	红茶
Oolong tea	wūlóng chá	烏龍茶	乌龙茶
Green tea	lǜ chá	綠茶	绿茶
Coffee	kāfēi	咖啡	咖啡
Black coffee	hēi kāfēi	黑咖啡	黑咖啡
Cream	nǎi jīng	奶精	奶精
Sugar	táng	糖	糖
No sugar	bù jiā táng	不加糖	不加糖
Half sugar	bàn táng	半糖	半糖
Milk	niú nǎi	牛奶	牛奶
Juice	guǒ zhī	果汁	果汁
Orange juice	liǔchéng zhī	柳橙汁	柳橙汁
Apple juice	píngguǒ zhī	蘋果汁	苹果汁
Pineapple juice	fènglí zhī	鳳梨汁	凤梨汁
Lemonade	níngméng zhī	檸檬汁	柠檬汁
Watermelon juice	xīguā zhī	西瓜汁	西瓜汁
Soft drinks	yǐn liào	飲料	饮料
Cola	kělè	可樂	可乐
Water	kāi shuǐ	開水	开水
Mineral water	kuàng quán shuǐ	礦泉水	矿泉水
Ice water	bīng shuǐ	冰水	冰水
Ice	bīng	冰	冰
Beer	píjiǔ	啤酒	啤酒
Wine	pútáo jiǔ	葡萄酒	葡萄酒
Red Wine	hóng jiǔ	紅酒	红酒
White wine	bái jiǔ	白酒	白酒
Sparkling wine	qìpāo jiǔ	氣泡酒	气泡酒
Champagne	xiāng bīn	香檳	香槟
Wine list	jiǔ dān	酒單	酒单
I would like ... .	Wǒ yào ... .	我要...	我要... .
I will have this.	Wǒ yào zhègè.	我要這個｡	我要这个｡