How to order food in a Chinese restaurant with the right measure words?

The Chinese language has special words, known as measure words (量词/量詞/liàngcí), that are used with numbers to define the quantity of a given object, or with demonstratives such as “this” and “that” to identify specific objects.

Below is a small introduction to these words when it comes to food.

• 你好， 请 给 我 菜 单，谢 谢。
• 你好， 請 給 我 菜 單，謝 謝。
• Hello, Can I have the menu, please
• nǐ hǎo，qǐng gěi wǒ cài dān，xiè xie。

• 我 可 以 点 菜 了。
• 我 可 以 點 菜 了。 
• I am ready to order.
• wǒ kě yǐ diǎn cài le

Measure word 份/fèn

• 我 想 要 一份 …
• 我 想 要 一份 …
• wǒ xiǎng yào yífèn …
• Can I have one …

• … 炒饭/炒飯 [chǎo fàn] fried rice
• … 炒青菜 [chǎo qīng cài] fried vegetable
• … 糖醋鱼/糖醋魚 [táng cù yú] sweet and sour fish
• … 凤梨虾球/鳳梨蝦球 [fèng lí xiā qiú] pineapple and shrimp ball
• … 皮蛋豆腐 [pí dàn dòu fǔ] preserved egg and tofu 

Measure word 碗/wǎn

• 我 想 要 一碗 …
• 我 想 要 一碗 …
• wǒ xiǎng yào yìwǎn …
• Can I have one …

• … 汤/湯 [tāng] soup
• … 饭/飯 [fàn] rice
• … 面/麵 [miàn] noodle
• … 稀饭/稀飯 [xī fàn] porridge

Measure word 杯/bēi

• 我 想 要 一杯 …
• 我 想 要 一杯 …
• wǒ xiǎng yào yìbēi …
• Can I have one …

• … 水 [shuǐ] water
• … 咖啡 [kā fēi] coffee
• … 茶 [chá] tea
• … 可乐/可樂 [kě lè] coke
• … 豆浆/豆漿 [dòu jiāng] soybean milk
• … 奶茶 [nǎi chá] milk tea

Measure word 个/個/ge

• 我 想 要 一个 …
• 我 想 要 一個 …
• wǒ xiǎng yào yíge …
• Can I have one …

• … 水饺/水餃 [shuǐ jiǎo] dumpling
• … 包子 [bāo zi] steamed buns
• … 馒头/饅頭 [mán tou] steamed bread

Measure word 笼/籠/lóng

• 我 想 要 一笼 …
• 我 想 要 一籠 …
• wǒ xiǎng yào yìlóng …
• Can I have one …

• … 小笼包/小籠包 [xiǎo lóng bāo] soup dumpling
• … 蒸饺/蒸餃 [zhēng jiǎo] steamed dumpling

More details on the Chinese measure words can be found at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_classifier

Shu Ting from ChineseTeachers.com