Mandarin Month: How to Order a Pizza in Chinese
Due to the 40 percent likelihood of rain tomorrow afternoon, we are postponing our Mandarin Month Social on the Q Bar roofdeck to Sunday, June 25, which calls for sunny skies. Apologies for the change in plans, we tried bribing the officials in the Weather Bureau to stop the rain, but it didn't work.
In the lead up to our Mandarin Month mixer on June 24 June 25, where you'll be able to meet with Beijing's best Mandarin schools, we'll be dishing out some language-learning advice on a daily basis. Read on if you don't want to wait to get started on improving your 中文. Mandarin Month is sponsored by Sanfine International Hospital.
The ultimate comfort food that Italians gifted the world is pizza. Of course, the world quickly embraced it with open arms and made infinite variations, including many that would surely make the pizza gods want to roll over in their lofty graves in anguish. But what if you wanted to try them all?
Beijing has an abundance of pizza eateries that foreigners may want to try but might not be able to because many places only come with a Chinese-only menu, or staff are trained to understand certain orders, but what if you want to ask for something that’s not on the menu? Fear not, as Tube Station will guide you through the words and phrases that you'll need to make sure your next pizza eating expedition goes exactly to plan, no matter your dietary needs.
Useful words
Pizza 比萨 bǐ sà /披萨 pī sà
Half and half 双拼 shuāng pīn
Tomato sauce 番茄酱 fānqié jiàng
Double cheese 双倍奶酪 shuāngbèi nǎilào
Crust 饼底 bǐngdǐ
Thick crust 厚饼 hòubǐng
Thin crust 薄饼 báobǐng
Oven 烤箱 kǎoxiāng
Large size 大号 dàhào
Middle size 中号 zhōnghào
Small size 小号 xiǎohào
Toppings 馅料 xiànliào
Pepperoni 意大利香肠 yìdàlì xiāngcháng
Pizza toss 抛饼 pāobǐng
Tabasco 辣椒仔辣酱 là jiāo zǎi làjiàng
Delivery 外卖 wàimài
Reservation 预定 yùdìng
Take away 打包 dǎbāo
Doggie bag 打包袋 dǎbāo dài
Pizza board 比萨板 bǐsà bǎn
Pizza cutter 比萨刀 bǐsà dāo
Useful ordering phrases
Q: What’s the tastiest pizza here?
你们家最好吃的比萨是哪个？
Nǐmen jiā zuì hǎochī de bǐsà shì nǎgè?
A: All of them. But the Garbage Pail is the most popular.
都好吃。不过垃圾桶点的最多。
Dōu hǎochī. Búguò lājī tǒng diǎnde zuìduō.
Q: I will have about 10 friends coming, how many pizzas do I have to order?
一会儿我有大概10个哥们儿要来，需要点几张比萨？
Yīhuì ér wǒyǒu dàgài shígè gēmen ér yàolái, xūyào diǎn jǐzhāng bǐsà?
A: If you order the 32-inch Party Monster, then one is enough.
要是点32寸的派对怪兽，那一张就够了。
Yàoshì diǎn sān shí èr cùn de pài duìguàishòu, nà yīzhāng jiùgòu le.
Q: I’m a meat lover, I want to eat lots of meat. But my friend is a vegetarian, what should we order?
我是一个肉食动物，我想吃很多很多肉的比萨。但是我朋友只吃素，怎么点？
Wǒshì yīgè ròushí dòngwù, wǒxiǎng chī hěnduō hěnduō ròu de bǐsà. Dànshì wǒ péngyǒu zhī chīsù, zěn me diǎn?
A: I suggest ordering a half and half pizza. One-half Meat Grinder, which is packed full of meat, and the other a Creek Champion, which only has caramelized onions and Greek feta cheese.
那您可以选择双拼，一半绞肉机比萨，里边全是肉. 一半是希腊冠军，只有焦糖洋葱和希腊飞达奶酪。
Nà nín kěyǐ xuǎn zé shuāngpīn, yībàn jiǎoròujī bǐsà, lǐbiān quánshì ròu. Yībàn shì xīlà guànjūn, zhīyǒu jiāotáng yángcōng hé xī là fēidá nǎilào.
Q: I can’t finish these, can I take them away?
吃不完能打包吗？
Chī bú wán néng dǎbāo ma?
A: Sure. And you can reheat them using an oven, microwave, or even a frying pan.
当然。回家用烤箱、微波炉、平底锅都可以加热。
Dāngrán.Huíjiā yòng kǎoxiāng, wēibōlú, píngdǐguō dōu kěyǐ jiārè.
Phrases to order in
Hello, how can I help you?
您好，有什么可以帮到您？
Nín hǎo, yǒu shénme kěyǐ bāng dào nín?
Hello, I’d like to order some pizza.
您好，我想订比萨。
Nín hǎo, wǒxiǎng dìng bǐsà.
Sure, what kind of pizza would you like?
可以的，您想订什么口味的？
Kěyǐ de, nín xiǎng dìng shénme kǒu wèi de?
A large half Hawaiian, half tuna melt, and mozzarella cheese sticks.
一半夏威夷，一半熔化金枪鱼，大号的。再来一份马祖里拉奶酪棒。
Yībàn xiàwēiyí, yībàn rónghuà jīnqiāngyú，dà hàode. Zàilái yīfèn mǎzǔlǐ lā nǎilàobàng.
No problem. Where should we deliver to?
没问题。请问送到哪里？
Méi wèntí. Qǐngwèn sòngdào nǎlǐ?
I live at 68 Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng District.
我住在东城区五道营胡同68号。
Wǒ zhùzài dōngchéng qū wǔdàoyíng hútóng liù shí bā hào.
And your name and phone number?
您的姓名和手机号？
Nín de xìngmíng hé shǒujī hào?
Name, 138 0000 0000.
Name, 138后面8个。
Name, Yāo sān bā hòu miàn bā gè líng.
All right, your delivery should arrive in about an hour, depending on traffic.
好的，外卖会在一小时左右送达，看交通情况。
Hǎode, wàimài huìzài yīxiǎoshí zuǒyòu sòngdá, kàn jiāotōng qíngkuàng.
So slow! I’m starving!
这么慢！我饿死了！
Zhème màn! Wǒ è sǐ le!
I’m really sorry; all pizzas in our restaurant are hand-tossed. We will try to hurry up.
真的很抱歉，我们都是手工抛饼的，会尽量快一些的。
Zhēnde hěn bàoqiàn, wǒmen dōu shì shǒugōng pāobǐng de, huì jìnliàng kuài yīxiē de.
Okay then, just hurry.
好吧，快一点吧。
Hǎoba, kuài yīdiǎn ba.
Ok, thanks for your order, goodbye!
好的。谢谢您的订餐,再见！
Hǎode. Xièxiè nín de dìngcān, zàijiàn!
Keep on track with your studies with all of our 2017 Mandarin Month content here, and don't forget to register for our June 25 mixer here.
If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of 2017 Mandarin Month or an exhibitor at the Mandarin Month Mixer of June 25, please call 5941 0368 or contact us via sales@truerun.com. For media partnership opportunities, please call 5941 5379 or contact us via marketing@truerun.com.
This post is paid for by Tube Station.
Photos courtesy of Tube Station
