Chinese Vocabulary: Staple Foods

Discover the must-know staple foods in Chinese for a delicious culinary experience.

Your Quest to Mastery

1. Study the Vocabulary

Start by reading and listening to the words in the Vocabulary List to build your foundational knowledge.

2. Test Your Knowledge

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Vocabulary List

English Chinese Pronunciation
Rice
米饭
mi fan
Bread
面包
mian bao
Pasta
意大利面
yi da li mian
Potatoes
土豆
tu dou
Beans
豆子
dou zi
Lentils
扁豆
bian dou
Oats
燕麦
yan mai
Flour
面粉
mian fen
Cornmeal
玉米面
yu mi mian
Noodles
面条
mian tiao
Couscous
库斯库斯
ku si ku si
Quinoa
藜麦
li mai
Barley
大麦
da mai
Tortillas
玉米饼
yu mi bing
Cereal
谷类食品
gu lei shi pin
Sugar
tang
Salt
yan
Cooking oil
食用油
shi yong you
Eggs
鸡蛋
ji dan
Milk
牛奶
niu nai

Crucial Grammar Rule: Measure Words in Chinese

In Chinese, when talking about quantities of staple foods, you must use specific ‘measure words’ known as 量词 (liàngcí). For example, when counting bowls of rice, you would say 一碗米饭 (yī wǎn mǐfàn), where 碗 (wǎn) is the measure word for bowl.

Games for Chinese Vocabulary: Staple Foods

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