Learn Essential Chinese Coffee Vocabulary!
- Dao Mandarin
- Dec 3
- 2 min read
Are you new to China and strugling to use the right name for your favorite coffee ? Drinking coffee is becoming more and more popular in China, and many coffee names are directly transliterated into Chinese. Today, let's learn the Chinese vocabulary for common coffees and the expressions frequently used when ordering coffee. Mastering this vocabulary will allow you to easily blend into coffee shop conversations!
1. Common Coffee Types (常见的咖啡种类).
2. Useful Expressions for Ordering Coffee
When ordering coffee in China, people usually mention coffee type咖啡类型 + size大小 + hot/iced 热/冷 + milk/sugar preferences 加奶/糖 喜好.
Below are common expressions with explanations and example sentences.
3. How to Order Coffee (点咖啡时可以这么说)
Ordering coffee in China is actually very simple once you understand the basic structure people use. Most customers follow a clear pattern: coffee type + temperature + cup size + sugar/milk preferences. This makes your order easy for baristas to understand.
In everyday situations, people tend to keep it short and natural, saying things like “One iced Americano, no sugar” or “A large latte with oat milk.” If you want to sound more polite, you can start with softening phrases such as “Could you please…,” “Can I have…,” or “Would you help me make…?” During the ordering process, baristas may also ask follow-up questions like whether you want it hot or iced, how much sugar you prefer, or if you want it for here or to-go.
Learning these common expressions and responses will make your ordering experience smoother and help you sound more like a native speaker. In this section, you’ll find natural, practical, and commonly used sentences for ordering coffee in real-life situations.
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