20 Essential Chinese Restaurant Menu, Meat & Cooking Characters for Travelers
Whether you are ordering Sichuan hotpot in Chengdu, scanning a WeChat QR menu in Shanghai, or visiting a Chinatown noodle shop in San Francisco, Chinese menus follow a remarkably logical 3-part formula: [Cooking Method] + [Main Protein/Vegetable] + [Cut/Noodle Style]. For example, 烤 (Roast) + 鸭 (Duck) = 烤鸭 (Peking Roast Duck), and 炒 (Stir-fry) + 饭 (Rice) = 炒饭 (Fried Rice). Master the 20 essential menu characters below, and pair them with live 2-way Mandarin voice translation and allergy cards on https://www.f2f-translator.com.
Complete List of 20 Characters, Pinyin, Radicals & Vocabulary
Click the ✍️ Practice button on any row to launch interactive stroke-order handwriting practice on the canvas.
| No | Hanzi | Pinyin & Radical | Meaning | Example Vocabulary | Strokes | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 牛 | niú 部首: 牛 | Beef, cow (牛肉 Niúròu = Beef, 肥牛 Féiniú = Sliced hotpot beef) | 牛肉面 niúròumiàn Braised beef noodle soup | 4 | ✍️ Practice |
| 2 | 猪 | zhū 部首: 犭 | Pork, pig (Also written simply as 肉 Ròu on Chinese menus!) | 猪肉 / 红烧肉 zhūròu / hóngshāoròu Pork / Braised pork belly | 11 | ✍️ Practice |
| 3 | 鸡 | jī 部首: 鸟 | Chicken, poultry (Look for the bird radical 鸟 on the right) | 宫保鸡丁 Gōngbǎo Jīdīng Kung Pao Chicken | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 4 | 羊 | yáng 部首: 羊 | Lamb, mutton (Two horns at the top — iconic for skewers 羊肉串) | 羊肉串 yángròuchuàn Grilled lamb skewers | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 5 | 鱼 | yú 部首: 鱼 | Fish, seafood | 烤鱼 / 水煮鱼 kǎoyú / shuǐzhǔyú Grilled fish / Poached chili fish | 8 | ✍️ Practice |
| 6 | 虾 | xiā 部首: 虫 | Shrimp, prawn, lobster (Critical for shellfish allergy checks!) | 虾仁 / 小龙虾 xiārén / xiǎolóngxiā Peeled shrimp / Crawfish | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 7 | 素 | sù 部首: 糸 | Vegetarian, plant-based (吃素 Chī sù = Eat vegetarian) | 素菜 / 全素 sùcài / quánsù Vegetarian dishes / Strictly vegan | 10 | ✍️ Practice |
| 8 | 炒 | chǎo 部首: 火 | Stir-fried in a wok (Fire radical 火 on the left + 少) | 蛋炒饭 / 炒面 dànchǎofàn / chǎomiàn Egg fried rice / Stir-fried noodles | 8 | ✍️ Practice |
| 9 | 烤 | kǎo 部首: 火 | Roasted, grilled, barbecued (Fire radical 火 on the left) | 北京烤鸭 / 烧烤 Běijīng kǎoyā / shāokǎo Peking Roast Duck / BBQ skewers | 10 | ✍️ Practice |
| 10 | 蒸 | zhēng 部首: 艹 | Steamed (4 fire/steam dots 灬 rising at the bottom) | 蒸饺 / 清蒸鱼 zhēngjiǎo / qīngzhēngyú Steamed dumplings / Steamed whole fish | 13 | ✍️ Practice |
| 11 | 炸 | zhá 部首: 火 | Deep-fried until crispy (Fire radical 火 on the left) | 炸鸡 / 炸春卷 zhájī / zhá chūnjuǎn Fried chicken / Crispy spring rolls | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 12 | 汤 | tāng 部首: 氵 | Soup, broth (Water radical 氵 on the left) | 酸辣汤 / 小笼汤包 suānlàtāng / xiǎolóng tāngbāo Hot & sour soup / Soup dumplings | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
| 13 | 面 | miàn 部首: 面 | Noodles, wheat flour (拉面 Lāmiàn = Hand-pulled noodles) | 担担面 / 牛肉面 dàndànmiàn / niúròumiàn Dan Dan noodles / Beef noodles | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 14 | 饭 | fàn 部首: 饣 | Cooked rice, meal (Food radical 饣 on the left) | 米饭 / 盖浇饭 mǐfàn / gàijiāofàn Steamed white rice / Rice bowl with toppings | 7 | ✍️ Practice |
| 15 | 饺 | jiǎo 部首: 饣 | Chinese dumplings (Food radical 饣 + 交) | 水饺 / 煎饺 shuǐjiǎo / jiānjiǎo Boiled dumplings / Pan-fried potstickers | 9 | ✍️ Practice |
| 16 | 包 | bāo 部首: 勹 | Steamed bun, wrap, takeaway box (打包 Dǎbāo = To-go box) | 小笼包 / 打包 xiǎolóngbāo / dǎbāo Xiaolongbao soup buns / Pack to go | 5 | ✍️ Practice |
| 17 | 辣 | là 部首: 辛 | Spicy, chili hot (不辣 No spicy, 微辣 Mild, 中辣 Medium, 特辣 Extra spicy) | 不辣 / 微辣 bù là / wēi là Not spicy / Mildly spicy | 14 | ✍️ Practice |
| 18 | 麻 | má 部首: 麻 | Sichuan peppercorn numbing spice, sesame (麻辣 Málà = Numbing & spicy) | 麻辣火锅 / 麻婆豆腐 málà huǒguō / mápó dòufu Mala hotpot / Mapo Tofu | 11 | ✍️ Practice |
| 19 | 甜 | tián 部首: 舌 | Sweet (Tongue 舌 tasting something sweet 甘) | 甜点 / 半糖 tiándiǎn / bàntáng Dessert / Half-sugar (for boba tea) | 11 | ✍️ Practice |
| 20 | 冰 | bīng 部首: 冫 | Ice (2-dot ice radical 冫 on the left — 去冰 Qù bīng = No ice) | 去冰 / 少冰 qù bīng / shǎo bīng No ice / Less ice | 6 | ✍️ Practice |
💡 Study Tips & Exam Strategy
- Remember that on Chinese menus, the word 肉 (ròu = meat) by itself almost always means Pork (猪肉). Beef is always explicitly labeled 牛 (niú), Chicken is 鸡 (jī), and Lamb is 羊 (yáng).
- Spot cooking methods by the Fire radical (火 / 灬): 炒 (stir-fried), 烤 (roasted/grilled), 炸 (deep-fried), 烧 (braised), and 蒸 (steamed).
- Traveling to China with a peanut, shellfish, gluten, or halal dietary restriction? Open F2F Translator's bilingual Food Allergy & China Travel Phrasebooks at https://www.f2f-translator.com/phrasebook/severe-food-allergy-gluten-free-card-japan-china/.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What does 肉 (ròu) mean by itself on a Chinese menu?
When a Chinese dish says 肉 (ròu) without specifying an animal—such as 红烧肉 (Hóngshāoròu) or 肉包 (Ròubāo)—it always means Pork (猪肉). Beef is written 牛肉, Chicken is 鸡肉, and Lamb is 羊肉.
How do I customize spice and ice levels on Chinese QR-code menus?
For spice levels, look for 不辣 (bù là = not spicy), 微辣 (wēi là = mild spicy), or 中辣 (zhōng là = medium spicy). For drinks and bubble tea, look for 正常冰 (regular ice), 少冰 (less ice), 去冰 (no ice), and 半糖 (50% sugar).
How do I say 'No peanuts' or 'No cilantro' in Chinese?
Write or show 不要花生 (bùyào huāshēng = no peanuts) and 不要香菜 (bùyào xiāngcài = no cilantro), or use the full-screen Chef Allergy Safety Cards on https://www.f2f-translator.com.
Unlock All 2,600+ HSK 1–6 Characters, AI Laoshi Mnemonics & Unlimited Tianzige PDF Printing
Get lifetime access for a one-time payment of $4.49 USD (10% OFF the $4.99 Lifetime Pro Pass with promo code HANZI10). Zero monthly subscriptions!
📚 More Chinese Character Study Guides
Essential AP Chinese Language and Culture character list, four-character idioms (成语 Chéngyǔ) for Story Narration and Email Response tasks, stroke order rules, and printable Tianzige PDF worksheets for US high schools and heritage schools.
Lesson-by-lesson character stroke order and radical study guide for Integrated Chinese Level 1 (4th Edition / 中文听说读写) used in US university Chinese 101 & 102 courses (Lessons 1–10).
Free printable Tianzige (田字格) Chinese character worksheets and HSK 1 / YCT stroke order guide for parents and teachers at US weekend Chinese heritage schools (中文学校) and K–12 Mandarin immersion programs.
Stop mixing up look-alike Chinese characters on HSK 1–4 and AP Chinese exams! Master 20 commonly confused Hanzi pairs (买 vs 卖, 请 vs 清 vs 晴 vs 情, 人 vs 入 vs 八, 未 vs 末, 己 vs 已) using semantic radicals and Tianzige stroke rules.
🌏 Aldian Apps Language & Career Ecosystem
Pair your Chinese character handwriting practice with real-time AI interview coaching, face-to-face voice translation, and Japanese Kanji drills:
Practice job interviews with a real-time STAR-method AI teleprompter and meeting transcription →
Practice spoken Mandarin conversation with instant two-way voice translation →
Master all 2,136 Jōyō Kanji (JLPT N5–N1) and print A4 Genkō Yōshi PDF worksheets →