Ordering Food: A Restaurant Dialogue

No skill pays off faster than ordering a meal, and Chinese restaurant talk runs on a small, fixed toolkit of patterns. This page walks through a natural HSK2 dialogue between a 服务员 (fúwùyuán, "waiter/server") and a customer — from being seated to paying the bill — and annotates the grammar that makes it work: 要 and 来 for "I'll have," the measure words every dish and drink demands (个, 碗, 瓶, 位), 还是 for "either/or" questions, the softener 点儿, and the money phrases 多少钱 and 买单. Learn this exchange and you can walk into almost any Chinese eatery and be understood.

The text

Roles: W = 服务员 (server), C = 客人 (customer).

W： 你们好，请问几位？ C： 两位，谢谢。 W： 请坐。你们想吃点儿什么？ C： 我要一个宫保鸡丁，再来一碗米饭。 W： 好的。喝点儿什么？喝茶还是喝饮料？ C： 来一瓶啤酒吧。 W： 好，还要别的吗？ C： 不要了，谢谢。 C： 服务员，买单！一共多少钱？ W： 一共三十五块。

"— Hello, how many in your party? — Two, thanks. — Please have a seat. What would you like to eat? — I'll have a Kung Pao chicken, and a bowl of rice too. — Sure. Anything to drink? Tea or a soft drink? — A bottle of beer, please. — Alright, anything else? — No, that's all, thanks. — Waiter, the check! How much altogether? — Thirty-five yuan in total."

Line by line

1. Seating — 几位? 几 (jǐ) asks "how many" for a small number, and 位 (wèi) is the polite measure word for people. 请问 ("may I ask") softens it. 几位 is the fixed greeting every host uses.

2. Answering with a bare measure word. 两位 — "two (people)." Note 两 (liǎng), not 二, before a measure word, and note that 人 is dropped: the 位 already implies people.

3. Taking the order — 想 + verb + 点儿. 想 (xiǎng) is "would like to," softer than plain 要. 点儿 (diǎnr, "a bit / some") softens 什么 into a gentle "something": 吃点儿什么 = "have a little something to eat?"

4. Ordering — 要 and 来, each with a measure word. 要 (yào) is the workhorse "I'll have / I want." 再来一碗 adds an item — 来 (lái) here means "bring me / give me," a very natural ordering verb. Each dish needs its measure word: a plate-dish takes 个, rice takes 碗 (bowl).

5. Drinks — a 还是 choice question. 还是 (háishi) offers "A or B?" in a question: 喝茶还是喝饮料 = "drink tea or a soft drink?" Crucially, "or" in a question is 还是, not 或者.

6. A bottle — 来一瓶. Again 来 for "give me," with the measure word 瓶 (píng, "bottle") for the beer. 吧 (ba) softens it into a relaxed suggestion rather than a demand.

7. "Anything else?" — a 吗 question. 还 (hái, "still / more") + 要 + 别的 ("something else") + the yes/no particle 吗. This is the plain yes/no question: statement + 吗.

8. Declining — 不要了. 不要了 (bú yào le) means "no more / that's all" — the 了 signals a change: "we're done ordering now."

9. The check — 买单 and 多少钱. 买单 (mǎidān) is "get the bill / pay." 多少钱 (duōshao qián) is the fixed "how much (money)?" — 多少 asks about larger, open-ended amounts.

10. The total — 块. In speech, money is counted in 块 (kuài), the spoken word for 元 (yuán). 一共 (yígòng) is "in total."

Grammar in this text

要 vs 想 — "I'll have" vs "I'd like"

要 (yào) before a noun is a direct "I want / I'll have" — perfectly polite in a restaurant. 想 (xiǎng) before a verb is the softer "would like to." The server opens with the gentle 想吃点儿什么; the customer answers with the crisp 我要一个… — both are natural. For the fuller contrast, see 想 / 要 / 打算.

来 as an ordering verb

Beyond "come," 来 (lái) is a casual ordering verb meaning "bring me / give me / I'll take": 来一瓶啤酒, 再来一碗米饭, 来两个菜. It's friendlier and quicker than 要 and extremely common at the table.

Measure words are obligatory

You cannot say 一宫保鸡丁 or 一啤酒. Every counted noun needs a measure word between the number and the noun. The default is 个 (gè), but food and drink pull in specific ones: 碗 (bowl of rice/soup), 瓶 (bottle), 杯 (cup/glass), 盘 (plate), 份 (portion). People take the polite 位 — see 位 vs 个 for people.

还是 — "or" only in questions

还是 (háishi) offers a choice in a question: 喝茶还是喝水. Its statement-cousin is 或者 (huòzhě), used for "or" in a non-question ("tea or water is fine"). Mixing them up is the single most common ordering error — see below.

吗 vs 多少 — two question types

Chinese has two ways to ask. 还要别的吗 is a yes/no question: statement + 吗. 多少钱 is a question-word question — 多少 replaces the unknown amount, and you add no 吗. Use one or the other, never both. On sizing up amounts, compare 几 vs 多少.

点儿 — the ordering softener

点儿 turns a request from blunt to gracious: 吃点儿什么, 喝点儿什么, 来点儿米饭. It says "a little / some" and takes the edge off. It's part of a family of softeners like 一下 and 一点儿. Ordering also carries real food-culture conventions — who orders, sharing dishes, and how the bill is settled.

Vocabulary

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
服务员	fúwùyuán	waiter, server
位	wèi	MW for people (polite)
想	xiǎng	would like to
点儿	diǎnr	a bit, some (softener)
要	yào	to want; I'll have
宫保鸡丁	gōngbǎo jīdīng	Kung Pao chicken
再	zài	additionally, also (more)
来	lái	bring me, I'll take (ordering)
碗	wǎn	bowl (MW)
米饭	mǐfàn	(cooked) rice
还是	háishi	or (in a question)
饮料	yǐnliào	soft drink, beverage
瓶	píng	bottle (MW)
啤酒	píjiǔ	beer
别的	bié de	something else, other
买单	mǎidān	get the bill, pay
一共	yígòng	in total, altogether
多少钱	duōshao qián	how much (money)?
块	kuài	yuan (spoken)

Common Mistakes

1. Dropping the measure word. Every counted dish needs one — you can't order "one Kung Pao chicken" without 个.

2. Adding 吗 to a question-word question. 多少 already asks the question; 吗 is redundant and wrong.

3. Using 或者 in a choice question. In a question, "A or B" is 还是, not 或者.

4. Saying 二 instead of 两 before a measure word. "Two of something" is 两, not 二.

Key Takeaways

• Order with 要 ("I'll have") or the friendly 来 ("bring me"): 我要一个…, 来一瓶….
• Measure words are obligatory: 一个 (dish), 一碗 (rice), 一瓶 (bottle), 一位 (person) — never a bare number + noun.
• "Or" in a question is 还是; in a statement it's 或者.
• Ask amounts with the question word 多少钱 — and add no 吗; use 吗 only for yes/no questions.
• Before a measure word, "two" is 两, not 二; pay by calling 买单 and reading the total in 块.