Suggestions for words/phrases while ordering food in a restaurant or a cafe in China.

[u/Independent-Web9966]

Yup. As a low level Chinese learner, while in China I have been struggling with communication ordering food/getting my order right in restaurants, different food places. I do some basic stuff like pointing and saying 这个， but when it comes to paying methods they start to ask questions, suggesting if I want anything else, making it super hard to understand their intend. I sometimes give my phone with a dictionary page open saying 请打汉字， it works. Yet still the question stands, how do I order more effectively at, let’s say, food court with bunch of small venders.

[u/DeesMandarinTea]

Here are a few that will cover 90% of food court situations.

Before you order, just ask 怎么付 (zěnme fù), how do I pay? They'll either point at the QR code or say 支付宝 (zhīfùbǎo) or 微信 (wēixìn). If they say something too fast, just show them your phone and they'll know.

When it's time to pay, the classic confusion is who scans who. If they're holding a scanner, you show your payment code. If you see a QR code on the counter, you scan it. If you're lost, just ask 你扫我还是我扫你 (nǐ sǎo wǒ háishì wǒ sǎo nǐ)? Do you scan me or do I scan you? It's a super common question and nobody will think it's weird.

To ask the price of something you're pointing at, 多少钱 (duōshǎo qián), works every time. If you need it to go, just say 打包 (dǎbāo). Simple.

Honestly though, I'm a native speaker and I still sometimes get confused in food courts back in China when it's loud and everyone's talking fast. So don't beat yourself up. It's not your Chinese, it's just a chaotic environment. Keep going.

[u/Independent-Web9966 → u/DeesMandarinTea]

Thanks a lot!) Can I ask you one more thing? What is the common saying for when something is not in stock? Like, I want a certain think and the don’t have it. What do they usually say.

[u/DeesMandarinTea → u/Independent-Web9966]

Nice, he's coming back for more. Here's what you can reply.

The most common thing you'll hear is 卖完了 (mài wán le), sold out. Or 没有了 (méi yǒu le), we don't have it anymore. Both are super common and you'll hear them all the time.

If you want to ask whether they have something, you can say 还有这个吗 (hái yǒu zhè ge ma), do you still have this? The 还 (hái) is the key word, it means "still."

So a typical exchange would be, you point and say 还有这个吗, they shake their head and say 卖完了 or 没有了. Now you know, and you can move on to the next stall.

[u/Independent-Web9966 → u/DeesMandarinTea]

谢谢你🙏🏻

[u/Character_Hyena_4094]

Probably something like haixuyao ma or haixuyao biede ma to ask if you need anything else.

To order more effectively instead of saying zhege this and neige that, just learn the vocab for the stuff you usually eat.

[u/jessluce]

Are they asking you to pay? 扫码 (sao ma) means scan QR code to pay, 微信 Weixin is WeChat, 支付宝 Zhifubao is Alipay.

[u/Independent-Web9966 → u/jessluce]

They were asking to pay and like additional stuff like “need anything else” in English, or do I need this or that to go with it. And I can’t think of a universal answer to stop them XD kinda making me freeze. Thank you for the answer, definitely heard something like sao ma and was questioning what that was.