In this Part 3 of my series on Air Travel in Chinese, I will provide you with a sample Chinese dialogue, phrases and vocabulary you will need for the meal and beverage service when flying.
Please check out the other posts in my Air Travel in Chinese series:
- Part 1: Airport Vocabulary and Phrases
- Part 2: Boarding your flight
- Part 3: In-flight meal and beverage service (this post)
- Part 4: Landing and disembarking from the plane
Table of Contents
Dialogue
We will be serving lunch in fifteen minutes.
wǒ huì zài shíwǔ fēnzhōng nèi gōng cān.
<fifteen minutes later>
What would you like to eat for lunch, chicken or fish?
zhōngfàn xiǎng chī shénme, yú háishì jī?
Please give me the chicken.
qǐng gěi wǒ lái fèn jīròu fàn.
Here you go. Enjoy your meal.
gěi nín. xièxiè. qǐng màn yòng.
<later>
Would you mind me taking these things away?
nín jièyì wǒ bǎ zhèxiē dōngxī ná zǒu ma?
Thank you.
xièxiè.
Dialogue Breakdown
We will be serving lunch in fifteen minutes.
我 会 在 十 五 分 钟 内 供 餐 。
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| wǒ | huì | zài | shíwǔ fēnzhōng nèi | gōng cān |
| we | will | in | within 15 minutes | service food (food service) |
Notes:
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十 五 分 钟 内 (shíwǔ fēnzhōng nèi) literally means “fifteen十 五 (shíwǔ) “minutes”分 钟 (fēnzhōng) “within”内 (nèi). If you need further understanding of time check out my post on how to tell the time in Chinese. -
内 (nèi) means “within” or “inside”, for example:- “within two years”
两 年 内 (liǎng niánnèi) - “within twenty-four hours”
2 4 小 时 内 (èrshísì xiǎoshí nèi) - “inside the boat”
在 船 内 (zài chuánnèi)
- “within two years”
- Note that while
内 (nèi) means “inside”, this isn’t commonly used for vehicles, for example:- “in the car”
在 车 里 (zài chē lǐ) where里 (lǐ) means “inside” - “on the plane”
在 飞 机 上 (zài fēijī shàng) where上 (shàng) means “upon”.
- “in the car”
What would you like to eat for lunch, chicken or fish?
中 饭 想 吃 什 么 ， 鱼 还 是 鸡 ？
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| zhōngfàn | xiǎng | chī | shénme | yú | háishì | jī |
| lunch | want | eat | what | fish | or | chicken |
Notes:
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中 饭 (zhōngfàn) means lunch, other vocabulary that is important is:- “lunch”
午 饭 ( wǔfàn ), this is an alternative to中 饭 (zhōngfàn - “breakfast”
早 餐 (zǎocān) - “dinner”
晚 饭 (wǎnfàn)
- “lunch”
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鱼 (yú) means “fish” and鸡 (jī) means “chicken”. Normally you would say “fish meat” or “chicken meat”; here are some examples:- “fish meat”
鱼 肉 (yúròu) - “chicken meat”
鸡 肉 (jīròu) - “beef (cow meat)”
牛 肉 (niúròu) - “pork (pig meat)”
猪 肉 (zhūròu)
- “fish meat”
Please give me the chicken.
请 给 我 来 份 鸡 肉 饭 。
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| qǐng | gěi | wǒ | lái | fèn | jīròu fàn |
| please | give | me | <to come> | <classifier> | chicken rice |
Notes:
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给 我 来 (gěi wǒ lái) means “bring me”, however the来 (lái) character isn’t strictly needed and the speaker could have just said “give me”给 我 (gěi wǒ). Although it doesn’t really matter, I see the difference as being whether the person you are talking to is just giving you something they have in hand, or they are fetching you something from somewhere that they don’t have with them:- ”please bring me a cup of tea”
请 (qǐng gěi wǒ lái bēi chá) - ”please give me a cup of tea”
请 (qǐng gěi wǒ bēi chá)
- ”please bring me a cup of tea”
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份 (fèn) is he classifier or measure word that means “portion” or “share”, so the speaker is asking for one portion of chicken rice (that is a chicken and rice dish).
If you want to know more about classifiers, check out my post on Chinese Classifiers: What are they and how to use them as well as my complete list of Mandarin Chinese classifiers and measure words.
In-flight Meal Service – Chinese Dialogue
Here you go. Enjoy your meal.
给 您 。 谢 谢 。 请 慢 用 。
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| gěi nín | xièxiè | qǐng | màn yòng |
| give you | thank you | please | enjoy your meal |
Notes:
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给 您 (gěi nín) literally means “give you”, however what it actually means is “here you go”. You may also see it written as给 你 (gěi nǐ), which uses the standard word for “you”你 (nǐ) rather than the polite form您 (nín). In the service industry you will more commonly find staff referring to their customers using您 (nín). -
慢 用 (màn yòng) means “enjoy your meal”, although more precisely means “eat slowly”. Taking it easy or slowly is a common way or wishing someone well in Chinese, for example if you are leaving someone may tell you to “walk slowly”慢 走 (man zǒu), however what is mean is “take care” or really just ‘goodbye”.
Would you mind me taking these thing away?
您 介 意 我 把 这 些 东 西 拿 走 吗 ？
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| nín | jièyì | wǒ | bǎ | zhèxiē | dōngxī | ná zǒu | ma |
| you | mind | I | <regarding> | these | things | take away | <question> |
Notees:
- This sentence uses
把 (bǎ) which makes the noun following it a “direct object”, or to put more simply it is emphasising the “these things”这 些 东 西 (zhèxiē dōngxī) rather than the act of them away拿 走 (ná zǒu). Here is the same sentence written with and without把 (bǎ):- “would you mind me taking these things away?”
您 介 意 我 把 这 些 东 西 拿 走 吗 ？ (nín jièyì wǒ bǎ zhèxiē dōngxī ná zǒu ma?) - “would you mind me taking away these things?”
您 介 意 我 拿 走 这 些 东 西 吗 ？ (nín jièyì wǒ ná zǒu zhèxiē dōngxī ma?)
- “would you mind me taking these things away?”
- c
Thank you.
谢 谢 。
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| xièxiè |
| thank you |
In-flight Drink Service – Chinese Dialogue
Now we’ll be serving drinks.
wǒmen mǎshàng yào gōngyìng yǐnliàole.
What would you like to drink?
nín yào hē diǎn shénme?
I’ll have tea please
chá, xièxiè.
Sugar (in your tea)?
(nǐ hē chá) jiātáng ma?
No (black).
bùyào.
Do you have milk (in your tea)?
(nǐ hē chá) jiā niúnǎi ma?
No. I take it black without sugar
bù. wǒ bù jiā niúnǎi, bù jiātáng.
Please pull down your tray table.
qǐng fàngxià nín de xiǎo zhuō bǎn.
Dialogue Breakdown
Now we’ll be serving drinks.
我 们 马 上 要 供 应 饮 料 了 。
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| wǒmen | mǎshàng | yào | gōngyìng | yǐnliào | le |
| we | right now | will | offer | beverage / drink |
<tense> |
Notes:
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马 上 (mǎshàng) means “immediately” or “right now”, which you may have seen written as马 上 就 (mǎshàng jiù), for example:- “I have to go right away”
我 (wǒ mǎshàng jiù dé zǒule) - “I’ll pay you immediately”
我 (wǒ mǎshàng jiù fù gěi nǐ) - “the train is about to leave”
火 车 (huǒchē mǎshàng yào kāile)
- “I have to go right away”
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供 应 (gōngyìng) means “to supply” or “to offer”:- Adding “商” (shāng), which means “commerce” or “merchant”, changes the meaning to “supplier”
供 应 商 (gōngyìng shāng) - “do you serve (provide) breakfast?”
你 (nǐ gōngyìng zǎocān ma)
- Adding “商” (shāng), which means “commerce” or “merchant”, changes the meaning to “supplier”
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饮 料 (yǐnliào) is a generic word for a drink or beverage in English. For example:- “Let me pay for your drink”
我 给 你 付 (wǒ gěi nǐ fù yǐnliào qián) - “I really got (want) to have a drink“ 我很想来杯饮料 (wǒ hěn xiǎnglái yībēi yǐnliào)
- “Let me pay for your drink”
What would you like to drink?
您 要 喝 点 什 么 ?
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| nǐ | yào | hē diǎn | shénme |
| you | want | have a drink of | what |
Notes:
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喝 点 (hē diǎn) means to “have a drink of”, here are some examples：- “what do you want to drink?”
(hē diǎn shénme) - ”I really want a drink”
我 现 在 很 想 (wǒ xiànzài hěn xiǎng hē diǎn dōngxī)
- “what do you want to drink?”
I’ll have tea please
茶 ， 谢 谢 。
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| chá | xièxiè |
| tea | thank you |
Notes:
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茶 (chá) means “tea” in Chinese and is a word you should ensure you are familiar with. - The person could have responded with “I’ll have tea”
我 要 喝 茶 (wǒ yào hē chá) rather than just “tea”茶 (chá), however either is perfectly acceptable.
Sugar (in your tea)?
（ 你 喝 茶 ） 加 糖 吗 ？
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| nǐ | hē | chá | jiā | táng | ma |
| you | drink | tea | add | sugar | <question> |
Notes:
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加 糖 (jiā táng) means “add sugar”, and is a phrase you should remember. You can use加 (jiā) in other situations, for example:- Would you like to add sugar or milk in your coffee?
你 要 在 你 的 咖 啡 中 加 糖 或 牛 奶 吗 ？ (nǐ yào zài nǐ de kāfēi zhōng jiātáng huò niúnǎi ma) - Do you add sugar to the tea?
你 喝 茶 加 糖 吗 ？ (nǐ hē chá jiātáng ma?)
- Would you like to add sugar or milk in your coffee?
No (black).
不 要 。
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| bùyào |
| no (don’t want) |
Do you have milk (in your tea)?
（ 你 喝 茶 ） 加 牛 奶 吗 ？
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| nín | hē | chá | jiā | niúnǎi | ma |
| you | drink | tea | add | milk | <question> |
Notes:
- I’ve already covered how to use “add”
加 (jiā) above. -
牛 奶 (niúnǎi) means “cows milk”, literally broken down the characters are “cow”牛 (niú) and “milk”奶 (nǎi).
No. I take it black without sugar
不 。 我 不 加 牛 奶 , 不 加 糖 。
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| bù | wǒ | bù jiā | niúnǎi | bù jiā | táng |
| no | I | don’t add | milk | (and) don’t add | sugar |
Notes:
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不 加 (bù jiā) uses the negative不 (bù) to changes “ad”不 加 (jiā) into “not add”不 加 (bù jiā) -
不 加 (bù jiā) is repeated twice, which is perfectly normal in Chinese however in English we would be more likely to say “don’t add milk and sugar”不 加 牛 奶 和 糖 (bù jiā niúnǎi hé táng)
Please pull down your tray table.
请 放 下 您 的 小 桌 板 。
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| qǐng | fàngxià | nín de | xiǎo zhuō bǎn |
| please | put down | you | tray table |
Notes:
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放 下 (fàngxià) means to “put down” or “lay down”, here are some examples:- “I put down the book”
我 放 下 书 (wǒ fàngxià shū) - “I put the phone down”
我 放 下 电 话 (wǒ fàngxià diànhuà) - “put down (your) weapons!”
放 下 武 器 ！ (fàng xià wǔ) - “(why not) lay down for a few minutes”?
放 下 几 分 钟 吧 ？ (fàngxià jǐ fēnzhōng ba?), however this same phrase could also be take to mean to “(why not) put it down for a few minutes?”
- “I put down the book”
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小 桌 板 (xiǎo zhuō bǎn) literally means “small table board”, with the word for “table”, as in for a dinner table is桌 子 (zhuōzi) - The flight attendant could have asked this a question rather than making this statement, for example:
- “Can I open your tray table for you”
我 能 帮 您 打 开 小 桌 板 吗 ？ (wǒ néng bāng nín dǎkāi xiǎo zhuō bǎn ma)
- “Can I open your tray table for you”
Vocabulary
Dialogue Vocabulary
Here is the key vocabulary from the above diaolgues.
| English | Chinese | Pronunciation (Pinyin) |
| flight attendant |
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chéngwùyuán |
| customer |
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gùkè |
| minutes |
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fēnzhōng |
| inside / within |
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nèi |
| provide |
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gōng |
| meal |
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cān |
| lunch |
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zhōngfàn |
| to want |
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xiǎng |
| eat |
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chī |
| fish |
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yú |
| or (question) |
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háishì |
| chicken |
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jī |
| please |
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qǐng |
| bring me |
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gěi wǒ lái |
| portion |
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fèn |
| chicken rice |
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jīròu fàn |
| here you go |
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gěi nín |
| enjoy your meal |
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qǐng màn yòng |
| to mind |
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jièyì |
| these things |
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zhèxiē dōngxī |
| take away |
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ná zǒu |
| right now / immediately |
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mǎshàng |
| provide |
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gōngyìng |
| drink / beverage |
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yǐnliàole |
| want |
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yào |
| to drink |
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hē |
| some |
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diǎn |
| what |
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shénme |
| tea |
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chá |
| add… |
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jiā |
| sugar |
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táng |
| milk |
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niúnǎi |
| add sugar |
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jiātáng |
| add milk |
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jiā niúnǎi |
| don’t want |
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bùyào |
| please |
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qǐng |
| put down |
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fàngxià |
| tray table |
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xiǎo zhuō bǎn |
Phrases
Dialogue Phrases
Here are the phrases from the vocabulary.
| English | Chinese | Pronunciation (Pinyin) |
| We will be serving lunch in fifteen minutes. |
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wǒ huì zài shíwǔ fēnzhōng nèi gōng cān. |
| What would you like to eat for lunch, chicken or fish? |
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zhōngfàn xiǎng chī shénme, yú háishì jī? |
| Please give me the chicken. |
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qǐng gěi wǒ lái fèn jīròu fàn. |
| Here you go. Enjoy your meal. |
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gěi nín. xièxiè. qǐng màn yòng. |
| Would you mind me taking these things away? |
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nín jièyì wǒ bǎ zhèxiē dōngxī ná zǒu ma? |
| Thank you. |
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xièxiè. |
| Now we’ll be serving drinks. |
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wǒmen mǎshàng yào gōngyìng yǐnliàole. |
| What would you like to drink? |
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nín yào hē diǎn shénme? |
| I’ll have tea please |
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chá, xièxiè. |
| Sugar (in your tea)? |
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(nǐ hē chá) jiātáng ma? |
| No (black). |
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bùyào. |
| Do you have milk (in your tea)? |
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(nǐ hē chá) jiā niúnǎi ma? |
| No. I take it black without sugar |
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bù. wǒ bù jiā niúnǎi, bù jiātáng. |
| Please pull down your tray table. |
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qǐng fàngxià nín de xiǎo zhuō bǎn. |
Wrapping it up
Look out for my next post on landing and disembarking from the plane.