zi6 zo6 caan1自助餐
Jyutpingzi6 zo6 caan1
Yalejih joh chāan
Definition
Buffet; an all-you-can-eat meal where customers pay a fixed price to serve themselves.
colloquialfooddaily actions
How it's used
Refers specifically to the dining style where you serve yourself from a variety of dishes. It is common to pair this with the verb 食, as in 食自助餐, rather than using a verb like 飲 or 買. The term implies a fixed price for unlimited access to the food spread.
Measure word
caan1餐chānExamples
Shall we go for a buffet tonight?
The food at this hotel's buffet is very extensive.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners sometimes confuse this with the concept of a set meal or a la carte dining. Remember that it strictly implies self-service and an all-you-can-eat format, so it is not used for restaurants where you order from a menu.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
