zung1 caan1中餐
Jyutpingzung1 caan1
Yalejūng chāan
Definition
Chinese cuisine or food.
colloquialfooddim sum
How it's used
Refers specifically to the style of cooking rather than the location of the restaurant. While it covers a broad range of regional cuisines, it is most frequently used in casual conversation to contrast with Western food, known as 西餐. It is a general term that encompasses everything from casual street food to formal banquet dishes.
Measure word
caan1餐chānExamples
Shall we go for Chinese food tonight?
He really likes Chinese food, especially dim sum.
Related words
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe the act of eating lunch, which is 午餐. Learners often confuse the two because of the similar sound, but 中餐 refers strictly to the cuisine type.
Grammar color guide
Noun
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Adjective
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
