🍜 Reading Chinese Menus

Hey Chinese learners,

Today we’re breaking down this menu in Chinese. This is an example of a commonly seen menu in Chinese restaurants.

Let’s focus on the high-frequency words I’ve highlighted in red. Do you know what they say?

Step 1: Pre-test

Try to read the text above without any help. You may not understand much but this is important, don’t skip it.

This is called pre-testing and it’s proven to enhance memory by focusing your attention. Students who pre-test learn significantly more compared to those who don’t, even if they feel like they “bomb” the pre-test.

Step 2: Listen + Read

Listen to the audio file below and read along with the characters, pinyin, and translation (shadow). Look up any words you don’t understand (vocabulary list below).

Tāngmiàn lèi

汤面类

湯麵類

Noodle Soup

jiàn

荐

薦

To recommend

gān miàn lèi

干面类

乾麵類

Dry noodles

pàocài lèi

泡菜类

泡菜類

Kimchi

dōng fěn lèi

冬粉类

冬粉類

Winter noodles

jiǎo lèi

饺类

餃類

Dumplings

fàn lèi

饭类

飯類

rice

tāng lèi

汤类

湯類

Soup

měiwèi lǔ wèi

美味鲁味

美味魯味

Delicious Luwei

*luwei is a popular cuisine where dishes are made by braising in a sauce known as a master stock or lousauce

liángbàn lèi

凉拌类

涼拌類

Cold dishes

yǐnliào

饮料

飲料

Dinks

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Vocabulary List

Dive deeper with interactive vocab lists, flashcards, study tracker, and more here.

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Step 3: Repetition + Retrieval

Most learners stop here, but they miss the most important step: repetition and active recall/retrieval (also scientifically shown to enhance memory).

Read the characters out loud without audio. Focus on getting the correct tones/pronunciation.

Try not to look at the pinyin, but use it like training wheels if you forget.

Repeat until you don’t need to look at the pinyin.

Tāngmiàn lèi

汤面类

湯麵類

jiàn

荐

薦

gān miàn lèi

干面类

乾麵類

pàocài lèi

泡菜类

泡菜類

dōng fěn lèi

冬粉类

冬粉類

jiǎo lèi

饺类

餃類

fàn lèi

饭类

飯類

tāng lèi

汤类

湯類

měiwèi lǔ wèi

美味鲁味

美味魯味

liángbàn lèi

凉拌类

涼拌類

yǐnliào

饮料

飲料

Step 4: Final “Test”

Final stretch. Re-read the original text again.

You should feel more confident reading it.

The system I use here is just one of the many ways I leverage the science of learning and real-world materials to get tangible results fast.

I want to make sure I send you lessons that are right for you. What type of emails would you like to see more of? Reply to this email and let me know.

See you next week for another breakdown!

PS If you’re looking for more help, here are some other ways I can help you:

1. Speaking Course: This course shows you everything I did to go from being nervous to speak to having meaningful conversations with native speakers. If you struggle with speaking, this is for you.

2. The Language Learner OS: The all-in-one hub to help me organize all my notes, track my progress, stay more productive, and learn Chinese faster and more effectively.

3. The Monthly Signs: Dive deeper into these lessons with interactive vocab lists, flashcards, study tracker, and more.