Translation

Translation Reading and Writing

Chinese is probably the oldest living language. The written language has become standardised and in its original form comprised pictograms to represent things and ideas. These pictograms have become stylised over the years and appear as Chinese Characters today. There is no alphabet of letters that are used to make words.
There are two ways of writing Chinese characters today, the traditional method and a simplified method. In its traditional form, it is still sometimes possible to view the origins of a character. For example, the Chinese character for trust comprises a man and a word meaning a man standing by his word. A brush is simply a combination of the characters for hair and pen.

There are as many as 47,000 characters however only 3,000 to 4,000 are required to read books, newspapers and magazines.

Spoken Language

Although the written language is standardised, there are a number of Chinese dialects ranging from Mandarin which is the most common to Cantonese, Hakka, Hokkien and a host of others. It can sometimes be impossible for someone to understand another dialect even though the written characters would be the same. The Chinese language is also tonal in nature which is another hurdle for those wishing to learn it as a foreign language. Mandarin is taught with 4 tones whilst Cantonese has 9 tones. The same word may have various meanings depending upon the tone used and learners may cause unintended embarrassment or offence by using the wrong tone. It may also be difficult for a Chinese speaker trying to learn a new dialect as each dialect will have developed its own slang and the meaning of a spoken word in a particular dialect may have changed over time.
Here are the Chinese names of some popular Chinese dishes and ingredients together with their English names as well as their Cantonese and Mandarin pronounciations.
Chinese is also a tonal language and this complicates the matter for learners. Mispronouncing a word in the wrong tone may give it an entirely different meaning.

Drinks

Name	Chinese	Cantonese Pronouniciation	Mandarin Pronounciation
Water	水	Sui	Shui
Chinese Tea	中國茶	Chung Kwok cha	Zhong guo cha
Green tea	綠茶	Luk cha	Lu cha
Jasmine tea	苿莉茶	Moot lei fa cha	Mo li hua cha
Ginger tea	羌茶	Keung cha	Jiang cha
Ice	冰	Bing	Bing

Dim Sum

Prawn dumplings	蝦餃	Ha gau	Xia jiao
Spring rolls	春卷	Chun guen	Chun juan
Egg tarts	蛋撻	Daan taat	Dan ta
Puddings	布甸	Bo din	Bu ding
Deep fried crispy won ton with sweet & sour sauce	錦鹵雲呑 (餛飩)	Gam lo waan taan	Jin lu hun dun
Custard bun	奶皇包	Naai wong baau	Nai huang bao
Char Siu Bun (barbecued pork bun)	叉燒包	Cha siu baau	Cha shao bao
Chinese doughnut	油炸鬼	Yau tiu	You tiao
Steamed beef	山竹牛肉	San chuk ngau yuk	Shan zhu niu rou
Yam cake with minced pork	芋角	Woo kok	Yu jiao
Lotus bun	蛋黃蓮蓉包	Lin yung baau	Lian rong bao
Steamed spareribs with black bean sauce	豉汁蒸排骨	Si jiu sheng paai gwat	Chi zhi zheng pai gu
Rice Flour Rolls (Cheung Fun)	腸粉	Cheung funn	Chang fen

Dishes and Noodles

Grilled Peking dumplings	煎餃子	Jin gau ji	Jian jiao zi
Chicken with sweet corn soup	雞蓉粟米湯	Gai yung suk mai tong	Ji rong su mi tang
Lemon chicken	檸檬炸雞	Ling mung gai	Ning meng ji
Aromatic crispy duck	香酥鴨	Heung so aap	Xiang su ya
Fried vermicelli noodles Singapore style	星洲炒米	Sing jau chau mai funn	Sing zhou chao mi
Fried rice	炒飯	Chau faan	Chao fan
Sweet & sour spareribs	甜酸豬肉	Tim suen paai gwat	Tian suan pai gu
Hot & sour soup	酸辣湯	Suen laat tong	Suan la tang
Sesame prawn toast	芝麻蝦多士	Ji ma ha doh si	Zhi ma xia duo shi
Beef fried rice noodles (ho fun) and black bean sauce	干炒牛河(粉)	Si jiu chau ngau hoh	Chi jiao chao niu he
Chinese style fried egg noodles	中式炒麵	Chung sik chau min	Zhong shi chao mian

Sauces

Black bean sauce	豆豉醬	Si jiu cheung	Chi jiao jiang
Sweet & sour sauce	甜酸醬	Tim suen cheung	Tian suan jiang
Spicy Szechuan sauce	四川香辣醬	Sei chuen laat cheung	Si chuan la jiang
Oyster sauce	蠔油	Ho yau	Hao you
Ginger & spring onion sauce	羌蔥醬	Keung chung cheung	Jiang cong jiang
Hoisin Sauce (seafood sauce)	海鮮醬	Hoi sin cheung	Hai xian jiang

Ingredients

Beansprouts	芽菜	Nga choi	Ya cai
Beancurd	豆腐	Dau foo	Dou fu
Rice vermicelli	米粉	Mai funn	Mi fen
Rice stick (dried rice noodles)	干河粉	Gon hoh funn	Gan he fen
Yee min noodles	伊麵	Yee min	Yi mian
Prawns / shrimps	蝦	Ha	Xia
Squid / calamari	魷魚	Yau yue	You yu
Mussels	青口	Ching hau	Qing kou
Meat	肉	Yuk	Rou
Chicken	雞肉	Gai	Ji
Beef	牛肉	Ngau yuk	Niu rou
Pork	豬肉	Chu yuk	Zhu rou
Abalone	鮑魚	Baau yue	Bao yu
Oysters	蠔	Ho	Hao