Brief Summary
This video provides essential vocabulary and phrases for describing food in Chinese, focusing on the key elements of color, scent, flavor, and texture. It covers basic terms like "delicious" and expands into more nuanced descriptions related to specific tastes (sour, sweet, spicy, salty), textures (tender, hard, crispy), and overall impressions (refreshing, greasy). The video also includes bonus phrases for discussing portion sizes and a uniquely Chinese concept related to food richness.
- Basic vocabulary for describing food in Chinese.
- Key elements: color, scent, flavor, and texture.
- Bonus phrases for discussing portion sizes and richness.
Intro
The video introduces the importance of being able to describe food in Chinese when dining with Chinese-speaking friends, comparing the Chinese to the Italians of Asia in their culinary expertise and passion. It promises to equip viewers with the necessary vocabulary and phrases to impress their Chinese friends at the next meal.
The Basics
The video starts with the basic word for "delicious" (好吃 - hǎo chī) and how to modify it to express varying degrees of enjoyment, such as "super delicious" (超级好吃 - chāo jí hǎo chī). It also covers how to express dislike or indifference towards a dish, using phrases like "not that good" (不太好 - bù tài hǎo).
Element #1
The first key element in Chinese culinary arts is color (色 - sè), or the visual appeal of the food. Two important words are introduced: "colorful" (颜色 - yánsè) and "appetizing" (开胃 - kāi wèi), which literally means "open appetite".
Element #2
The second element is scent (香 - xiāng). The word "香" (xiāng) is used to describe something that smells good and can also be used to describe how something tastes. The opposite of "香" (xiāng) is "臭" (chòu), meaning smelly, which isn't always negative, as in the case of "臭豆腐" (chòu dòu fu) or smelly tofu. The word "糊" (hú) describes the burnt smell. "腥" (xīng) means fishy, used to describe the smell of seafood.
Element #3
The third and most significant aspect is flavor (味 - wèi). The video covers several basic tastes: "酸" (suān) for sour, "甜" (tián) for sweet, "苦" (kǔ) for bitter, "辣" (là) for spicy, "咸" (xián) for salty, "淡" (dàn) for bland, and "鲜" (xiān) for fresh, typically used to describe seafood. It explains how to adjust these descriptions with words like "太" (tài - too), "一点" (yī diǎn - a little), or "不" (bù - not). The special word "麻" (má) is used to describe certain flavors. Different regions in China are known for different flavor preferences, such as sour in Shanxi, spicy in Sichuan, sweet in Guangdong, and salty in Northern China.
Element #4
The video transitions to the texture of food (口感 - kǒu gǎn), or mouthfeel. "嫩" (nèn) means tender and is specifically used to describe meat. "老" (lǎo) means tough or overcooked. "硬" (yìng) means hard, and "软" (ruǎn) means soft. "酥" (sū) describes food that melts in your mouth. "脆" (cuì) or "脆脆" (cuì cuì) means crispy or crunchy. "爽" (shuǎng) means refreshing to the mouth, typically used for cold dishes or liquids.
Bonus Phrases
The video concludes with bonus phrases, starting with how to describe portion sizes using "份量" (fèn liàng - portion) with "刚好" (gāng hǎo - just right), "不够" (bù gòu - not enough), or "太多" (tài duō - too much). The phrase "不咸不淡" (bù xián bù dàn) means salty bland just right. The word "腻" (nì) describes food being too rich, oily, fatty, or greasy, often used by Chinese people when eating Western food. It suggests having light food like tea or cucumber to relieve the greasiness.
