Food and Drinks Vocabulary
Basic Foods§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Rice (cooked) | fan |
| Noodles | mien |
| Kwe-tiau | pan-thiau |
| Chicken rice | kai-fon |
| Cake/bread | pan |
| Vegetables | choi |
| Meat | nyuk |
Meats§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Chicken meat | kai nyuk |
| Beef | nyiu nyuk |
| Fried chicken | cian kai nyuk |
Fruits§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Watermelon | si kua |
| Papaya | muk kua |
| Banana | kung ciau |
| Longan | liu ngan |
| Pear | xiang li |
| Cassava | fan su |
| Peanut | thew |
Drinks§
Non-Alcoholic§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Water | sui |
| Cold water | lang-sui |
| Hot water | kun sui |
| Tea | tjha |
| Sweet tea | thiam-tjha |
| Milk | nen |
| Soy milk | theu-fu-sui |
| Coffee | kopi |
Alcoholic§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Alcohol | ciu |
Other Food Items§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Ice | siet |
| Egg | (to add) |
Eating and Drinking Verbs§
All use sit (eat/drink):
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Eat rice | sit fan |
| Eat noodles | sit mien |
| Eat kwe-tiau | sit pan-thiau |
| Eat chicken rice | sit kai-fon |
| Eat cake | sit pan |
| Eat vegetables | sit choi |
| Drink water | sit sui |
| Drink tea | sit tjha |
| Drink sweet tea | sit thiam-tjha |
| Drink cold water | sit lang-sui |
Food Preparation§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Cooking | cu choi |
| Fried | cian |
Taste Descriptors§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Delicious | ho sit |
| Very good | an ho sit |
| Sweet | thiam |
| Bitter | fu |
| Sour | son |
| Salty | ham |
| Tasteless | tham |
| Fishy | siang |
| Fragrant | hiong |
Common Food Phrases§
| English | Hakka |
|---|---|
| Have you eaten? | Sit pau mang? |
| I’ve already eaten | Ngai sit pau |
| I haven’t eaten yet | Ngai mang sit |
| What did you eat? | Sit ma’ai? |
| I ate rice with chicken and vegetables | Ngai sit fan pong kai nyuk kak choi |
| I ate pasta with beef | Ngai sit pastas kak nyiu nyuk |
| Is it good? | Boi ho sit mo? |
| Very delicious | An ho sit |
Example Sentences§
-
Ngai sit fan pong kai nyuk kak choi
- I ate rice with chicken and vegetables
-
Sit ho kopi mang?
- Have you had coffee?
-
Ngai an nyen sit Nasi Goreng
- I really like eating Nasi Goreng
-
Sit lang-sui
- Drink cold water
-
Li kian an ho sit
- This is very delicious
Notes§
- Sit is used for both eating and drinking
- Kak = with (to connect foods: fan kak choi = rice with vegetables)
- Pong = with/and (connector)
- Many Indonesian/Malay food words are borrowed (bakso, Nasi Goreng, etc.)
—The Gardener