Your Favorite Coffee Drinks in Chinese

What is your favorite 咖啡 (kāfēi)?
美式 (měishì, americano) or maybe 拿铁 (nátiě, latte)?

The variety of coffee beverages these days is mind-blowing!

Learn the names of popular coffee drinks in China and find out how to order your favorite coffee in Chinese ☕️

PART 01. CLASSIC DRINKS

1. Americano

美式
měishì
americano

美式 (měishì) literally translates as “American-style”.

2. Cappuccino

卡布奇诺
kǎbùqínuò
cappuccino

卡布奇诺 (kǎbùqínuò) is a so-called loanword – a Chinese translation of a western name. It’s often shortened to 卡布 (kǎbù).

3. Latte

拿铁
nátiě
latte

拿铁 (nátiě), or latte, is a loanword, too.

PART 02. NEW DRINKS

4. Flat white

澳白
àobái
flat white

澳白 (àobái), or 澳式白 (àoshìbái), is “Australian-style” coffee.

5. Mocha

摩卡
mókǎ
mocha

摩卡(mókǎ) is a Chinese translation of mocha, which is a mixture of coffee and chocolate.

6. Cortado

科尔塔多
kē’ěrtǎduō
cortado

科尔塔多 (kē’ěrtǎduō), or cortado, is another loanword, which means “the cut” and refers to the milk “cutting” the espresso.

7. Dirty

陨石
yǔnshí
dirty

陨石 (yǔnshí), or dirty is a relatively new type of coffee made by pouring hot espresso over extremely cold milk. It’s become popular in Asian countries including China, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

PART 03. COFFEE AT HOME

Since it hasn’t been very convenient to get coffee outside recently, many people switched to coffee brewing at home.

8. Coffee Capsule

胶囊咖啡
jiāonáng kāfēi
coffee capsule

胶囊咖啡 (jiāonáng kāfēi), or coffee capsules, are plastic packs with a single portion of coffee powder. Convenient to use at home if you have a coffee machine.

9. Drip Coffee

挂耳咖啡
guà’ěr kāfēi
drip coffee

挂耳咖啡 (guà’ěr kāfēi), or drip coffee bags (lit. “to hang-ears”), are small pouches of ground coffee that can be suspended over cups. Convenient to use at home, too – no coffee machine required.

10. Cold Brew Shot(s)

冷胶咖啡液
lěng jiāo kāfēi yè
cold brew shot(s)

冷胶咖啡液 (lěngjiāo kāfēi yè), or “cold brew coffee liquid”, is a ready-to-drink coffee shot that can be directly poured into a cup with ice or milk. This at-home coffee drink has become very popular recenly, too.

PART 4. ORDER YOUR COFFEE

我要一杯澳白，谢谢。
Wǒ yào yī bēi àobái, xièxie.
I’d like a cup of flat white, thank you.

请来两杯卡布。带走，谢谢。
Qǐng lái liǎng bēi kǎbù. Dài zǒu, xièxie.
Two cups of cappuccino to go please, thank you.

请加点糖，谢谢。
Qǐng jiā diǎn táng, xièxie.
Please add some sugar, thanks.

我要加浓。/ 我要浓一点的咖啡。
Wǒ yào jiā nóng./Wǒ yào nóng yīdiǎn de kāfēi.
Please make coffee a little stronger.

TIP:

Many coffee shops have their menus written in both Chinese and English, so you can always learn some new names by visiting a local coffee shop.

We hope these phrases and questions will be useful and help you next time you want to order your coffee. To find out more interesting phrases and questions in Chinese, check out one of our blog posts 5 Small Talk Phrases in Chinese