啤酒
píjiǔ/pʰi³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
The English word 'beer' can be translated into Chinese as 啤酒 (píjiǔ). Wiktionary also lists 麥酒 / 麦酒 (màijiǔ).
Meaning: alcoholic drink made of malt (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 啤酒 | píjiǔ | /pʰi³⁵ t͡ɕi̯oʊ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /pʰi⁵⁵ t͡ɕiəu⁵³/ (Mandarin, Chengdu, Sinological IPA) |
|
| 麥仔酒 / 麦仔酒 | be̍h-á-chiú, bē-á-chiú | Hokkien | |
| 米仔酒 | bí-á-chiú | /bi⁵³⁻⁴⁴ a⁵³⁻⁴⁴ t͡siu⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Sinological IPA) | Hokkien |
| 啤酒 | pî-chiú | /pi²⁴⁻¹² t͡siu⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Sinological IPA, Longyan) /pi²⁴⁻²² t͡siu⁵³/ (Min Nan, Hokkien, Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Kinmen, Sinological IPA, Longyan) |
Hokkien |
| 麥酒 / 麦酒 | màijiǔ | rare, regional |
The term refers to an alcoholic beverage made from malt.
What does it mean word for word?
啤酒 is composed of 啤 (pī), which is a phonetic loan for the word 'beer' and 酒 (jiǔ), which means 'alcohol' or 'liquor'.
Which one should you use?
In Hokkien, several terms exist: 啤酒 is a standard term, while 麥仔酒 or 麦仔酒 and 米仔酒 are also used. In Dungan, you may use пиҗю or пиво.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Taiwan and within Hokkien, bì-lù and bih-luh are used. The form 麥酒 or 麦酒 is considered rare and regional.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is pî-chiú.
When do people say it?
When toasting, people often say Gānbēi! (干杯) to mean 'Cheers!' Iconic beer brands include Tsingtao (青岛), Snow (雪花), Zhujiang (珠江) from Guangzhou and Yanjing (燕京) which is named after the old name for Beijing.
Did you know?
- In many social settings, it is a sign of respect to hold your 啤酒 glass lower than the glass of an elder or a boss when clinking them together.
- Because 啤酒 uses a phonetic loan, the first character 啤 is almost never used in any other Chinese words outside of terms for beer or similar Western drinks.
- The phrase 干杯 (gānbēi), commonly used when drinking beer, literally translates to 'dry the glass'.
Examples in context
- 啤酒沒氣了。The beer is stale.This sentence is useful for saying that the 啤酒 is stale.Tatoeba #710730 by egg0073, translation #710731 by Lepotdeterre
- 你喝啤酒吗？Do you drink beer?This sentence is useful for asking if someone drinks 啤酒.Tatoeba #4264903 by notabene, translation #1761849 by CK
- 這啤酒好啊。The beer is good.This sentence is useful for stating that the 啤酒 is good.Tatoeba #13519197 by LeviHighway, translation #13237618 by atitarev
- Nǐ yǒu píjiǔ ma? (你有啤酒吗?)Do you have beer?
- Wǒ xiǎng hē píjiǔ. (我想喝啤酒)I want to drink beer.
- 93 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Zihan and Junjie are looking at a drink menu at a restaurant.
- 梓涵 Zihan你想喝啤酒吗？Nǐ xiǎng hē píjiǔ ma?Do you want to drink beer?
- 俊杰 Junjie我想喝，谢谢。Wǒ xiǎng hē, xièxiè.I do, thank you.
- 梓涵 Zihan我们要两杯啤酒。Wǒmen yào liǎng bēi píjiǔ.We want two glasses of beer.
- 俊杰 Junjie好的，就这样吧。Hǎo de, jiù zhèyàng ba.Okay, let's go with that.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “beer” translations and entries 啤酒, 米仔酒, 啤酒, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
