起司堡
qǐsībǎo
The English phrase 'cheeseburger' is translated into Chinese as 起司堡 (qǐsībǎo). Wiktionary also lists 乳酪漢堡 / 乳酪汉堡 (rǔlào hànbǎo).
Meaning: hamburger with cheese (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 起司堡 | qǐsībǎo |
| 乳酪漢堡 / 乳酪汉堡 | rǔlào hànbǎo |
Both provided forms refer to a hamburger with cheese.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 起司堡 is a combination of the phonetic loan 起司 (qǐsī) for 'cheese' and the word 堡 (bǎo) for 'burger'.
Which one should you use?
起司堡 uses a phonetic loan to represent the word 'cheese', whereas 乳酪漢堡 (or 乳酪汉堡) uses the descriptive term 乳酪 (rǔlào) which means 'cheese' or 'dairy'.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The term 起司堡 is commonly used in Taiwan.
How do you pronounce it?
qǐsībǎo
Did you know?
- While 起司 is a direct sound-alike for 'cheese', the word 堡 (bǎo) in 起司堡 is actually a character used for 'fortress' or 'castle'.
- The character 漢 (hàn) in 漢堡 (hànbǎo) refers to the Han people or culture, but here it is simply the first syllable of the phonetic translation for 'ham'.
- While 起司 is a phonetic loan for 'cheese', the character 起 means 'to rise' and 司 means 'to manage', creating a phrase that makes no sense if read literally.
Examples in context
- 我想要一個起司堡。Wǒ xiǎng yào yīgè qǐsībǎo.I want a cheeseburger.
- 這個起司堡很好吃。Zhège qǐsībǎo hěn hǎochī.This cheeseburger is delicious.
- 點餐時請選起司堡。Diǎncān shí qǐng xuǎn qǐsībǎo.Please choose the cheeseburger when ordering.
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to eat for lunch at a fast food restaurant.
- 浩然 Haoran佳怡，妳想吃什麼？Jiāyí, nǐ xiǎng chī shénme?Jiayi, what do you want to eat?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我決定要點一個起司堡。Wǒ juédìng yào diǎn yīgè qǐsībǎo.I have decided to order a cheeseburger.
- 浩然 Haoran那我也點一個起司堡吧。Nà wǒ yě diǎn yīgè qǐsībǎo ba.Then I will also order a cheeseburger.
- 佳怡 Jiayi好的，那我們快點點餐。Hǎo de, nà wǒmen kuài diǎn cān.Okay, let's order quickly.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cheeseburger” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
