Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 做飯 / 做饭 | zuòfàn | |
| 做菜 | zuòcài | /t͡su̯ɔ⁵¹⁻⁵³ t͡sʰaɪ̯⁵¹/ (Mandarin, Standard Chinese, Sinological IPA) /t͡sou̯²² t͡sʰɔːi̯³³/ (Cantonese, Guangzhou, Sinological IPA, Standard Cantonese, Hong Kong) |
| 烹調 / 烹调 | pēngtiáo | |
| 烹飪 / 烹饪 | pēngrèn |
The most common ways to express the act of cooking are 做飯 / 做饭, 做菜, 烹調 / 烹调 and 烹飪 / 烹饪. While these all relate to preparing food, specific cooking methods have their own verbs: 煮 is used to boil or cook food by boiling, 炒 refers to stir-frying, 烤 means to roast or bake and 炸 implies deep-frying. If you want to say someone is a 'good cook', you use the structure 會做菜, which literally means 'can/know how to make dishes'.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase 做飯 / 做饭 consists of the verb 做 (to do/make) and the noun 飯 (cooked rice or a meal). The phrase 做菜 consists of the verb 做 (to do/make) and the noun 菜 (dishes/vegetables/cuisine).
Which one should you use?
做飯 / 做饭 is a general term for preparing a meal and can imply the broader act of preparing the entire meal, including the staple grain. In contrast, 做菜 focuses specifically on the preparation of various dishes or side dishes.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
做飯 / 做饭 is the most common, colloquial way to say 'to cook' in daily conversation. 烹飪 / 烹饪 is a formal or technical term used to refer to the culinary arts or the culinary industry rather than the everyday action of preparing a meal.
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
zuòfàn
Did you know?
- While 做 means 'to do' or 'to make' in 做飯 / 做饭, the formal term 烹飪 / 烹饪 contains a character 飪 / 饪 that historically referred to the specific act of cooking rice in a pot.
- The character 烹 in the formal 烹飪 / 烹饪 originally depicted steam rising from a pot over a fire, emphasizing the physical process of heating.
- In Chinese culture, the act of 做菜 is often viewed as a social skill. Describing someone as 會做菜 (knowing how to cook) is a common way to signal they are a nurturing or capable partner.
Examples in context
- 我幫忙媽媽做菜。I helped mom cook.This sentence is useful for describing helping a mother with cooking using 做菜.Tatoeba #2715528 by cienias, translation #2761846 by Trailsend
- 你很會做菜，不是嗎?You are a good cook, aren't you?This sentence uses 做菜 to describe someone who is a good cook.Tatoeba #3149022 by cienias, translation #325763 by CK
- 湯姆說瑪麗很會做菜。Tom said that Mary was a good cook.This sentence uses 做菜 to report that someone is a good cook.Tatoeba #13832457 by LeviHighway, translation #7518116 by CK
- 他是一位烹饪师。He is a professional cook.
- 我们请来了一位厨师。We have invited a chef.
- 我爷爷是个很会做饭的厨子。My grandpa is a great cook.
- 我朋友是个厨艺高手。My friend is a culinary expert.
- 2 more sentences on Tatoeba
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cook” translations and entries 做菜, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
