饮料
yǐnliào
The English phrase "drinks" is translated into Chinese as 饮料 (yǐnliào).
饮料 is a noun used to categorize liquid refreshments, such as soda or juice.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 饮料 is composed of 饮, which means to drink and 料, which means material or stuff.
Which one should you use?
While 饮料 refers to the category of beverages, the verb 喝 (hē) is used to express the specific action of drinking.
How do you pronounce it?
yǐnliào
When do people say it?
When making a toast, you can say gānbēi (干杯) to mean "Cheers!" Other specific tea varieties include the formal terms Hóngchá (红茶) for Black Tea and Báichá (白茶) for White Tea.
Did you know?
- China has a massive 'milk tea' (奶茶) culture where these 饮料 are often customized with specific levels of sugar and ice, resembling a complex ordering system.
- The word 料 (liào) in 饮料 also appears in the word for 'seasoning' or 'ingredient' (料子), treating a beverage as a mixture of processed materials.
- When ordering 饮料 in a traditional setting, the term 茶水 (cháshuǐ) is often used, which literally means 'tea water' but can refer to any basic beverage provided.
Examples in context
- 我不喜欢喝太甜的饮料。I don't like drinks that are too sweet.This sentence is useful for expressing a dislike for drinks that are too sweet.Tatoeba #10367140 by GlossaMatik, translation #13980374 by frpzzd
- 她几乎每天都喝不含酒精的啤酒，因为啤酒是她喜欢的饮料，但是她不想每天都喝酒精。She drinks non-alcoholic beer almost every day because beer is her favorite drink, but she doesn't want to drink alcohol every day.This sentence illustrates how someone might use a specific beverage like beer as their preferred 饮料.Tatoeba #918481 by layu, translation #1044837 by ellasevia
- Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi yǐnliào. (我想喝一杯饮料。)I would like to have a drink.
- Qǐng gěi wǒ yì bēi chá. (请给我一杯茶。)Please give me a cup of tea.
- Wǒ yào yì bēi kāfēi. (我要一杯咖啡。)I would like a cup of coffee.
- Wǒ yào hē diǎnr píjiǔ. (我要喝点儿啤酒。)I want to have some beer.
- 超市里有很多种饮料。Chāoshì lǐ yǒu hěnduō zhǒng yǐnliào.There are many kinds of drinks in the supermarket.
- 1 more sentence on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are at a convenience store.
- 志强 Zhiqiang你想喝什么饮料？Nǐ xiǎng hē shénme yǐnliào?What kind of drink do you want to have?
- 佳怡 Jiayi我想要冰可乐。Wǒ xiǎng yào bīng kělè.I want an iced cola.
- 志强 Zhiqiang这里有冰的可乐。Zhèlǐ yǒu bīng de kělè.There is iced cola here.
- 佳怡 Jiayi太好了，谢谢你。Tài hǎo le, xièxiè nǐ.Great, thank you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
