餐廳 / 餐厅
cāntīng
In Chinese, the word for restaurant can be expressed in several ways, with 餐廳 / 餐厅 (cāntīng) being the default form. Wiktionary also lists 餐館 / 餐馆 (cānguǎn) and 飯店 / 饭店 (fàndiàn).
Meaning: an eating establishment in which diners are served food (noun)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 餐廳 / 餐厅 | cāntīng |
| 餐館 / 餐馆 | cānguǎn |
| 飯店 / 饭店 | fàndiàn |
| 飯館 / 饭馆 | fànguǎn |
All these terms refer to an eating establishment where diners are served food. 餐館 / 餐馆 is a very common way to refer to a commercial restaurant in daily conversation.
What does it mean word for word?
The word 餐廳 / 餐厅 is composed of 餐 (meal) and 廳 (large hall/room). The word 餐館 / 餐馆 is composed of 餐 (meal) and 館 (establishment/building).
Which one should you use?
飯館 / 饭馆 typically refers to smaller, more casual or local eateries compared to the more formal 餐廳 / 餐厅. Although 飯店 / 饭店 can mean restaurant, it is also the standard term for a hotel.
How do you pronounce it?
cāntīng
Did you know?
- Chinese often specifies a restaurant by the food it serves rather than using a general noun, such as calling a noodle shop a 麵館 (noodle house) or a dumpling shop a 餃子館.
- While 餐廳 / 餐厅 is the standard term, many casual eateries use the term 小吃店 (literally 'small eat shop') to signal they serve quick snacks or street food rather than full meals.
- In mainland China, the term 飯店 / 饭店 was historically used for high-end establishments that combined a luxury hotel and a formal restaurant under one roof.
Examples in context
- 我要去餐馆I want to go to a restaurant
- 你有什么推荐的餐馆吗?Do you have any recommended restaurants?
- 请给我一份菜单Please give me a menu
Sources
- Wiktionary, “restaurant” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
