How to Say "Sandwich" in Chinese

三明治

sānmíngzhì

The Chinese word for sandwich is 三明治 (sānmíngzhì). Wiktionary also lists 三文治 (sānwénzhì) and 三味治 (sānwèizhì).

Meaning: dish (noun)

Ways to say it

The term refers to the dish known as a sandwich.

三明治 is a phonetic transliteration of the English word 'sandwich'.

三明治 is the standard Mandarin transliteration used in Mainland China, whereas 三文治 is the preferred transliteration in Hong Kong.

三文治 is commonly used in Cantonese-speaking regions like Hong Kong, while 三明治 is the standard term in Mainland China. The form 三味治 is also a variant.

sānmíngzhì

In some Chinese contexts, the word 'sandwich' is used metaphorically to describe a 'sandwich generation' of adults supporting both children and aging parents.
The transliteration 三文治 appeared in the works of the celebrated modernist writer Lu Xun as early as 1922.
Because 'sandwich' is a transliterated word, it lacks a native Chinese root, meaning the characters used carry no inherent meaning of 'bread' or 'meat'.

三明治怎麼樣？
How about a sandwich?
This sentence shows how to suggest a sandwich.
Tatoeba #6073895 by verdastelo9604, translation #2871777 by CK
汤姆做了个三明治。
Tom made a sandwich.
This sentence describes someone making a sandwich.
Tatoeba #5903475 by verdastelo9604, translation #2548092 by CK
把你的三明治給我。
Give me your sandwich.
This sentence is used when asking for someone's sandwich.
Tatoeba #7980254 by Leolaaziano, translation #3135736 by Hybrid
我想吃一个三明治。
I want to eat a sandwich.
12 more sentences on Tatoeba

Yuting and Junjie are deciding what to eat for lunch.

雨婷 Yuting

你想吃三明治吗？
Nǐ xiǎng chī sānmíngzhì ma?
Do you want to eat a sandwich?
俊杰 Junjie

我想吃，但没有面包了。
Wǒ xiǎng chī, dàn méiyǒu miànbāo le.
I do, but there is no bread left.
雨婷 Yuting

那我出去买个三明治。
Nà wǒ chūqù mǎi gè sānmíngzhì.
Then I'll go out and buy a sandwich.
俊杰 Junjie

太好了，谢谢你，雨婷。
Tài hǎo le, xièxiè nǐ, Yǔtíng.
Great, thank you, Yuting.

Sources

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