苏打水
sūdáshuǐ
The English word soda is translated into Chinese as 苏打水 (sūdáshuǐ).
苏打水 refers to a sweet, carbonated drink. In many contexts, it specifically refers to plain carbonated water without added sugar or flavoring.
Meaning: sweet, carbonated drink (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The term is composed of 苏打 (soda) and 水 (water).
Which one should you use?
While 苏打水 specifically refers to soda water, the term 汽水 is a more general term used for carbonated soft drinks like cola or lemon-lime soda.
How do you pronounce it?
sūdáshuǐ
Did you know?
- The word 汽 (qì) in 汽水 literally means 'steam' or 'gas'. This reflects the physical sensation of the carbonation bubbles in the drink.
- The term 苏打 (sūdá) is a phonetic transliteration of the English word 'soda'. It is one of many many words in Chinese that use similar sounds to adapt foreign concepts.
- Because 苏打 (sūdá) is a transliteration, it behaves like a foreign loanword, which is a common way Chinese integrates Western scientific and commercial terms.
Examples in context
- 她很少喝苏打水。She infrequently drinks soda.This sentence shows how to express that someone infrequently drinks 苏打水.Tatoeba #12885117 by Josephlingo, translation #12884175 by Josephlingo
- 我想喝一杯苏打水。Wǒ xiǎng hē yì bēi sūdǎshuǐ.I want to drink a glass of soda water.
- 这瓶苏打水很冰。Zhè píng sūdǎshuǐ hěn bīng.This bottle of soda water is very cold.
Example conversation
Jiayi and Wei are at a convenience store.
- 佳怡 Jiayi伟，你想喝苏打水吗？Wěi, nǐ xiǎng hē sūdǎshuǐ ma?Wei, do you want to drink some soda?
- 伟 Wei我想，谢谢佳怡。Wǒ xiǎng, xièxie Jiāyí.I do, thanks Jiayi.
- 佳怡 Jiayi那我去拿两瓶。Nà wǒ qù ná liǎng píng.Then I will go get two bottles.
- 伟 Wei太好了，谢谢你。Tài hǎole, xièxie nǐ.Great, thank you.
Sources
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
