墨西哥卷饼
mòxīgē juǎnbǐng
The English word 'tacos' is translated into Chinese as 墨西哥卷饼 (mòxīgē juǎnbǐng).
The term refers to the traditional Mexican dish consisting of a small corn or wheat tortilla folded around a filling.
What does it mean word for word?
The term 墨西哥卷饼 is composed of 墨西哥 (Mexico), 卷 (roll or wrap) and 饼 (flatbread or pancake).
Which one should you use?
墨西哥卷饼 is a descriptive name for the dish, whereas the phonetic transliteration 塔可 is often used in modern contexts, particularly regarding fast food.
How do you pronounce it?
mòxīgē juǎnbǐng
Did you know?
- The phonetic transliteration 塔可 uses the character 塔 (tǎ), which means 'pagoda' or 'tower', a common choice for translating the 't' sound in foreign names.
- The character 卷 (juǎn) means 'roll' and is the same character used for 'volume' in a book or 'scroll', treating the tortilla like a piece of rolled parchment.
- In China, you may find 'tacos' served as 墨西哥卷饼 but filled with ingredients like shredded pork or pickled vegetables that mirror the flavors of 煎饼 (jiānbǐng), a popular Chinese street crepe.
Examples in context
- 你喜欢吃巴西烤肉还是吃墨西哥卷饼？Do you prefer eating Brazilian barbecue or Mexican wraps (tacos)?
- 昨晚我和朋友们一起吃了很多美食，其中包括了墨西哥卷饼。Last night, I had a lot of delicious food with my friends, including tacos.
- 我想吃墨西哥卷饼。Wǒ xiǎng chī Mòxīgē juǎnbǐng.I want to eat tacos.
- 这个墨西哥卷饼很好吃。Zhège Mòxīgē juǎnbǐng hěn hǎochī.This taco is delicious.
- 你喜欢吃墨西哥卷饼吗？Nǐ xǐhuān chī Mòxīgē juǎnbǐng ma?Do you like eating tacos?
Example conversation
Two friends are deciding what to eat for dinner.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen我们晚饭吃墨西哥卷饼吧。Wǒmen wǎnfàn chī Mòxīgē juǎnbǐng ba.Let's have tacos for dinner.
- 志强 Zhiqiang好主意，我也很饿。Hǎo zhǔyì, wǒ yě hěn è.Good idea, I am hungry too.
- 晓雯 Xiaowen志强，你想加点辣椒吗？Zhìqiáng, nǐ xiǎng jiā diǎn làjiāo ma?Zhiqiang, do you want to add some chili?
- 志强 Zhiqiang不用了，谢谢。Bùyòng le, xièxiè.No thanks.
