How to Order Bubble Tea in Chinese
Do you love boba tea but lack the vocabulary to order one? Here is the perfect guide for you!
First, “bubble tea/pearl milk tea/boba” is called 珍珠奶茶. 珍珠 means pearls and refers to the tapioca pearls; 奶 means milk and 茶, tea.
To order something anywhere, you can start with:
您好,请给我来: Hello, please give me …
您好,麻烦给我来: Hello, please give me …
您好,我(想)要: Hello, I’d like/I’ll take…
您好,我想点: Hello, I’d like/I’ll take…
Bubble tea flavors:
| Original | 原味 | yuán wèi |
| Strawberry | 草莓 | cǎo méi |
| Black Sugar | 黑糖 | hēi táng |
| Taro | 香芋 | xiāng yù |
| Mango | 芒果 | máng guǒ |
| Lychee | 荔枝 | lì zhī |
| Peach | 桃子 | táo zi |
| Matcha | 抹茶 | mǒ chá |
| Red beans | 红豆 | hóng dòu |
Types of tea:
| Green Tea | 绿茶 | lǜ chá |
| Black Tea | 红茶 | hóng chá |
| Oolong Tea | 乌龙茶 | wū lóng chá |
| Jasmine Tea | 茉莉花茶 | mò lì huā chá |
A strawberry green tea would be 草莓绿茶.
Although bubble tea shops already have their ready-made drinks with fancy names, this chart can help you understand the most common words on the menu!
At The Alley for instance, they have 热带白香绿, literally Tropical White Scented Green, for a Passionfruit Green Tea, how classy!
Drink size:
| Small | 小杯 | xiǎo bēi |
| Medium | 中杯 | zhōng bēi |
| Large | 大杯 | dà bēi |
The measure word would be 杯, since the drink is in a cup; so a bubble tea is 一杯珍珠奶茶, but 个 is also correct.
Example: 我要(一杯/一个)黑糖珍珠奶茶, 中杯。
You can also say: 我要一杯中杯黑糖珍珠奶茶。
And then, you just need to specify the toppings at the end, by saying 加 + topping = with…
| Tapioca Pearls | 珍珠 | zhēn zhū |
| Taro Pearls | 小芋圆 | xiǎo yù yuán |
| Coconut Jelly | 椰果 | yē guǒ |
| Red Beans | 红豆 | hóng dòu |
| Popping Boba | 爆爆珠/波珠 | bào bào zhū / bō zhū |
| Jelly | 果冻 | guǒ dòng |
| Grass Jelly | 仙草冻 | xiān cǎo dòng |
| Aloe Jelly | 芦荟 | lú huì |
| Pudding | 布丁 | bù dīng |
| Sea Salt Foam | 奶盖 | nǎi gài |
Temperature:
| Cold | 冰的 | bīng de |
| Warm | 常温 | cháng wēn |
| Hot | 热的 | rè de |
Amount of Ice:
| Ice | 加冰 | jiā bīng |
| Light Ice | 少冰 | shǎo bīng |
| No Ice | 去冰 | qù bīng |
Sugar level:
| No Sugar | 不加糖 / 无糖 | bù jiātáng / wú táng |
| Regular Sugar | 正常甜 | zhèng cháng tián |
| Little Sugar | 微糖 | wēi táng |
| Half Sugar | 半糖 | bàn táng |
| Extra Sugar | 全糖 | quán táng |
Now that you have all the vocabulary, all you have to do is to list the information one by one.
Example: 您好,请给我来一杯黑糖珍珠奶茶,中杯,加珍珠,加冰,不加糖.谢谢!
Hello, please give me a brown sugar bubble tea, medium size, with tapioca, with ice, no sugar. Thank you!
Finally, if they didn’t give it to you, you can ask for a straw: 吸管.
(请问)可以给我吸管吗? 谢谢。 (Learn other ways to Express Gratitude)
May I ask for a straw, please? Thank you.
And if you don’t know what to take, you can still ask: 您推荐什么?, what do you recommend?
Now, you’re a master of ordering bubble tea!
Menu for reference:
