Chinese Dish Translator
Type or paste what the menu says and get the actual dish, not a literal translation. It searches 402 dishes by Chinese name, alternative names, pinyin, or the English name you half-remember.
Why a dictionary translation fails on a menu
A literal translation of 麻婆豆腐 is "pockmarked old woman tofu". 蚂蚁上树 is "ants climbing a tree". Both are accurate word for word and useless at a table: neither tells you what arrives, how hot it is, or whether there are peanuts in it.
Chinese dish names are often poetic, regional, or named after a person. What matters at the table is what the kitchen will bring you. The literal meaning of the characters matters much less, and that gap is what this lookup fills.
How to use it at a table
- Point at the menu, type what you see. Even two matching characters is usually enough to narrow it down.
- Check the spice level before you order. Each result shows our 0 to 5 rating and links to the full entry.
- Check the allergens if it matters. Confirmed and possible allergens are listed for every dish.
- Show the Chinese to your server. Tapping through to a dish page gives you the characters and a pronunciation clip.
What counts as a match
The search accepts four kinds of input, ranked in this order:
- Exact Chinese name, the fastest and most reliable route.
- Alternative Chinese names, because the same dish is written several ways across the country. 宫爆鸡丁 and 宫保鸡丁 are the same plate.
- Pinyin, with or without tone marks: mapo doufu and má pó dòu fu both land.
- English name, matched on the first word so that "kung pao" finds Kung Pao Chicken.
Our library covers 402 dishes with 160 alternative names. If something is missing, the dish page for anything similar will usually get you close, and you can tell us what to add.