Chinese for Discussing Food Regulations: Key Terms and Structures
Learn to talk about government food regulations in Mandarin: key nouns, the passive with 被, and phrases for laws, bans, and inspections.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
In this lesson, you will learn how to discuss government regulations on food in Mandarin. We focus on concrete vocabulary for laws, standards, and inspections, and on the grammatical structures you need to describe what is allowed, banned, or required. You will practice the passive voice with 被, the pattern 根据……规定, and verbs like 禁止, 允许, and 要求. By the end, you will be able to follow a conversation about food safety rules and express your own views on them. All examples use simplified Chinese with pinyin and tone marks.
By the end, you can…
- name common Chinese terms for food laws, standards, and inspections.
- use 被 and 根据……规定 to describe regulations accurately.
- ask and answer questions about what is banned or required in food production.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
食品安全法
Food Safety Law
Shípǐn Ānquán Fǎ
The name of China's main food safety law. Use it when referring to the legal framework.
根据规定，……
According to regulations, ...
gēnjù guīdìng, ...
A formal way to introduce a rule. Often followed by a clause with 必须 or 禁止.
禁止使用……
It is forbidden to use ...
jìnzhǐ shǐyòng ...
Used for banned substances or practices. The object follows directly.
必须标明……
must be labeled with ...
bìxū biāomíng ...
Common on packaging rules. The subject is often the product or its label.
接受检查
to undergo inspection
jiēshòu jiǎnchá
Used for businesses or products that are inspected by authorities.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern 根据……规定，…… (gēnjù ... guīdìng, ...) means 'according to ... regulations, ...'. It is common in news and official notices. Example: 根据食品安全法的规定，食品必须标明生产日期。 (Gēnjù Shípǐn Ānquán Fǎ de guīdìng, shípǐn bìxū biāomíng shēngchǎn rìqī.) 'According to the Food Safety Law, food must be labeled with the production date.' You can also use 按照 (ànzhào) in a similar way, but 根据 is more formal. To state a ban, use 禁止 + verb: 禁止使用过期原料。 (Jìnzhǐ shǐyòng guòqī yuánliào.) 'It is forbidden to use expired ingredients.' To state a requirement, use 必须 + verb: 必须接受检查。 (Bìxū jiēshòu jiǎnchá.) 'Must undergo inspection.'
When to use it
Use these patterns when you talk about laws, official standards, or inspections. For example, in a conversation about a restaurant: 这家餐厅因为使用过期食材被罚款了。 (Zhè jiā cāntīng yīnwèi shǐyòng guòqī shícái bèi fákuǎn le.) 'This restaurant was fined because it used expired ingredients.' The passive 被 (bèi) highlights the action done to the subject. Use 被 when the receiver of the action is the topic and the doer is either unknown or introduced with 被 + agent: 那批食品被监管部门没收了。 (Nà pī shípǐn bèi jiānguǎn bùmén mòshōu le.) 'That batch of food was confiscated by the regulatory department.' In everyday speech, 被 is often replaced by 让 (ràng) or 叫 (jiào) in northern China, but 被 is standard in formal contexts. Avoid using 被 with intransitive verbs; it requires a transitive verb and usually a result.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
你听说了吗？那家食品厂被查出使用过期原料。
Did you hear? That food factory was found to be using expired ingredients.Nǐ tīngshuō le ma? Nà jiā shípǐn chǎng bèi cháchū shǐyòng guòqī yuánliào.真的吗？根据食品安全法的规定，这是严重违规，会被罚款甚至停业。
Really? According to the Food Safety Law, this is a serious violation; they could be fined or even shut down.Zhēn de ma? Gēnjù Shípǐn Ānquán Fǎ de guīdìng, zhè shì yánzhòng wéiguī, huì bèi fákuǎn shènzhì tíngyè.而且他们的产品必须标明生产日期，但他们没有标。
And their products must be labeled with the production date, but they didn't label it.Érqiě tāmen de chǎnpǐn bìxū biāomíng shēngchǎn rìqī, dàn tāmen méiyǒu biāo.所以监管部门要求他们召回所有产品，并且接受检查。
So the regulatory department required them to recall all products and undergo inspection.Suǒyǐ jiānguǎn bùmén yāoqiú tāmen zhàohuí suǒyǒu chǎnpǐn, bìngqiě jiēshòu jiǎnchá.A little context goes a long way
In mainland China, food regulations are enforced by the State Administration for Market Regulation. Official language tends to be formal and uses terms like 根据规定 and 依法. In everyday conversation, people may use 被 more loosely, but in written or news contexts, 被 remains standard. When discussing regulations with Chinese speakers, it is common to cite the specific law, such as 食品安全法, to sound informed. Avoid making blanket statements about enforcement; regional differences exist, and local governments may have additional rules.
One thing to watch for
Using 被 with an intransitive verb, as in 食品被过期了 (shípǐn bèi guòqī le).
Try this instead: 被 requires a transitive verb with a result. Say 食品过期了 (shípǐn guòqī le) 'The food expired' or 食品被没收了 (shípǐn bèi mòshōu le) 'The food was confiscated.'
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How would you say 'According to regulations, it is forbidden to use expired ingredients' in Chinese?
Show a sample answer
根据规定，禁止使用过期原料。
This uses the pattern 根据……规定 and the verb 禁止. You could also say 按照食品安全法的规定，禁止使用过期原料, which is more specific.
2Translate: 'That batch of food was confiscated by the regulatory department.'
Show a sample answer
那批食品被监管部门没收了。
This uses the passive 被 with the agent 监管部门 and the verb 没收. In informal speech, 让 could replace 被, but 被 is standard here.
3What does 必须标明 mean, and how would you use it in a sentence about food labels?
Show a sample answer
必须标明 means 'must be labeled with'. Example: 食品必须标明生产日期。
The subject is often the product, and the thing labeled follows 标明. You could also say 包装上必须标明成分.
To discuss food regulations in Chinese, use 根据……规定 for rules, 禁止 for bans, 必须 for requirements, and 被 for passive actions. Cite specific laws like 食品安全法 to sound precise.
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