How to Describe Food Taste in Mandarin Chinese: Sweet, Salty, Sour, Bitter, Spicy
Learn to say if food is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy in Mandarin Chinese using 'This is ___' and 'It tastes ___'. Describe inherent qualities, not personal preferences, with beginner-friendly examples.
By MarcusFood & cafés · Yapr Learn
In Mandarin Chinese, describing how food tastes is straightforward once you know the basic taste words and two key sentence patterns. This lesson teaches you to say that something is sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy using 'This is ___' (Zhè shì ___) and 'It tastes ___' (Tā cháng qǐlái ___). Unlike saying 'I like it' (which expresses personal preference), these patterns describe the food's inherent quality. You'll learn the five basic taste adjectives, how to use them in sentences, and how to ask about taste. No prior grammar knowledge needed; we'll use pinyin with tone marks and simplified Chinese characters. By the end, you'll be able to describe any food's taste accurately.
By the end, you can…
- name the five basic tastes in Mandarin Chinese: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, spicy.
- use 'This is ___' and 'It tastes ___' to describe a food's inherent taste.
- ask and answer simple questions about how a food tastes.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
这是甜的。
This is sweet.
Zhè shì tián de.
Use 这是 (Zhè shì) + taste adjective + 的 (de) to state a fact about the food's taste. 甜 (tián) means sweet. The 的 (de) is optional in casual speech.
这是咸的。
This is salty.
Zhè shì xián de.
咸 (xián) means salty. Use for dishes that are too salty or appropriately salted. The 的 (de) is optional in casual speech.
这是酸的。
This is sour.
Zhè shì suān de.
酸 (suān) means sour. Use for lemons, vinegar, or fermented foods. The 的 (de) is optional in casual speech.
这是苦的。
This is bitter.
Zhè shì kǔ de.
苦 (kǔ) means bitter. Use for bitter melon, strong coffee, or some medicines. The 的 (de) is optional in casual speech.
这是辣的。
This is spicy.
Zhè shì là de.
辣 (là) means spicy. Use for chili peppers, Sichuan dishes, etc. The 的 (de) is optional in casual speech.
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
The pattern '这是 + taste adjective + 的' (Zhè shì + [taste] + de) means 'This is [taste]'. The 的 (de) at the end is optional in casual speech but common when emphasizing the quality. For example, 这是甜的 (Zhè shì tián de) = 'This is sweet.' To say 'It tastes [taste]', use '它尝起来 + taste adjective' (Tā cháng qǐlái + [taste]). For example, 它尝起来很酸 (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn suān) = 'It tastes very sour.' The adverb 很 (hěn) means 'very' and softens the adjective. You can replace 它 (tā) with the food name: 这个菜尝起来很辣 (Zhège cài cháng qǐlái hěn là) = 'This dish tastes very spicy.'
When to use it
Use '这是 + taste + 的' when you want to state a simple fact about what something is, like pointing to a dish and saying 'This is sweet.' Use '它尝起来 + taste' when you are describing the experience of tasting, especially if the taste is unexpected or you want to emphasize the sensation. For example, if a soup is surprisingly sour, you might say 它尝起来很酸 (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn suān). To ask 'How does it taste?', say 它尝起来怎么样？ (Tā cháng qǐlái zěnme yàng?). To ask 'Is this sweet?', say 这是甜的吗？ (Zhè shì tián de ma?). Note that these patterns describe inherent qualities, not personal likes. To express liking, you would say 我喜欢 (Wǒ xǐhuān) = 'I like'.
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
这个汤尝起来怎么样？
How does this soup taste?Zhège tāng cháng qǐlái zěnme yàng?它尝起来很咸。
It tastes very salty.Tā cháng qǐlái hěn xián.真的吗？这是咸的？
Really? This is salty?Zhēn de ma? Zhè shì xián de?是的，而且有点辣。
Yes, and it's a bit spicy.Shì de, érqiě yǒudiǎn là.A little context goes a long way
In Chinese cuisine, the five basic tastes are often balanced, and describing a dish as 'sour' or 'bitter' is not necessarily negative; it can be a compliment if the balance is right. When commenting on taste, it's common to use 有点 (yǒudiǎn) meaning 'a bit' to soften a potentially negative description, e.g., 有点咸 (yǒudiǎn xián) = 'a bit salty'. Avoid saying 这是甜的 (Zhè shì tián de) about a main dish unless it's supposed to be sweet; it might imply it's dessert-like. Also, 辣 (là) is highly regional: Sichuan and Hunan cuisines are famous for spiciness, while Cantonese food is milder.
One thing to watch for
Using '我喜欢' (Wǒ xǐhuān) to mean 'It is tasty' or confusing personal preference with inherent taste.
Try this instead: To describe inherent taste, use '这是甜的' (Zhè shì tián de) or '它尝起来很甜' (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn tián). '我喜欢' means 'I like', which is a personal preference, not a description of the food itself. For example, if you want to say 'This is sweet', say 这是甜的, not 我喜欢甜的 (which means 'I like sweet things').
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'This is sour' in Mandarin?
Show a sample answer
这是酸的。 (Zhè shì suān de.)
This uses the pattern '这是' + taste adjective '酸' + '的'. Alternatively, you could say 它尝起来很酸 (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn suān) to emphasize the tasting experience.
2Translate into Chinese: 'It tastes very spicy.'
Show a sample answer
它尝起来很辣。 (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn là.)
This uses '它尝起来' + '很' + '辣'. You could also say 这是辣的 (Zhè shì là de) for 'This is spicy', but '尝起来' specifically means 'tastes'.
3What is the Mandarin word for 'bitter'?
Show a sample answer
苦 (kǔ)
苦 (kǔ) means bitter. It is one of the five basic tastes. You can use it in sentences like 这是苦的 (Zhè shì kǔ de) or 它尝起来很苦 (Tā cháng qǐlái hěn kǔ).
Use '这是 + taste + 的' to state what a food is, and '它尝起来 + taste' to describe how it tastes. Remember the five tastes: 甜 (sweet), 咸 (salty), 酸 (sour), 苦 (bitter), 辣 (spicy). These describe inherent qualities, not personal likes.
Progress is saved on this browser.
Practice real time conversations on Yapr for faster learning.
Put today’s Chinese into a conversation with an AI tutor. Speak, make mistakes, and try again.
Practice on Yapr