买咖啡 Buying Coffee in Chinese

早上zǎoshang我wǒ去qù咖啡店kāfēidiàn买mǎi咖啡kāfēi。

In the morning I go to the coffee shop to buy coffee.

服务员fúwùyuán问wèn我wǒ：“您nín要yào热rè的de还是háishi冰bīng的de？”

The server asks me: "Would you like it hot or iced?"

我wǒ说shuō：“我wǒ要yào一杯yì bēi热rè咖啡kāfēi，不要bú yào糖táng。”

I say: "I'd like a hot coffee, no sugar."

咖啡kāfēi三十sānshí块kuài钱qián，有点儿yǒudiǎnr贵guì。

The coffee is thirty kuai — a little expensive.

但是dànshì很hěn好喝hǎohē，我wǒ每天měi tiān都dōu想xiǎng喝hē。

But it's delicious — I want to drink it every day.

🔊 Audio uses your device's Chinese voice for now — teacher recordings are coming. Tap any word to see its meaning.

Key words 生词

咖啡店kāfēidiàncoffee shop

服务员fúwùyuánwaiter; server

还是háishior (in questions)

有点儿yǒudiǎnra little (+ negative feeling)

贵guìexpensive

好喝hǎohētasty (for drinks)

还是 vs 或者 — two kinds of 'or'

In QUESTIONS use 还是: 热的还是冰的? In statements use 或者: 我喝茶或者咖啡都可以.

你要茶还是咖啡? — Would you like tea or coffee?

1. What kind of coffee does the writer order?

2. How much does the coffee cost?

3. Why does the writer want to drink it every day?

After this reading

I'm Fei, and I teach Mandarin one-on-one on Preply. Bring this text to a trial lesson — we'll fix your tones and turn it into a real conversation.