菜单
menu
càidān
What does 菜单 mean?
菜单 (càidān) is the Chinese word for 'menu' — the list of dishes at a restaurant. Literally 'dish list,' it covers paper menus, picture menus, mini-app menus, and the QR-code menus that have become standard in Chinese restaurants. 菜单 has also been adopted as the term for software menus (drop-down menus, app menus), so you will see it in tech contexts too: 设置菜单 (settings menu), 开始菜单 (start menu).
Two differences from English: first, when ordering at a restaurant the polite request is 请给我菜单 ('please give me the menu') or 菜单 (just the word, said gently); second, in Chinese restaurants you often hear 看一下菜单 ('let me look at the menu for a moment'), where 一下 softens the verb. The standard measure word for one physical menu is 份, with 本 for booklet-style menus.
Character breakdown
dish; vegetable; cuisine
list; single; bill
Memory hook: 菜 (dishes) + 单 (list) — literally a 'list of dishes.'
Measure word for 菜单
Example sentences
服务员，请给我菜单。
Fúwùyuán, qǐng gěi wǒ càidān.
Waiter, please give me the menu.
polite
这家饭店的菜单很有意思。
Zhè jiā fàndiàn de càidān hěn yǒu yìsi.
This restaurant's menu is really interesting.
spoken
你看看菜单，想吃什么？
Nǐ kànkan càidān, xiǎng chī shénme?
Take a look at the menu — what do you want to eat?
spoken
现在的菜单都用手机扫码看。
Xiànzài de càidān dōu yòng shǒujī sǎo mǎ kàn.
These days you scan a QR code with your phone to see the menu.
neutral
Common phrases with 菜单
Synonyms
菜谱 means 'recipe book / cookbook' — a collection of how-to recipes, not a restaurant menu. Tourists sometimes use 菜谱 when they mean 菜单; native speakers will gently correct them.
Don't confuse 菜单 with
账单 means 'bill / check' — what you pay at the end. 菜单 is what you read at the start. 'Bring the menu' = 给我菜单; 'bring the bill' = 给我账单 (or more commonly 买单 mǎidān).
名单 means 'list of names' (guest list, roster). Same 单 ('list') character; different content. 菜单 lists dishes; 名单 lists people.