饭店

饭店 (fàndiàn) literally means 'rice shop' and refers to a restaurant or, depending on context, a hotel. In mainland China the word commonly names larger, sit-down restaurants and the kind of mid- to upmarket hotels that include dining (e.g. 北京饭店 'Beijing Hotel'); on a casual everyday level, smaller eateries are usually 餐厅 (cāntīng) or 饭馆 (fànguǎn). English speakers should note two quirks: first, 饭 ('cooked rice') stands in for 'a meal' generally, so 吃饭 means 'eat a meal,' not specifically 'eat rice'; second, because 饭店 can mean either 'restaurant' or 'hotel,' the surrounding context decides — 去饭店吃饭 is 'go to a restaurant to eat,' 住在饭店 is 'stay at a hotel.'

Note: Mainland usage often means a larger, mid- to upmarket restaurant or a hotel; in Taiwan, 飯店 leans more strongly toward 'hotel.' For a small everyday eatery, 餐厅 (cāntīng) or 小饭馆 (xiǎo fànguǎn) is more accurate.

Memory hook: 'Meal shop' — a place that sells meals. If you sleep there too, it's the hotel sense.