饭店
restaurant; hotel
fàndiàn
What does 饭店 mean?
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.
Character breakdown
cooked rice; meal
shop; store
Memory hook: 'Meal shop' — a place that sells meals. If you sleep there too, it's the hotel sense.
Measure word for 饭店
Example sentences
我们去饭店吃饭。
Wǒmen qù fàndiàn chī fàn.
Let's go to the restaurant to eat.
spoken
这家饭店的菜很好吃。
Zhè jiā fàndiàn de cài hěn hǎochī.
This restaurant's food is delicious.
neutral
我住在北京饭店。
Wǒ zhù zài Běijīng fàndiàn.
I'm staying at the Beijing Hotel.
neutral
饭店在哪儿？
Fàndiàn zài nǎr?
Where is the restaurant?
spoken
Common phrases with 饭店
Synonyms
餐厅 specifically means 'restaurant / dining hall' and never 'hotel.' Use 餐厅 when you want to be unambiguous about eating; 饭店 in mainland speech can lean hotel. A hotel's in-house restaurant is also often called 餐厅.
饭馆 (often 饭馆儿 in northern speech) feels smaller and more casual — a neighborhood eatery. 饭店 sounds bigger and more formal. 小饭馆 vs. 大饭店.
酒店 most often means 'hotel' (especially upscale) and only secondarily a fancy restaurant. If you want to say 'hotel' clearly,
Don't confuse 饭店 with
FAQ
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