When lunchtime in China rolls around, what do people go to eat?  Up north, many choose to go out for 饺子 (dumplings) or 面条 (noodles) at a local 面馆 (noodle restaurant).  Other people might go to a nearby street stall and grab some 饭 (rice) with different selections of 荤菜 (meat dishes) and 素菜 (vegetable dishes).  People who can’t get away from their desks may resort to 叫外卖 (ordering delivery), while workers at large corporations will make their way down to the building’s 食堂 (cafeteria).  Employers, keep an eye on your employees who go for 快餐, as they may be rushing back to their desks to 偷菜 (steal vegetables – refers to playing online games).

饺子 jiao3zi (technically pronunciation is jiao2(3)zi3, but the addition of 子 to single-word nouns usually leads to a neutral pronunciation of 子)
面条 mian4tiao2 – noodles
面馆 mian4guan3 – noodle restaurant
饭 fan4 – rice
荤菜 hun1cai4 – meat dish
素菜 su4cai4 – vegetable dish
叫 jiao4 – call, order
外卖 wai4mai4 – delivery food
食堂 shi2tang2 – cafeteria/dining hall
快餐 kuai4can1 – fast food
偷菜 tou1cai4 – lit. steal vegetables. this comes from 开心农场 (kai1xin1nong2chang3 – happy farm, a Chinese predecessor to the popular online game Farmville.