How To Order Coffee In Traditional Chinese (點咖啡 — Diǎn Kāfēi)

yak holding “Order Coffee in Chinese 點咖啡” with coffee cup icons and café elements

Cafés are language gyms with better lighting. In Taiwan, ordering coffee or tea is a string of small, friendly verbs—要、來、給—and a few fast choices: hot or iced, dine-in or take-out, sugar and ice levels, milk type, size. Learn the verbs and the menu nouns in Traditional Chinese (with pinyin right after), and you can place clean, confident orders from hip hand-pour bars to convenience-store counters.

Core Ordering Verbs (Your Smooth Starter Pack)

我要__。
wǒ yào ______.
I want ______.

我想要__。
wǒ xiǎng yào ______.
I’d like ______.

來一杯__。
lái yì bēi ______.
One cup of ______, please.

幫我__,謝謝。
bāng wǒ ______, xiè xie.
Please help me with ______, thanks.

給我__就好。
gěi wǒ ______ jiù hǎo.
Just ______ for me.

我要點__。
wǒ yào diǎn ______.
I’d like to order ______.

Coffee & Tea Essentials (Say What You Actually Drink)

美式咖啡
měi shì kā fēi
Americano

拿鐵
ná tiě
Latte

卡布奇諾
kǎ bù qí nuò
Cappuccino

濃縮(義式濃縮)
nóng suō (yì shì nóng suō)
Espresso

手沖咖啡
shǒu chōng kā fēi
Pour-over

冷萃
lěng cuì
Cold brew

燕麥奶/豆漿
yàn mài nǎi / dòu jiāng
Oat milk / soy milk

紅茶/綠茶/烏龍茶
hóng chá / lǜ chá / wū lóng chá
Black / green / oolong tea

奶茶
nǎi chá
Milk tea

珍珠奶茶(波霸奶茶)
zhēn zhū nǎi chá (bō bà nǎi chá)
Bubble milk tea (boba milk tea)

Hot Or Iced, Here Or To Go, Size & Milk

熱的/冰的
rè de / bīng de
Hot / iced

內用/外帶
nèi yòng / wài dài
For here / to go

小杯/中杯/大杯
xiǎo bēi / zhōng bēi / dà bēi
Small / medium / large

全脂牛奶/低脂牛奶
quán zhī niú nǎi / dī zhī niú nǎi
Whole milk / low-fat milk

換成燕麥奶可以嗎?
huàn chéng yàn mài nǎi kě yǐ ma?
Can I switch to oat milk?

Taiwan-Style Sugar & Ice Levels (Tea Shops And Iced Coffee Alike)

無糖/微糖/半糖/少糖/全糖
wú táng / wēi táng / bàn táng / shǎo táng / quán táng
No sugar / light sweet / half sweet / less sweet / full sweet

去冰/微冰/少冰/正常冰
qù bīng / wēi bīng / shǎo bīng / zhèng cháng bīng
No ice / light ice / less ice / regular ice

Flavor, Strength, Extras

要濃一點
yào nóng yì diǎn
Make it stronger.

少一點奶
shǎo yì diǎn nǎi
Less milk.

加一點糖(或:不要糖)
jiā yì diǎn táng (huò: bú yào táng)
Add a little sugar (or: no sugar).

加一份濃縮(多一份shot)
jiā yí fèn nóng suō (duō yí fèn shot)
Add one extra shot of espresso.

不要奶泡
bú yào nǎi pào
No foam.

Pay, Name, Timing

可以先結帳嗎?
kě yǐ xiān jié zhàng ma?
Can I pay first?

刷卡還是行動支付?
shuā kǎ hái shì xíng dòng zhī fù?
Card or mobile pay?

要留名字嗎?
yào liú míng zì ma?
Do I need to leave a name?

大概幾分鐘好?
dà gài jǐ fēn zhōng hǎo?
About how many minutes?

Mini Dialogues(Short, Real, Reusable)

吧台點單
A:想喝什麼呢?
A: xiǎng hē shén me ne?
A: What would you like to drink?
B:來一杯熱拿鐵,中杯,半糖。
B: lái yì bēi rè ná tiě, zhōng bēi, bàn táng
B: A hot latte, medium, half sweet.
A:要內用還是外帶?
A: yào nèi yòng hái shì wài dài?
A: For here or to go?
B:外帶,謝謝。
B: wài dài, xiè xie
B: To go, thanks.

手沖選豆
A:手沖想要偏酸還是偏厚?
A: shǒu chōng xiǎng yào piān suān hái shì piān hòu?
A: For pour-over, brighter acidity or fuller body?
B:偏酸,幫我中焙就好。
B: piān suān, bāng wǒ zhōng bèi jiù hǎo
B: Brighter, medium roast is fine.
A:那這支衣索比亞很適合。
A: nà zhè zhī yī suǒ bǐ yà hěn shì hé
A: Then this Ethiopia suits you.

便利商店咖啡
A:我要一杯冰美式,大杯,去冰。
A: wǒ yào yì bēi bīng měi shì, dà bēi, qù bīng
A: One large iced Americano, no ice.
B:需要加一份濃縮嗎?
B: xū yào jiā yí fèn nóng suō ma?
B: Add an extra espresso shot?
A:好,幫我加。
A: hǎo, bāng wǒ jiā
A: Yes, please add.

奶茶客製
A:珍珠奶茶想要什麼甜度、冰塊?
A: zhēn zhū nǎi chá xiǎng yào shén me tián dù, bīng kuài?
A: What sugar and ice level for your bubble milk tea?
B:無糖,少冰,換成燕麥奶可以嗎?
B: wú táng, shǎo bīng, huàn chéng yàn mài nǎi kě yǐ ma?
B: No sugar, less ice—can you switch to oat milk?
A:可以,補差價喔。
A: kě yǐ, bǔ chā jià o
A: Sure—there’s a small upcharge.

Copy-Ready Patterns(Plug In Your Order)

我要__,__杯,__的。
wǒ yào ______, ______ bēi, ______ de
I want ______, ______ size, ______ (hot/iced).

__咖啡幫我__糖、__冰。
______ kā fēi bāng wǒ ______ táng, ______ bīng
For the ______ coffee, please make it ______ sugar, ______ ice.

可以換成__奶嗎?
kě yǐ huàn chéng ______ nǎi ma?
Can I switch to ______ milk?

內用/外帶,幫我加一份濃縮。
nèi yòng / wài dài, bāng wǒ jiā yí fèn nóng suō
For here / to go, add one extra shot.

給我__就好,不要__。
gěi wǒ ______ jiù hǎo, bú yào ______
Just ______ for me, no ______.

Usage Notes & Common Mistakes

只會說「要」而沒有規格
補齊四件事最穩:品項+溫度(熱/冰)+大小(小中大)+甜冰(茶飲/冰咖啡)。

把「去冰」說成「不要冰」
去冰=杯中不放冰塊;不要冰在店員耳裡可能變「熱的」。說「冰的,去冰」最清楚。

奶泡與奶量
「不要奶泡」是無泡;「少一點奶」是減奶量,兩者不同。

飲料甜度
咖啡店多用「無糖/少糖」;手搖飲店常有更細分的「微糖/半糖」。配合店型說更自然。

Quick Reference Table

EnglishTraditional ChinesePinyin
Americano美式咖啡měi shì kā fēi
Latte拿鐵ná tiě
Cappuccino卡布奇諾kǎ bù qí nuò
Espresso濃縮nóng suō
Pour-over手沖咖啡shǒu chōng kā fēi
Cold brew冷萃lěng cuì
Hot / iced熱的/冰的rè de / bīng de
For here / to go內用/外帶nèi yòng / wài dài
Small/Med/Large小杯/中杯/大杯xiǎo bēi / zhōng bēi / dà bēi
Sugar levels無糖/微糖/半糖/少糖/全糖wú táng / wēi táng / bàn táng / shǎo táng / quán táng
Ice levels去冰/微冰/少冰/正常冰qù bīng / wēi bīng / shǎo bīng / zhèng cháng bīng
Oat milk / soy milk燕麥奶/豆漿yàn mài nǎi / dòu jiāng
Add a shot加一份濃縮jiā yí fèn nóng suō
Black/Green/Oolong tea紅茶/綠茶/烏龍茶hóng chá / lǜ chá / wū lóng chá
Bubble milk tea珍珠奶茶zhēn zhū nǎi chá

Pronunciation Tips

拿鐵 ná tiě:第二聲+第三聲,tiě 的短降要明顯,別平掉。
濃縮 nóng suō:兩個第二聲連續時,前一個上揚別過度。
手沖 shǒu chōng:chōng 的 ch 要送氣清楚;-ong 圓而深。
外帶 wài dài:兩個第四聲,保持乾淨的雙落。
去冰 qù bīng:qù 的第四聲到位,bīng 的 -ng 收尾緊。

Practice Plan(Five Honest Minutes)

朗讀一條完整訂單三輪:我要冰拿鐵,中杯,半糖,少冰,外帶。
改寫兩條:把拿鐵換成美式;把少冰改成去冰並加一份濃縮。
錄音一段 15 秒自訂單:咖啡一杯+茶一杯,各說清甜度/冰量。
最後做收銀台句子:可以先結帳嗎?刷卡,謝謝。

Yak-Style Closing Spark

Ordering is choreography: 要/來 開場,大小與溫度定節拍,糖度冰塊收乾淨。掌握這幾個動作,你的咖啡中文就像一杯手沖——簡單、精準、剛好合口味。