L002 · Breakfast Shop 早餐店

intermediate · ordering at a Taiwanese breakfast shop
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Dotted underline = tone sandhi — the syllable's tone shifts in connected speech (tap/hover for why).

Vocabulary

蛋dàn餅bǐng
egg crepe (a breakfast staple) (noun)
🇹🇼 Iconic Taiwanese breakfast item — a savory egg pancake roll. Order it 加起司 (with cheese) or 加蛋 (extra egg).
豆dòu漿jiāng
soy milk (noun)
🇹🇼 A breakfast classic, served 冰 (iced) or 熱 (hot); pairs with 燒餅油條 and 蛋餅.
起qǐ司sī
cheese (noun)
🇹🇼 Common Taiwan word for cheese (from English). Mainland often uses 奶酪 / 芝士.
配pèi
to go with / pair with (verb)
🇹🇼 Used constantly when ordering: 配一杯豆漿 = have a soy milk alongside.
份fèn
portion (measure word for food) (measure word)
🇹🇼 一份 = one serving/portion of a dish; contrast 杯 (bēi) for drinks.
趕gǎn時shí間jiān
to be in a hurry / pressed for time (phrase)
🇹🇼 我趕時間 is the natural way to say you're rushed.

Useful expressions

這zhè樣yàng就jiù好hǎo
that's all / that'll do
🇹🇼 Very common to close an order or decline more: 這樣就好，謝謝.
要yào不bú要yào
do you want (to)…? (offering/suggesting)
🇹🇼 Affirmative-negative question; softer and friendlier than 你要…嗎.

Story — At the 早餐店

Follow along — the current line highlights as it plays; tap a line to jump to it (long-press to replay it).
老闆娘：
早zǎo安ān！今jīn天tiān要yào吃chī什shén麼me？
Morning! What would you like today?
小明：
老lǎo闆bǎn娘niáng，我wǒ要yào一yí份fèn蛋dàn餅bǐng，加jiā起qǐ司sī。
Boss, I'd like one egg crepe, with cheese added.
老闆娘：
要yào不bú要yào配pèi一yì杯bēi豆dòu漿jiāng？
Want a soy milk to go with it?
小明：
好hǎo啊a，我wǒ要yào一yì杯bēi冰bīng豆dòu漿jiāng。
Sure — I'll have an iced soy milk.
老闆娘：
內nèi用yòng還hái是shì外wài帶dài？
For here or to go?
小明：
外wài帶dài，謝xiè謝xie。我wǒ趕gǎn時shí間jiān。
To go, thanks. I'm in a hurry.
老闆娘：
好hǎo，蛋dàn餅bǐng加jiā起qǐ司sī，一yì杯bēi冰bīng豆dòu漿jiāng，五wǔ十shí塊kuài。
Okay — egg crepe with cheese, one iced soy milk, fifty dollars.
小明：
這zhè樣yàng就jiù好hǎo，謝xiè謝xie老lǎo闆bǎn娘niáng！
That's everything, thanks!

Build-up

要不要…？ — offering / suggesting

要不要 means 'do you want to…?' — a soft, friendly way to offer something or make a suggestion. Listen, then say it back.
要yào不bú要yào配pèi一yì杯bēi豆dòu漿jiāng？
Want a soy milk with it?
要yào不bú要yào加jiā起qǐ司sī？
Want to add cheese?
你nǐ要yào不bú要yào吃chī蛋dàn餅bǐng？
Do you want to eat an egg crepe?

份 vs 杯 — measure words for food and drinks

份 (fèn) counts a portion of food; 杯 (bēi) counts a cup of a drink. Notice how 一 changes tone before each.
我wǒ要yào一yí份fèn蛋dàn餅bǐng。
I'd like one egg crepe.
我wǒ要yào一yì杯bēi豆dòu漿jiāng。
I'd like one soy milk.
我wǒ要yào兩liǎng份fèn蛋dàn餅bǐng、一yì杯bēi紅hóng茶chá。
I'd like two egg crepes and a black tea.

加 vs 配 — adding vs pairing

加 (jiā) means add an ingredient into something; 配 (pèi) means have something alongside it.
蛋dàn餅bǐng加jiā起qǐ司sī。
Egg crepe with cheese added.
蛋dàn餅bǐng加jiā蛋dàn。
Egg crepe with an extra egg.
配pèi一yì杯bēi冰bīng豆dòu漿jiāng。
With an iced soy milk on the side.

Review: 內用 / 外帶, and 趕時間

From last lesson: 內用 is dine-in, 外帶 is takeout. And 趕時間 means to be in a hurry.
內nèi用yòng還hái是shì外wài帶dài？
For here or to go?
外wài帶dài，我wǒ趕gǎn時shí間jiān。
To go — I'm in a hurry.

Stroke order

New characters in this lesson — tap a character to see its strokes drawn, or ✎ to trace it yourself. (Needs internet for now.)

dàn
bǐng
dòu
jiāng
qǐ
sī
pèi
fèn
gǎn
shí
jiān
zhè
yàng
jiù
hǎo
yào
bú

Definitions from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from 教育部《重編國語辭典修訂本》 via 萌典 (g0v moedict) (CC BY-ND 3.0 TW).