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Stepping into a café in China can feel daunting if you don’t speak the language — but the truth is, you only need a handful of simple words to order exactly what you want.

Four of the most popular coffee drinks have short, approachable Chinese names. A smooth latte is called 拿铁 (ná tiě), a frothy cappuccino is shortened to 卡布 (kǎ bù), the classic black coffee is 美式 (měi shì), and a potent shot of espresso goes by 意式浓缩 (yì shì nóng suō).

Picking your drink temperature is just as easy. Add 热 (rè) before the drink name for a hot version, or 冰 (bīng) for something cold. The rule works for nearly every drink on the menu: an iced latte is 冰拿铁 (bīng ná tiě), and an iced Americano is 冰美式 (bīng měi shì). And if you need something more complicated, we've got you covered too.

Welcome to Actually Useful Mandarin, where we teach you the Chinese you’ll actually use on your trip.

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How to order coffee in Chinese