Walking into a restaurant in China and being handed a menu entirely in Chinese characters is one of the most common moments of panic for first-time travelers. You know you want to eat, but you have no idea what any of the dishes are.
Here is how to solve that problem, step by step.
The Fastest Method: Camera Translation
The quickest way to translate a Chinese menu is to point your phone camera at it and get an instant translation.
ChinaPal AI Translator does this for free. No app download is needed. You open the website in your phone browser, tap the Photo tab, take a picture of the menu, and get an English translation.
It works on Chinese mobile data without a VPN, which matters because Google Translate is blocked in China.
Step by step:
- Open aihubai.cn/translate.html in Safari or Chrome
- Tap "Photo" at the top
- Point your camera at the menu and take a photo
- Read the English translation
There is also a text mode if you want to type a Chinese dish name, and a voice mode for talking to restaurant staff.
Common Chinese Menu Words to Know
Even with a translator, these words appear on almost every menu:
- 面 (miàn) — noodles
- 饭 (fàn) — rice
- 鸡 (jī) — chicken
- 牛肉 (niúròu) — beef
- 猪肉 (zhūròu) — pork
- 鱼 (yú) — fish
- 虾 (xiā) — shrimp
- 豆腐 (dòufu) — tofu
- 辣 (là) — spicy
- 炒 (chǎo) — stir-fried
- 汤 (tāng) — soup
- 烤 (kǎo) — roasted/grilled
If you see 素 (sù), the dish is vegetarian. If you see 招牌菜 (zhāopái cài), those are the restaurant's signature dishes.
What to Do If the Photo Doesn't Work
Some menus have fancy fonts, poor lighting, or glossy paper that causes glare. In that case:
- Use the text translation mode and type the characters using a Chinese keyboard, or
- Use the face-to-face voice mode and ask the waiter for a recommendation by holding up your phone
- Look for picture menus — many restaurants near tourist areas have them
Other Useful Phrases
The translator's voice mode can speak these for you:
- "I don't eat meat" — 我不吃肉
- "Not spicy, please" — 请不要辣
- "What do you recommend?" — 你推荐什么？
- "The bill, please" — 请买单
You can also find 50+ emergency phrases in the ChinaPal AI phrasebook.
Why Not Google Translate?
Google Translate has a camera feature, but it does not work in China unless you have a VPN. ChinaPal AI uses its own backend and works on any Chinese internet connection. It is also completely free for translation.
The main site at aihubai.cn also has an AI assistant that can answer questions like "What should I order at a Sichuan restaurant?" or "Is this dish spicy?"
Final Tip
If you are overwhelmed, just point at what the person next to you is eating and say "这个" (zhège — "this one"). It works surprisingly well.
For everything else, there is the camera translator. Bookmark it before your trip.
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