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Do you like your coffee better with milk or sugar? That’s definitely something you want the waiter to be aware of when having a drink in a Chinese coffeeshop! Let’s learn about the best Chinese expressions to say “I’ll have a… with that”.

There are many situations in which you want to add something to what you already have. For instance, when ordering food or buying things. Here are 5 expressions to learn so you can always say “I’ll have a…with that” in Chinese. Remember these Chinese grammar rules and speak like a native!

#1 和 – hé – And: to order easily in Chinese

One of the most useful Chinese expressions to say “I’ll have a… with that!” is definitely 和 hé and. You can use this one for almost everything, for example:

我要一杯茶和一块蛋糕。 wǒ yào yībēi chá hé yīkuài dàngāo. I want a cup of tea and a piece of cake.

See? This Chinese word can be used almost for everything and every situation. But if you want to sound more like a native in Mandarin, take a look at these other Chinese expressions than 和 to say “I’ll have a… with that”.

#2 还有 – hái yǒu- In addition

You’ve probably heard of 还有 hái yǒu in addition, which is one of the most common Chinese expressions, for sure! But be careful with 还有 hái yǒu. You can only use this expression when you want to add at least two things to what you already have.
Therefore, if all you want is rice with some chicken, you can just use 和. What if you’re thirsty? To add a glass of fruit juice to what you’ve just ordered, this is what you must say:

我要米饭和鸡肉，还有一杯果汁。 wǒ yào mǐfàn hé jīròu, hái yǒu yībēi guǒzhī. I want rice with chicken as well as a glass of fruit juice.

Using 还有 is really practical when it comes to asking for two or more things to add.

Basic Chinese expressions like 和 and 还有 are easy to use on daily basis, but still, they’re very common. Want to go from laowai to native speaker? Let’s jump to the third expression to learn how to literally say “plus”.

#3 加 – jiā – To add

The Chinese character 加 jiā to add is a convenient little bugger to know. It literally means “plus” and kind looks like a plus sign, doesn’t it?
The real mnemonic for it are the meaning components it is made of:

+

if you have the strength to open your mouth to ask, then you’ll have more “plus”… No?
It’s important to note that in Chinese grammar, the character 加 is always used as a verb, as “to add”.

Imagine you’re in a coffeeshop and you want a little sugar with your coffee, you can say:

咖啡加糖。 kāfēi jiātáng. Coffee with sugar.

Easy, right? Basically 加 works for most things you’d want to add IN something.
So want an extra egg in your noodles? 加 it !

我要一碗面条，加个鸡蛋！ wǒ yào yī wǎn miàntiáo, jiā gè jīdàn! I want an extra egg in my noodles!

Now that you’ve mastered the 加 thing, let’s go deeper! Sometimes you’ll come across other Chinese expressions like that can be added to 加 to emphasize the “plus” concept.

#4 再 – zài – Another / Some more

You’ll often meet 再 zài another next to 加 to say “I’ll have a…with that” in Chinese. 再 is always used before a verb such as 加. It also indicates the repetition: “some more”, “another”.

服务员，再加一个鸡蛋！ fúwùyuán, zài jiā yīgè jīdàn! Waiter, another egg, please!

Mandarin is such an accurate language, there’s a specific expression for every situation in which you want to add something. The last expression we’re going to introduce you is to only add things that match with what you’ve picked in a first place.

#5 配 – pèi – To match

The last but not least of the essential Chinese expressions like 和 to say “I’ll have a…with that” is 配 pèi to match. You may be wondering why you should use 配 to add something, aren’t you? Well, it’s simple!
This Chinese character is really useful when it comes to add something that matches what you already have.
What matches french fries the best ? Ketchup of course! So if you want to order fries and ketchup you can say:

我要一个中包薯条配番茄酱。 wǒ yào yīgè zhōng bāo shǔ tiáo pèi fānqié jiàng. I want a medium fry with ketchup.

Bonus: Hold the!

And if you wanted to explicitly say you wanted a coffee without sugar (not always an easy feat in China, as you’re in already-sweet-instant-coffee land), you could say:

咖啡不加糖 kāfēi bù jiātáng. I want coffee without sugar.

or even more simply you could say:

不要。 bùyào. I don’t want some.

Final words:

Chinese expressions to say “I’ll have a…with that” are definitely one of the most useful ones to know. By using these expressions to order in Chinese, all the doors will be open to you! I mean, what’s best than being able to ask everything you desire?
To be sure you’ll remember these expressions in Chinese forever, here’s a recap:

#1 和 hé and (the most basic Chinese word to add something)
#2 还有 hái yǒu in addition (for two or more things to add)
#3 加 jiā to add (only as a verb, to add something)
#4 再 zài another (before a verb, to repeat the action)
#5 配 pèi to match (to add things that match your order)

Do you know other expressions to order all you want in Chinese or funny stories about things that happened to you when ordering in Chinese? Let us know in the comments.

The Nincha Team

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