Learn How to Say 48 Different Fruits in Mandarin Chinese

Want to learn all the different kinds of fruit in Chinese? Then you’ve come to the right place.

Fruit in Chinese is 水果 (shuǐguǒ), which literally means “water fruit”. Most fruit names are short words you can drop straight into a sentence, such as 苹果 (píngguǒ) for apple, 香蕉 (xiāngjiāo) for banana and 芒果 (mángguǒ) for mango. This guide covers 48 fruits with Hanzi, pinyin and audio, plus the measure words and market phrases you need to buy fruit in China.

Time to get fruity!

What better way to get started than to fill up the shopping basket with some fruit and vegetables?

When you’re done learning fruit in Chinese, fill the rest of your basket with all your veggies in Chinese!

First things first, fruit in Chinese is 水果 shuǐguǒ.

The word 水果 is built from 水 (shuǐ, water) and 果 (guǒ, fruit on a tree), so it literally means “water fruit”, a handy reminder of how juicy fresh fruit is.

Here’s your first fruit sentence: 我喜欢吃水果 (wǒ xǐhuan chī shuǐguǒ), “I like eating fruit.” Swap 水果 for any fruit below, like 我喜欢吃芒果 (wǒ xǐhuan chī mángguǒ, “I like eating mango”), and you’ve built a brand new sentence 💡

Fruits in Chinese || Most Common

Fruits in Chinese || Long List

Fruits in Chinese || Strange Chinese Fruits

Fruits in Chinese || Measure Words and Market Phrases

Fruits in Chinese || Most Common

Check the top 20 most common fruit in Chinese with these simple flashcards!

Didn’t see what you’re looking for?

Search below for our full guide to learning all fruit in Chinese.

Are you a vegan or vegetarian living in China?

Being a vegan in China is not without its challenges. Thankfully there are others who have paved the way to show how it’s possible.

Check out our blog on being Vegetarian in China and some stories from our students who have “been there done that”!

Enjoying these flashcards of fruit in Chinese?

You might also be interested in what a traditional breakfast in Taiwan looks like.

Fruits in Chinese || Long List

Didn’t find the fruit you were looking for?

Not to worry we’ve translated them all with this helpful mega list of fruit in Chinese.

TIP💡 Orange or mandarin? In the table, 橙 (chéng) and 柑橘 (gān jú) are the short and general forms. At the fruit stall you’ll mostly hear the two words below.

You’ll also see 橘子 written as 桔子, with the same pronunciation. And don’t let the English trip you up: the fruit called a mandarin is 橘子, while the Mandarin language is 普通话 (pǔtōnghuà) or simply 中文 (zhōngwén).

BONUS || Strange Chinese Fruits

Think we are done with Chinese Fruit? Not yet!

Now that you know how to name all of your favourite fruit in Chinese, let’s have a look at some unusual and strange fruits you might stumble upon during your stay in China.

China is a weird and wonderful place for many reasons, and Chinese fruit is another thing you can add to that list.

Want apples, pears and oranges? Sure no problem, but why have those when you can have…

Dragon Fruit, A Buddha’s Hand, and the much maligned Durian!

Chinese Fruit || What’s the Deal

Chinese fruit is BROAD, there are so many, some with familiar names, and some not! To be brutally honest, a lot of these fruits, despite an odd look to them, have wonderful flavour that is worth tucking into.

For example, let’s take the Mangosteen (which actually originated from Indonesia funnily enough).

Despite the mangosteen looking not so fruit like upon first glance, get peeling and you’ll discover a lovely fragrant smell, which gives off a tangy, rather sweet taste. Not so bad right?

The same cannot be said for Durian however.

The curse of many a foreigner, but why?

There is rarely a food, let alone Chinese fruit, that can split opinion so much like the Durian can.

Loved by locals and hated by foreigners. Let’s try and discover why.

Why is Durian hated? The odour itself is not pleasant, not pleasant at all to be frank. Trust us when we say that too. Take Singapore as an example. They have actually banned Durian from their Metro! THAT’S how bad it is

Despite this, a large portion of Chinese can’t get enough of its fleshy texture and taste. The Durian, in fact, is so loved in China that you can even get your hands on Durian sweeties and (cover your eyes Italian readers) Durian PIZZA.

Again trust us when we say, DO NOT TOUCH THEM!

They might all look a little bit weird, sure, but they actually are very tasty! Well…except maybe for the durian, people either hate it, or love it. But you’ll have to try to know 😉

Enjoyed our guide to Chinese fruit blog? We make weekly content to help you learn mandarin and get an understanding of Chinese culture, history, food, religion, travel and much more!

Buying Fruit in Chinese || Measure Words and Market Phrases

Knowing the names is step one. To actually buy fruit, you need a few measure words for fruit and some phrases for the stall. Most fruit at Chinese markets is priced by weight, not by piece.

Now put them to work at the stall:

TIP💡 Before a measure word, use 两 (liǎng) for “two”, never 二 (èr): 两斤, not 二斤. In Taipei the 斤 is 600 g, so the same order gets you a little more fruit.

The fastest way to make all this stick is to use it. Take this list to a local market or supermarket, read the price labels (always per 斤) and order one fruit you’ve never tried.

Fruit in Chinese || Quiz

Time's up

Fruit in Chinese || FAQs

Want more from LTL?

If you wish to hear more from LTL Language School why not join our mailing list? We give plenty of handy information on learning Chinese, useful apps to learn the language and everything going on at our LTL schools!

Sign up below and become part of our ever-growing community!

⭐ Download our free ebook, your starter pack of essential Mandarin learning resources!

BONUS || Want to study Chinese with us in China? Why not check out our group and individual classes here