How to say “No cilantro, please” in Chinese
“No cilantro, please” in Chinese is 不要香菜。, written in pinyin as Bú yào xiāngcài.
不要香菜。
Bú yào xiāngcài.
No cilantro, please.
Word by word
What each part of 不要香菜。 actually means.
- 不要bú yàodon't want
- 香菜xiāngcàicilantro / coriander
When you use it
- Use it at any restaurant, noodle shop or street stall before or while ordering — cilantro comes as a default garnish across most of China.
- It is also the right answer to 加不加香菜, the question you will hear constantly in canteens and noodle shops.
Use 不要香菜。 in restaurant situations. Order food, ask for the bill, handle spice levels.
Other ways people say it
The same idea, said differently. Roughly in the order you'll hear them.
不要葱。
Bú yào cōng
No scallions, please.
我不吃香菜。
Wǒ bù chī xiāngcài
I don't eat cilantro.
香菜放一边。
Xiāngcài fàng yìbiān
Put the cilantro on the side.
What usually trips people up
- Mixing up 不要辣 and 不要香菜 — 辣 is chili spice and 香菜 is the herb; the wrong one brings you chili oil instead of removing the garnish.
- Staying silent and picking it out later — staff garnish dishes automatically, so stating 不要香菜 before cooking keeps it out of the broth entirely.
- Forgetting the same pattern for 葱 (scallions) — the other herb sprinkled on nearly as widely, and the identical 不要葱 keeps it off too.
What you might hear back
- 好，不加香菜。Hǎo, bù jiā xiāngcàiOkay, no cilantro.
- 香菜单独放。Xiāngcài dāndú fàngThe cilantro will come on the side.
- 一点都不加吗？Yìdiǎn dōu bù jiā ma?Not even a little bit?
Common questions
- How do you say "No cilantro, please" in Chinese?
- "No cilantro, please" in Chinese is 不要香菜。 — written in pinyin as Bú yào xiāngcài. It is a restaurant phrase you would use in China.
- What does 不要香菜。 mean in Chinese?
- 不要香菜。 (Bú yào xiāngcài) means "No cilantro, please". Broken down word by word: 不要 (bú yào) means "don't want"; 香菜 (xiāngcài) means "cilantro / coriander".
- When would you use "No cilantro, please" in Chinese?
- Use it at any restaurant, noodle shop or street stall before or while ordering — cilantro comes as a default garnish across most of China. It is also the right answer to 加不加香菜, the question you will hear constantly in canteens and noodle shops.
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