How do you say "The bill, please" in Chinese?

"The bill, please" in Chinese is 买单。 — written in pinyin as Mǎidān. It is a restaurant phrase you would use in China.

What does 买单。 mean in Chinese?

买单。 (Mǎidān) means "The bill, please". Broken down word by word: 买单 (mǎidān) means "to settle the bill".

When would you use "The bill, please" in Chinese?

At the end of a meal in a sit-down restaurant: catch a server's eye and say it, or say it at the till on your way out. The bill covers the whole table, and one person settling it is the norm, so it is also the phrase you use when you intend to pay for everyone.

How to say “The bill, please” in Chinese

“The bill, please” in Chinese is 买单。, written in pinyin as Mǎidān.

买单。

Mǎidān.

The bill, please.

When you use it

At the end of a meal in a sit-down restaurant: catch a server's eye and say it, or say it at the till on your way out.
The bill covers the whole table, and one person settling it is the norm, so it is also the phrase you use when you intend to pay for everyone.

Use 买单。 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.

结账。
Jiézhàng
The bill, please.
The standard word in Taiwan and much of the south. Understood everywhere on the mainland, so either one works.
我买单。
Wǒ mǎidān
I am paying.
Said while reaching for your phone. In China everyone offers at once, so saying it first is polite rather than pushy.
可以分开付吗？
Kěyǐ fēnkāi fù ma?
Can we pay separately?
Ask before the cashier starts, because the default assumption is one payment for the table.

What usually trips people up

买单 is the mainland phrase and 结账 is what people say in Taiwan. Both are understood, but 结账 in a Beijing restaurant sounds slightly unusual.
Tipping is not expected and a service charge would be printed on the menu, so the number on the bill is the number you pay.
If you need an official receipt for expenses, ask for 发票 (fāpiào) at the moment you pay. It has to be issued from the original transaction and cannot be added afterwards.

What you might hear back

好的，稍等。Hǎo de, shāoděngOK, one moment.
扫码付款。Sǎo mǎ fùkuǎnScan the code to pay.
一共一百二十八。Yígòng yībǎi èrshíbā128 yuan altogether.

Common questions

How do you say "The bill, please" in Chinese?: "The bill, please" in Chinese is 买单。 — written in pinyin as Mǎidān. It is a restaurant phrase you would use in China.
What does 买单。 mean in Chinese?: 买单。 (Mǎidān) means "The bill, please". Broken down word by word: 买单 (mǎidān) means "to settle the bill".
When would you use "The bill, please" in Chinese?: At the end of a meal in a sit-down restaurant: catch a server's eye and say it, or say it at the till on your way out. The bill covers the whole table, and one person settling it is the norm, so it is also the phrase you use when you intend to pay for everyone.

Where you'll use it

买单。 comes up in these situations, in this order.

🍜 Ordering food9 steps

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