How to Say “Ice water” in Chinese
Food and dining · HSK 2
"Ice water" in Chinese is 冰水 (bīng shuǐ). Heads up: asking for 冰水 in Mainland China often gets you a puzzled look. Traditional Chinese medicine treats cold drinks as bad for your 肠胃 (cháng wèi, digestive system), so the default at restaurants is 温水 (wēn shuǐ, warm water) or 热水 (rè shuǐ, hot water); even in summer.
Primary translation
冰水
bīng shuǐ
When to use it
Heads up: asking for 冰水 in Mainland China often gets you a puzzled look. Traditional Chinese medicine treats cold drinks as bad for your 肠胃 (cháng wèi, digestive system), so the default at restaurants is 温水 (wēn shuǐ, warm water) or 热水 (rè shuǐ, hot water); even in summer. Taiwan and Hong Kong are more Westernized and will serve 冰水 without comment. If you really want it cold, 加冰的水 (jiā bīng de shuǐ, 'water with ice added') is clearer than 冰水, which can also mean 'icy-cold water' in general.
Example sentences
可以给我一杯冰水吗？
Kě yǐ gěi wǒ yì bēi bīng shuǐ ma?
Could I have a glass of ice water?
不好意思，我们只有温水。
Bù hǎo yì si, wǒ men zhǐ yǒu wēn shuǐ.
Sorry, we only have warm water.
天太热了，我想喝冰水。
Tiān tài rè le, wǒ xiǎng hē bīng shuǐ.
It's too hot, I want some ice water.