How to Say “No MSG please” in Chinese
Food and dining · HSK 4
"No MSG please" in Chinese is 请不要放味精 (Qǐng bú yào fàng wèijīng). 味精 (wèijīng) is MSG, and asking to skip it is a common request, though you should know many Chinese dishes also use 鸡精 (jījīng, chicken bouillon powder) which contains MSG under a different name; ask 也不要鸡精 (yě bú yào jījīng) to be thorough. The verb 放 (fàng) literally means 'to place/put' and is the standard way to talk about adding ingredients when cooking.
Primary translation
请不要放味精
Qǐng bú yào fàng wèijīng
Traditional: 請不要放味精
Variants by register
Formal
麻烦您不要放味精，谢谢。
Máfan nín bú yào fàng wèijīng, xièxie.
Casual
不要放味精啊
Bú yào fàng wèijīng a
When to use it
味精 (wèijīng) is MSG, and asking to skip it is a common request, though you should know many Chinese dishes also use 鸡精 (jījīng, chicken bouillon powder) which contains MSG under a different name; ask 也不要鸡精 (yě bú yào jījīng) to be thorough. The verb 放 (fàng) literally means 'to place/put' and is the standard way to talk about adding ingredients when cooking. Note that 不要 changes tone from bú yào to bù yào depending on what follows; here it's bú because 要 is fourth tone. Framing it with 请 (qǐng) or 麻烦您 (máfan nín) softens the request significantly; blunt requests can come across as rude in a service context.
Example sentences
麻烦您做菜的时候不要放味精。
Máfan nín zuò cài de shíhòu bú yào fàng wèijīng.
Please don't add MSG when cooking.
我对味精过敏，请少放一点。
Wǒ duì wèijīng guòmǐn, qǐng shǎo fàng yīdiǎn.
I'm sensitive to MSG, please use less.
这道菜也不要放鸡精，好吗？
Zhè dào cài yě bú yào fàng jījīng, hǎo ma?
Also no chicken bouillon in this dish, okay?