n.
hotel; restaurant
酒店
Common Usage & Traps
- 住酒店 — to stay at a hotel
- 去酒店 — to go to a hotel
- 在酒店 — at or in a hotel
- 一家酒店 — one hotel
- 订酒店 — to book a hotel
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吃酒店在酒店吃饭吃 needs a food object, not a place. If you mean eating at a hotel, say 在酒店吃饭.
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一个酒店一家酒店Chinese counts hotels as businesses with 家. 一个酒店 sounds like a random hotel-shaped object, not a normal booking phrase.
Why does 酒店 have 酒 in it if it just means hotel?
酒店 means hotel; the 酒 is a historical label, not a promise of a bar.
The word 酒店 looks like alcohol shop, but in modern Chinese it normally means hotel. Some hotels have bars, many do not. The story line plays on that gap: a hotel can be a place to sleep without having wine. If you want a place that serves alcohol, say 酒吧 or 酒馆. “书店有好书， 饭店吃和住， 酒店没有酒。” (A bookstore has good books; a restaurant offers food and lodging; a hotel doesn't have wine.) ── [《三星在哪里？》](/read/where-is-samsung#s5)
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | 酒店 = hotel | 酒店 = guaranteed bar |
| Drinking plan | 去酒吧喝酒 | 去酒店喝酒 when you mean a bar |
| Story line | 酒店没有酒 | 酒店一定有酒 |
Is 酒店 the same as 饭店 when I need a place to sleep?
Mainland rule of thumb: 酒店 is hotel; 饭店 is often restaurant.
In mainland China, 酒店 is the safe default for a hotel. 饭店 more often means restaurant, though old or famous hotels may be called 饭店, like 北京饭店. Taiwan flips this: 饭店 is the normal hotel word, while 酒店 can suggest a bar or nightclub. Context and city matter.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland hotel | 酒店 | 饭店 |
| Mainland restaurant | 饭店 | 酒店 unless you mean hotel restaurant |
| Taiwan hotel | 饭店 | 酒店 can mean bar or nightclub |
Can you say 一个酒店, or do you need 一家酒店?
Use 一家酒店 for a hotel; 一个酒店 sounds like a random hotel-shaped object.
Chinese counts businesses and organizations with 家, the same counting word used for families. Hotels are businesses, so 一家酒店 and 两家酒店 are standard. 一个酒店 is not the natural way to count a hotel. The same pattern applies to 一家饭店, 一家公司, 一家银行.
| Dimension | Natural | Avoid |
|---|---|---|
| One hotel | 一家酒店 | 一个酒店 |
| Two hotels | 两家酒店 | 两个酒店 |
| Booking | 我订了一家酒店。 | 我订了一个酒店。 |
Featured in Story Deep Dive
Follow how this word unfolds across the narrative arc of this graded story.
Ever noticed how similar Chinese words can be? This rhyme plays with place names and homophones, from schools to hotels, even throwing in Samsung's origin. A lighthearted way to boost your word power.
- Scene #1
书店有好书，饭店吃和住， 酒店 没有酒。
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