What does 外卖 mean?

外卖 is the word that feeds urban China. Two apps dominate: 美团 (Měituán, Meituan) and 饿了么 (È le me, Ele.me). Together they deliver millions of meals daily via a network of electric scooter riders (骑手) who navigate cities with astonishing efficiency.

The ordering vocabulary you actually need:

• 点外卖 (diǎn wài mài) — order delivery (the action of selecting food in the app)
• 下单 (xià dān) — place the order (confirm and pay)
• 骑手 (qí shǒu) — the delivery rider. You will see this word tracking their location on the app map.
• 送达 (sòng dá) — delivered. The status you are waiting for.
• 差评 (chà píng) — bad review. Use sparingly — it significantly impacts the rider’s income.
• 好评 (hǎo píng) — good review. Riders will sometimes message you asking for one.

The cultural note: delivery riders in China work under intense time pressure from the platform algorithms. A rider who is late may lose money. This has made the rider-platform dynamic a topic of public sympathy and debate. When your food arrives during a rainstorm, a genuine 谢谢, 辛苦了 (thank you, you’ve worked hard) is appreciated beyond just politeness.

You can order almost anything by 外卖 in Chinese cities: restaurant meals, groceries, medicine, flowers, alcohol, electronics. The delivery infrastructure is so developed that many young urban Chinese cook very little — 外卖 is the default, not the exception.