<p>I can't speak for Starbucks in Hong Kong, but for all Starbucks in mainland China (including Zhongshan), as far as I know there is no Chinese translation for the cup size on the menu.</p>

<p><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/eKbnx.jpg" alt="enter image description here"></p>

<p>(The photo is blurry but you can still see the column headers contain two rows: 1st row is Italian/English 'tall', 'grande', 'venti' and the 2nd row is capacity in ML).</p>

<p>If they're reading it out in Chinese, both 杯 (cup) and 号 (size) make sense. E.g. 中杯 or 中号.</p>

<p>For 'venti', both 较大 and 巨大 are correct in meaning but sound unnatural. The most natural one to say is 特大 (extra-large).</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T21:36:36.690Z
In HKG and at the Starbucks in the Sheraton, they have a size-guide on the counter with cup sizes in Chinese and English with actual cups to show you how large they are. The menu itself only had the English names and volume in mL, you're right.
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T21:03:41.533Z
2015-02-09T21:03:41.533Z
NS.X.
<p>号 or 號, that is my guessing. Pronounced as Hao4. The left part of tradition character 號 is the simplified character 号.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T20:51:06.490Z
2015-02-09T20:51:06.490Z
PdotWang
<p>From the <a href="http://www.starbucks.com.cn/menu/drink-hot-03.html" rel="nofollow">Starbucks webpage</a>, I figure it's 杯 /bei/， meaning "cup".</p>

<ul>
<li>Short: 小杯 /xiǎo bēi/ (small cup)</li>
<li>Tall: 中杯 /zhōng bēi/(medium cup)</li>
<li>Grande: 大杯 /dà bēi/ (large cup)</li>
<li>Venti: 超大杯 /chāo dà bēi/ (extra large cup)</li>
</ul>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T21:39:39.523Z
Could 超大 reasonably be translated as extra large? Do you think there's a better translation?
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T22:24:41.583Z
@WilliamGrobman 超大 is more like "over-sized" or literally "overly big". "Extra large" will work, too. Personally I would prefer 特大, but 超 seems to be a pretty popular intensifier these days, like 超大, 超好吃 (super yummy), 超好玩 （super fun), etc. I suppose it goes well with the Starbucks culture.
monalisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T23:35:08.447Z
Very interesting. In English, "oversized" would have the negative connotation of it being larger than you need/want. Does that exist in the Chinese too? If not, in what sense is it _over_sized?
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T01:47:56.617Z
Thanks for pointing out the connotation associated with "oversized". I was trying to translate the literal meaning of the two characters 超 and 大, when I used "over-sized" and "overly big", without really capturing the subtle nuances and connotations of the English words. No, 超大 doesn't have the negative connotation of being larger than wanted. If anything, 超 has a positive connotation and carries a subtle hint of "exceeding expectation."
monalisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T02:07:46.313Z
If it's subtly positive, I believe extra large is the best translation in this context. Oversized is too negative, super size is not very subtle, and very large lacks any connotation. Thank you very much for the enlightening clarifications in the comments. I find language subtleties like this fascinating. One final question on the usage of 超大. In English, "oversized load" may be on a truck carrying something too large for the lane, such as a building, to let you know you need to leave extra space. Would 超大 fit in this case? Essentially meaning too large?
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T04:19:54.420Z
Agree. In the context of coffee, extra large would be a good translation (functional equivalence). I thought you were looking for the literal meanings of 超大. And yes, it would also work in the case of an oversized load. As I said earlier, 超 has the idea of "exceeding".
monalisa
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T05:59:18.447Z
超 definitely has the meaning of "exceeding". I would personally choose to translate 超大 as "supersize" — in reference to the [McDonald's terminology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersize) as well as the analogy to "supermarket" (超级市场).
200_success
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T06:59:05.057Z
@200_success, initially I would have done the same, but I think supersize has negative associations due to McDonald's. It would make it seem cheaper, less healthful, etc.. I think either approach has its merits though.
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-10T07:02:52.877Z
Arguably, that's the terminology Starbucks chose, and they were probably aware of that possible interpretation and association. They could have gone with a more neutral 特大 (which I would translate as "extra large"), but opted not to.
200_success
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T21:06:23.080Z
2015-02-09T22:20:28.990Z
2015-02-09T22:20:28.990Z
monalisa
<p>I was recently traveling in Zhongshan and Hong Kong and noticed that my limited Chinese allowed me to read Starbucks beverage sizes to a useful, if not complete extent.</p>

<p>(underscore replaces a character I don't recall)</p>

<ul>
<li>Tall: 中_</li>
<li>Grande: 大_</li>
<li>Venti: 较大_ or 巨大_, I believe. Not certain of the first character.</li>
</ul>

<p>What is the final character in these sizes? I recognized that these basically said "medium something", "large something", and "larger something", but I was unable to read the final character of the sizes (same one for all three) and have been unable to find a picture of it online.</p>

<p>Any correction or confirmation on venti's first character would be appreciated too. Bonus points for obscure sizes like "short". </p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T20:53:22.123Z
Could it be "杯"?
Alex
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T21:49:53.593Z
Turns out it was! Thanks for the suggestion. Monolisa found that they use bēi on the official website.
William Grobman
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-02-09T22:30:50.963Z
Glad that you found the answer!
Alex
<character-identification>
Chinese Starbucks Sizes
# Chinese Starbucks Sizes

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-02-09)

I was recently traveling in Zhongshan and Hong Kong and noticed that my limited Chinese allowed me to read Starbucks beverage sizes to a useful, if not complete extent.

(underscore replaces a character I don't recall)

* Tall: 中\_
* Grande: 大\_
* Venti: 较大\_ or 巨大\_, I believe. Not certain of the first character.

What is the final character in these sizes? I recognized that these basically said "medium something", "large something", and "larger something", but I was unable to read the final character of the sizes (same one for all three) and have been unable to find a picture of it online.

Any correction or confirmation on venti's first character would be appreciated too. Bonus points for obscure sizes like "short".

**Tags:** character-identification

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Could it be "杯"?  
> **username_0**: Turns out it was! Thanks for the suggestion. Monolisa found that they use bēi on the official website.  
> **username_1**: Glad that you found the answer!  

---

## 3 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2015-02-09. Score: 5 | Accepted answer

From the [Starbucks webpage](http://www.starbucks.com.cn/menu/drink-hot-03.html), I figure it's 杯 /bei/， meaning "cup".

* Short: 小杯 /xiǎo bēi/ (small cup)
* Tall: 中杯 /zhōng bēi/(medium cup)
* Grande: 大杯 /dà bēi/ (large cup)
* Venti: 超大杯 /chāo dà bēi/ (extra large cup)

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: Could 超大 reasonably be translated as extra large? Do you think there's a better translation?  
> **username_4**: @username_0 超大 is more like "over-sized" or literally "overly big". "Extra large" will work, too. Personally I would prefer 特大, but 超 seems to be a pretty popular intensifier these days, like 超大, 超好吃 (super yummy), 超好玩 （super fun), etc. I suppose it goes well with the Starbucks culture.  
> **username_0**: Very interesting. In English, "oversized" would have the negative connotation of it being larger than you need/want. Does that exist in the Chinese too? If not, in what sense is it _over_sized?  
> **username_4**: Thanks for pointing out the connotation associated with "oversized". I was trying to translate the literal meaning of the two characters 超 and 大, when I used "over-sized" and "overly big", without really capturing the subtle nuances and connotations of the English words. No, 超大 doesn't have the negative connotation of being larger than wanted. If anything, 超 has a positive connotation and carries a subtle hint of "exceeding expectation."  
> **username_0**: If it's subtly positive, I believe extra large is the best translation in this context. Oversized is too negative, super size is not very subtle, and very large lacks any connotation. Thank you very much for the enlightening clarifications in the comments. I find language subtleties like this fascinating. One final question on the usage of 超大. In English, "oversized load" may be on a truck carrying something too large for the lane, such as a building, to let you know you need to leave extra space. Would 超大 fit in this case? Essentially meaning too large?  
> **username_4**: Agree. In the context of coffee, extra large would be a good translation (functional equivalence). I thought you were looking for the literal meanings of 超大. And yes, it would also work in the case of an oversized load. As I said earlier, 超 has the idea of "exceeding".  
> **username_5**: 超 definitely has the meaning of "exceeding". I would personally choose to translate 超大 as "supersize" — in reference to the [McDonald's terminology](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersize) as well as the analogy to "supermarket" (超级市场).  
> **username_0**: @username_5, initially I would have done the same, but I think supersize has negative associations due to McDonald's. It would make it seem cheaper, less healthful, etc.. I think either approach has its merits though.  
> **username_5**: Arguably, that's the terminology Starbucks chose, and they were probably aware of that possible interpretation and association. They could have gone with a more neutral 特大 (which I would translate as "extra large"), but opted not to.  

---

### Answer by username_2 on 2015-02-09. Score: 0

I can't speak for Starbucks in Hong Kong, but for all Starbucks in mainland China (including Zhongshan), as far as I know there is no Chinese translation for the cup size on the menu.

![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/eKbnx.jpg)

(The photo is blurry but you can still see the column headers contain two rows: 1st row is Italian/English 'tall', 'grande', 'venti' and the 2nd row is capacity in ML).

If they're reading it out in Chinese, both 杯 (cup) and 号 (size) make sense. E.g. 中杯 or 中号.

For 'venti', both 较大 and 巨大 are correct in meaning but sound unnatural. The most natural one to say is 特大 (extra-large).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: In HKG and at the Starbucks in the Sheraton, they have a size-guide on the counter with cup sizes in Chinese and English with actual cups to show you how large they are. The menu itself only had the English names and volume in mL, you're right.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2015-02-09. Score: 0

号 or 號, that is my guessing. Pronounced as Hao4. The left part of tradition character 號 is the simplified character 号.


---

