My Student Ordered Boba in Mandarin — Even Without Knowing “Jelly”

One of my American students recently told me about a funny conversation she had at a boba shop.

She wrote:

Today at the boba shop, I had a conversation with the boy who works there — mostly in Mandarin!!! The funny part is that my boba drink comes with lychee jelly and I don't like it so I order:

“Yi bei mangguo lucha, zhen zhu, bu jelly.”

And tell him every time that I don't know how to say jelly.

Today he said he doesn't know how to say it either, lol.

Then she added:

It's not jelly like you put on bread — it's different. Let me see if I can find pictures.

What She Was Trying to Say

What she was trying to order was:

一杯芒果绿茶，珍珠，不要 jelly。
Yì bēi mángguǒ lǜchá, zhēnzhū, bú yào jelly.

So How Do You Say “Jelly” in Chinese?

果冻 (guǒdòng) = jelly

荔枝果冻 (lìzhī guǒdòng) = lychee jelly

珍珠 (zhēnzhū) is not jelly. It literally means “pearl,” and in a boba shop it refers to the tapioca pearls, or boba.

So:

珍珠 = boba
果冻 = jelly
荔枝果冻 = lychee jelly

She'll probably remember 果冻 now.

She told the guy at the counter that she didn't know how to say “jelly.” And this time, he said he didn't know how to say it either.

She still got her mango green tea with boba and no jelly.

Maybe next time she'll say:

一杯芒果绿茶，要珍珠，不要果冻。