Whether you’ve been invited to a dinner party or you’re going out to eat, brushing up on your table manners is a good way to prepare. Having table manners can leave a great impression on your fellow guests, and it will help everyone feel happy and comfortable as they enjoy their meal. We’ve compiled a list of things to remember at the dinner table so you can enjoy delicious food and fun times with your friends and family members.

无论您是被邀请参加晚宴还是外出就餐，在餐桌上梳理下餐桌礼仪都是必要的。餐桌礼仪可以给您的同伴留下深刻的印象，这将有助于每个人在享用餐点时感到快乐和舒适。我们编制了一份在餐桌上要记住的事情清单，以便您可以与朋友和家人一起享受美味的食物和有趣的时光。

1. Wash your hands before you sit down.坐下前要洗手。

Make sure your hands are clean before you dig in.在开始之前，请确保您的手是干净的。
Head to the restroom and give your hands a good scrubbing with soap and water before you sit down. If you’re teaching table manners to a kid, this is a good time to tell them how long to wash their hands and how hard to scrub.
前往洗手间，在坐下之前用肥皂和水擦洗双手。如果你正在教一个孩子餐桌礼仪，这是告诉他们洗手多长时间以及擦洗多难的好时机。

• Some fancier restaurants will even bring you a dish of water to dip your hands in. However, this is usually reserved for fine dining.
• 一些高档餐厅甚至会给你带来一盘水，让你的手浸入水中。但是，这通常是为精致餐饮保留的。

2. Put your phone on silent.将手机置于静音状态。

No one wants to be interrupted by a ringing phone.没有人愿意被电话铃声打断。

Before you head to the table, put your phone on silent or vibrate and stash it away in a pocket or a purse. If you get an important phone call, excuse yourself from the table to take it so you don’t disturb any other guests. 在你走到桌子前，把你的手机放在静音或振动，然后把它藏在口袋或钱包里。如果您接到一个重要的电话，请从桌子上找借口，以免打扰任何其他客人。

• Try to keep your phone off the table while you eat. It can be a distraction to keep it so close to the food.
• 尽量在吃饭时将手机放在桌子上。让它离食物如此之近可能会分散注意力。

3. Wait for everyone to be seated.等待每个人都坐下。

This includes the host, too!这也包括主人！

If you’re at a dinner party, let everyone get settled before you touch your place setting. The same goes for a restaurant—once your party is seated, you can start getting settled. 如果您正在参加晚宴，请在您触摸您的地点设置之前让每个人都安顿下来。餐厅也是如此 – 一旦你的派对就座，你就可以开始安顿下来了。

• If there isn’t assigned seating, give the guest of honor or the host the best seat at the table (usually the seat at the head of the table). Everyone else can sit wherever they’d like to.
• 如果没有指定的座位，请给主宾或主持人在桌子上最好的座位（通常是桌子头的座位）。其他人都可以坐在他们想坐的地方。
• Always enter and leave the dining chair from it’s right in a restaurant and at a formal dinner. Before doing so help the lady on your right or left by pulling her chair back when she starts sitting and the pushing it in. Men in military enter the chair from left and leave from right as formal dinner is considered a parade.
• 始终在餐厅和正式晚宴上从餐椅上进入和离开餐椅。在此之前，帮助右边或左边的女士，当她开始坐着时，把她的椅子向后拉，然后把它推进去。军人从左边进入椅子，从右边离开，因为正式的晚餐被认为是游行。

4. Place your napkin on your lap.将餐巾纸放在膝盖上。

It will catch any food that falls off your fork.它会捕捉任何从叉子上掉下来的食物。

Unfold your napkin and gently place it over your entire lap, smoothing it down so it lays flat. You can use your napkin throughout your meal to wipe your hands or your mouth as you need to.

展开餐巾，轻轻地放在整个膝盖上，使其平滑，使其平放。您可以在整个用餐过程中使用餐巾根据需要擦拭手或嘴巴。

• The napkin is the very first thing you want to touch when sitting down.
• 餐巾是你坐下时第一个想触摸的东西。
• If you need to leave the table, put your napkin on the chair, not on the table. It will signal that you’re coming back and you aren’t finished with your food.
• 如果你需要离开桌子，把你的餐巾放在椅子上，而不是放在桌子上。它会发出信号，表明你回来了，你还没有吃完你的食物。

5. Pass all food dishes to the right.将所有食物菜肴向右传递。

If you’re serving your own food, keep passing dishes around.如果是自己取食，那请别忘记继续传递菜肴给下一位。

Once you’ve taken enough food, hand the dish off to the person on your right. Try not to reach over anyone to get more food, and politely ask them to pass you a dish if you’d like more.

一旦你吃了足够的食物，把盘子交给你右边的人。尽量不要伸手越过旁边的人去拿食物，如果你想要更多，礼貌地要求他们再传回来给你。

• If there’s bread on the table, cut some off the loaf and offer the pieces to the person on your left before passing it on.
• 如果桌子上有面包，从面包上切下一些面包，然后在传递之前将面包分给左边的人。

6. Don’t eat until the host eats.在主人吃之前不要开始进食。

If there’s no host, wait for the guest of honor to start eating.如果没有主人，请等待贵宾开始进食。

Once they take their first bite, you can go ahead and dig in! Some people also like to say grace or make a toast before a meal, so you may have to wait on that, too.
一旦他们咬了第一口，你就可以继续挖进去！有些人也喜欢说恩典或在饭前敬酒，所以你可能也必须等待。^[6][注6]

• If you’re having food with your family, wait until the person who made the food starts eating.
• 如果您与家人一起吃东西，请等到制作食物的人开始进食。

7. Use the utensils from the outside in.从外到内使用餐具。

Fine dining may have more than one set of utensils.高级餐厅可能拥有多套餐具。

If you aren’t sure which one to use, a good rule of thumb is just to work from the outside in. As you eat through different courses, you’ll use different spoons or forks. 如果您不确定要使用哪一个，一个好的经验法则就是从外到内工作。当你吃不同的课程时，你会使用不同的勺子或叉子。

• If you’re just at a dinner party with friends and family, you probably won’t have to worry about multiple sets of utensils.
• 如果您只是与朋友和家人一起参加晚宴，您可能不必担心多套餐具。
• On your left, the utensils from the outside in are the salad fork, the dinner fork, and the dessert fork. On your right, you’ll have a soup spoon, then a tea spoon, then a dinner knife.
• 在你的左边，从外面进来的器皿是沙拉叉，晚餐叉和甜点叉。在你的右边，你会有一个汤匙，然后是一个茶匙，然后是一把餐刀。

8. Keep your elbows off the table.保持肘部远离桌子。

Tuck them in by your sides while you eat.吃饭时把它们塞进你的身边。

Putting your elbows on the table takes up a lot of space, and it’s considered bad manners. If you have any older relatives at the table, they might even call you out on it! 把胳膊肘放在桌子上会占用很多空间，这被认为是不礼貌的。如果你有年长的亲戚在桌子上，他们甚至可能会打电话给你！

• If you aren’t eating or you’re in between courses, it’s okay to rest your elbows on the table. The no elbows rule only applies when utensils are in use.
• 如果你不吃东西，或者你在课程之间，把你的肘部放在桌子上是可以的。无肘部规则仅适用于使用器皿的情况。

9. Eat slowly and with your mouth closed.慢慢吃，闭上嘴。

Try not to show anyone your food as you chew.尽量不要在咀嚼时让任何人看到你嘴里的食物。

If you want to say something, finish what’s in your mouth and swallow before speaking up. Eat your food slowly and one bite at a time to avoid wolfing anything down. 如果你想说些什么，在说出来之前，先把嘴里的东西吞下去。慢慢吃你的食物，一次吃一口，以避免狼吞虎咽。

• The same goes for drinking: try to take small sips and avoid slurping or splashing your drink.
• 饮酒也是如此：尝试小口啜饮，避免口水或溅到饮料上。

10. Say “please” and “thank you.” 说“请”和“谢谢”。

This includes thanking the host at the end of the meal.这包括在用餐结束时感谢主人。

Make sure you’re polite and respectful to everyone around you when you ask them to pass you food or hand you more bread. If you’re being served your food at a restaurant, say thank you to the servers as they bring you items.

当你要求他们给你食物或递给你更多的面包时，确保你对周围的每个人都有礼貌和尊重。如果您在餐厅用餐，请在服务员为您服务菜品时向他们表示感谢。

11. Take part in the conversation.参与对话。

A dinner party is about more than just food.晚宴不仅仅是食物。

As you eat, be sure to talk to the other guests around you and join in on the topic of conversation. 吃饭时，一定要和周围的其他客人交谈，并加入谈话的话题。

Be sure to chew and swallow your food thoroughly before you start talking, and listen attentively to those around you. 在开始说话之前，一定要彻底咀嚼和吞咽你的食物，并专心倾听你和你说话的人。

• If you don’t know the people sitting next to you, introduce yourself and ask them how they know the host. That should be enough to get a lively conversation going!
• 如果你不认识坐在你旁边的人，介绍自己，问问他们是怎么认识主人的。这应该足以让一场热烈的对话继续下去！

12. Cover your mouth if you need to burp.如果需要打嗝，请捂住嘴巴。

Burping happens, and that’s okay.打嗝发生，没关系。 If you feel a burp coming on, quickly cover your mouth with your napkin and keep your mouth closed so it isn’t loud. When you’re done, just say “excuse me” and keep eating.
如果您感觉到打嗝，请用餐巾纸快速捂住嘴巴并保持嘴巴闭合，以免吵闹。完成后，只需说“对不起”并继续进食。

• If you get the hiccups and they won’t go away, it’s polite to leave the table until they stop.
• 如果你打嗝了，他们不会消失，那么离开桌子直到他们停下来是礼貌的。

13. Pick up your utensils if you drop them.如果您打落餐具，请拿起它们。

Then, ask for a new one.然后，要求一个新的。
If you can’t reach the utensils you dropped, let the waiter or the host know as you request a new one. The same thing goes for your napkin: if it touches the floor, just ask for a replacement.
如果您无法拿到掉落的餐具，请在您要求新餐具时告知服务员或主人。您的餐巾纸也是如此：如果它接触到地板，只需要求更换即可。

• If you drop any food, discreetly pick it up with your napkin. Then, ask your waiter for a new napkin.
• 如果您掉落任何食物，请小心地用餐巾纸捡起。然后，向服务员索要一张新的餐巾纸。

14. Put your utensils on your plate when you’re done.完成后，将餐具放在盘子上。

It will make cleanup a lot easier.这将使清理变得更加容易。

Try to place them both in the center of your plate so they don’t fall off. If you’re at a restaurant, it will signal to the waiter that you’re ready for your plate to be taken away. 尝试将它们都放在盘子的中心，这样它们就不会脱落。如果你在一家餐馆，它会向服务员发出信号，表明你已经准备好把你的盘子拿走了。

• You can cross your utensils or just place them side by side.
• 您可以交叉使用器皿或将它们并排放置。

15. Help clear the table at the end of the meal.在用餐结束时帮助清理桌子。

If you’re at a family dinner, pitch in for the cleanup.如果您参加的是家庭聚餐，请参与餐后收尾工作。

Help gather plates, napkins, and cups to bring to the kitchen. If you’re really feeling polite, you could even offer to wash the dishes! The host will really appreciate it, and you might just land an invite to the next dinner party.

帮助收拾脏盘子、餐巾纸和杯子带到厨房。如果你真的想表现得有礼貌，你甚至可以主动洗碗！主人会非常感激，你可能会被邀请参加下一个晚宴哟！