面包 (miàn bāo) literally means 'flour bun' — 面 (miàn) refers to flour or dough, and 包 (bāo) means 'bun' or 'steamed bun', though in this compound it denotes a baked, leavened food item. Unlike traditional Chinese baozi (steamed buns), 面包 specifically refers to Western-style bread: soft, oven-baked loaves or rolls made from wheat flour, yeast, water, and salt. It’s a common staple in modern Chinese daily life — found in supermarkets, bakeries, and convenience stores, and often eaten for breakfast or as a snack.

This word is fully Sino-foreign in function: while the characters are native Chinese, the concept entered China via contact with Western cuisine and now carries no regional or dialectal restriction. It’s neutral in register — appropriate in speech and writing — and used for all kinds of bread, from baguettes to sandwich loaves to sweet buns (though very sweet or filled varieties may be specified further, e.g., 奶油面包 'cream bread').