Chinese word

五香

Pronunciation

Pinyinwǔ xiāng

Meaning

  • adjectivefive-spice

Example

五香的牛肉很好吃。wǔ xiāng de niú ròu hěn hǎo chī

The five-spice beef is very tasty.

Illustration for 五香 (five-spice)

More examples

这家店的五香饺子每次都卖光。zhè jiā diàn de wǔ xiāng jiǎo zi měi cì dōu mài guāng

The five-spice dumplings at this shop always sell out.

Core concept

A familiar food flavor in which several fragrant spices become a single balanced taste.

Common phrases

  • 五香的牛肉wǔ xiāng de niú ròu

    five-spice beef

  • 五香的饺子wǔ xiāng de jiǎo zi

    five-spice dumplings

  • 五香的猪肉wǔ xiāng de zhū ròu

    five-spice pork

Similar words

香xiāng: Having a pleasant smell.
辣là: Having a hot, spicy taste.
咸xián: Having a salty taste.
甜tián: Having a sweet taste.

Definition in Chinese

表示具有类似五香粉的混合香料风味，常用来形容肉类或卤菜的香气或味道。biǎo shì jù yǒu lèi sì wǔ xiāng fěn de hùn hé xiāng liào fēng wèi cháng yòng lái xíng róng ròu lèi huò lǔ cài de xiāng qì huò wèi dào

Word origin

五香 (wǔxiāng, "five-fragrance") literally joins 五 (wǔ, "five") with 香 (xiāng, "fragrance"), and the combined term extends from the seasoning itself to foods with its flavor.

Usage tips

  • As a Chinese food adjective, it commonly comes directly before the dish or ingredient it describes, while English often treats five-spice mainly as the name of a seasoning.

Other meanings

  • five-spice powdernoun
  • five-spice flavornoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 五香粉wǔ xiāng fěnfive-spice powdernoun
  • 五香肉wǔ xiāng ròufive-spice meatnoun

Word lists with this word