Chinese word

剩菜

Pronunciation

Pinyinshèng cài

Meaning

  • nounleftovers

Example

晚饭后，我们把剩菜放进冰箱。wǎn fàn hòu wǒ men bǎ shèng cài fàng jìn bīng xiāng

After dinner, we put the leftovers in the refrigerator.

Illustration for 剩菜 (leftovers)

More examples

我不太喜欢吃剩菜。wǒ bú tài xǐ huān chī shèng cài

I don't really like eating leftovers.

Core concept

The dishes that stay on the table after diners have finished, whether they are kept for another meal or discarded.

Common phrases

  • 吃剩菜chī shèng cài

    eat leftovers

  • 把剩菜放进冰箱bǎ shèng cài fàng jìn bīng xiāng

    put leftovers in the refrigerator

  • 打包剩菜dǎ bāo shèng cài

    pack up leftovers

Similar words

剩饭剩菜shèng fàn shèng cài: The rice and dishes remaining from a meal.
剩饭shèng fàn: Rice remaining after a meal, sometimes reheated or packed for later.

Definition in Chinese

吃完一顿饭后剩下、通常仍可食用的各种菜肴或配菜。chī wán yí dùn fàn hòu shèng xià tōng cháng réng kě shí yòng de gè zhǒng cài yáo huò pèi cài

Word origin

剩 (shèng, "remain") combines with 菜 (cài, "cooked dish") to name cooked dishes remaining from a meal.

Usage tips

  • Because Chinese nouns do not need a plural ending here, the word can refer to several remaining dishes as a group.

Other meanings

  • food scrapsnoun

Opposites

  • 新鲜食物xīn xiān shí wùfresh foodnoun

Related words

Word lists with this word