Chinese word

变质

Pronunciation

Pinyinbiàn zhì

Meaning

  • verbgo bad

Example

这肉放久了会变质。zhè ròu fàng jiǔ le huì biàn zhì

This meat will go bad if it is kept for too long.

Illustration for 变质 (go bad)

More examples

很多水果在高温下容易变质。hěn duō shuí guǒ zài gāo wēn xià róng yì biàn zhì

Many fruits easily spoil at high temperatures.

Core concept

A thing's basic quality changes until it is spoiled or no longer fit for its original use.

Common phrases

  • 肉类变质ròu lèi biàn zhì

    meat spoils

  • 牛奶变质niú nǎi biàn zhì

    milk spoils

  • 容易变质róng yì biàn zhì

    easy to spoil

Similar words

坏掉huài diào: Become damaged and no longer usable in the way they were before.
腐烂fǔ làn: Break down and rot as bacteria or mold cause major changes in smell and appearance.
发霉fā méi: Grow mold on the surface, causing the item's quality or appearance to worsen.
变味biàn wèi: Take on an unpleasantly different taste with time or poor storage.

Definition in Chinese

因时间、温度、湿度或微生物等因素，食品或其他物品的性质发生改变，出现腐败或性能下降，不能按原来用途使用。yīn shí jiān wēn dù shī dù huò wēi shēng wù děng yīn sù shí pǐn huò qí tā wù pǐn de xìng zhì fā shēng gǎi biàn chū xiàn fǔ bài huò xìng néng xià jiàng bù néng àn yuán lái yòng tú shǐ yòng

Word origin

The characters 变 (biàn, "change") + 质 (zhì, "quality or underlying nature") show a change in an object's basic quality, which explains the word's use for spoilage and loss of function.

Usage tips

  • In everyday conversation, this verb is most common with food, but it also covers nonfood materials whose quality declines, so its scope is wider than a kitchen-only word.

Other meanings

  • deteriorateverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word