Chinese word

料

Pronunciation

Pinyinliào

Meaning

  • nounmaterial

Example

做菜的料都准备好了。zuò cài de liào dōu zhǔn bèi hǎo le

All the ingredients for the dish are ready.

Illustration for 料 (material)

More examples

这道菜的调味料放得太多了。zhè dào cài de tiáo wèi liào fàng de tài duō le

This dish has too much seasoning.

Core concept

Something measured out for a purpose, whether it becomes part of a dish or is assessed as a possible outcome.

Common phrases

  • 调味料tiáo wèi liào

    seasoning

  • 原料yuán liào

    raw material

Similar words

材料cái liào: Materials or parts used to make something, including the substances that form its structure.
原料yuán liào: Basic, unprocessed material used to make a finished product.
食材shí cái: Edible ingredients used to prepare a dish.
调料tiáo liào: A liquid, powder, or other ingredient added to give a dish flavor or aroma.

Definition in Chinese

指用于制作或烹饪的材料或配料，通常指可加工或加入的物质。zhǐ yòng yú zhì zuò huò pēng rèn de cái liào huò pèi liào tōng cháng zhǐ kě jiā gōng huò jiā rù de wù zhì

Word origin

料 (liào, "material") combines 米 (mǐ, "rice") with 斗 (dǒu, "measuring vessel"), reflecting the early idea of measuring grain before the word extended to useful materials and mental assessment.

Usage tips

  • English uses material broadly, but this word most naturally points to something prepared, added, or processed, so a more specific Chinese compound is often needed for other meanings of material.

Other meanings

  • raw materialnoun
  • ingredientsnoun
  • expectverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word