Chinese word

猕猴桃

Pronunciation

Pinyinmí hóu táo

Meaning

  • nounkiwi

Example

我喜欢吃猕猴桃。wǒ xǐ huān chī mí hóu táo

I like eating kiwis.

Illustration for 猕猴桃 (kiwi)

More examples

妈妈给我切了一个猕猴桃。mā mā gěi wǒ qiè le yí gè mí hóu táo

Mom cut a kiwi for me.

Core concept

A fuzzy brown oval that opens to juicy green or yellow flesh with a sweet-tart taste.

Common phrases

  • 吃猕猴桃chī mí hóu táo

    eat kiwi

  • 一个猕猴桃yí gè mí hóu táo

    one kiwi

Similar words

奇异果qí yì guǒ: A fuzzy-skinned fruit with green flesh and a pleasantly sweet-tart flavor.

Definition in Chinese

一种椭圆形水果，外皮褐色并有细毛，果肉通常为绿色或黄色，味道酸甜。yì zhǒng tuǒ yuán xíng shuí guǒ wài pí hè sè bìng yǒu xì máo guǒ ròu tōng cháng wèi lǜ sè huò huáng sè wèi dào suān tián

Word origin

猕猴桃 (míhóutáo, "macaque peach") is formed from 猕猴 (míhóu, "macaque") + 桃 (táo, "peach"), and tradition links the name to macaques eating the fruit.

Usage tips

  • The English fruit name points to New Zealand's kiwi bird, but the Chinese name points to macaques, so the two languages preserve different naming stories.

Word lists with this word