Chinese word

生菜

Pronunciation

Pinyinshēng cài

Meaning

  • nounlettuce

Example

这盘生菜很新鲜。zhè pán shēng cài hěn xīn xiān

This plate of lettuce is very fresh.

Illustration for 生菜 (lettuce)

More examples

我在菜市场买生菜。wǒ zài cài shì chǎng mǎi shēng cài

I buy lettuce at the vegetable market.

Core concept

Tender leaves eaten fresh, mixed into a salad, or used as a wrapper for other food.

Common phrases

  • 买生菜mǎi shēng cài

    buy lettuce

  • 一棵生菜yì kē shēng cài

    a head of lettuce

Similar words

莴苣wō jù: An edible lettuce-family vegetable valued for its leaves or stems.
卷心菜juǎn xīn cài: A leafy vegetable that forms a compact, round head as its leaves overlap.
青菜qīng cài: A broad name for green vegetables that are mainly eaten as leafy greens.

Definition in Chinese

叶片鲜嫩、可生食的一类蔬菜，多用于拌菜、沙拉或包裹食物，通常指日常所说的生食莴苣。yè piàn xiān nèn kě shēng shí de yí lèi shū cài duō yòng yú bàn cài shā lā huò bāo guǒ shí wù tōng cháng zhǐ rì cháng suǒ shuō de shēng shí wō jù

Word origin

生 (shēng, "raw") + 菜 (cài, "vegetable") forms a compound for a vegetable associated with eating fresh, and modern everyday use commonly narrows it to lettuce.

Usage tips

  • English often treats lettuce as an uncountable food, while Chinese can refer to the plant, a portion, or the leaves on a plate, so the surrounding context carries the number information.

Other meanings

  • salad greensnoun
  • leafy greensnoun

Word lists with this word