Chinese word

盘子

Pronunciation

Pinyinpán zi

Meaning

  • nounplate

Example

别把盘子摔碎了。bié bǎ pán zi shuāi suì le

Don't break the plate.

Illustration for 盘子 (plate)

More examples

她把水果摆在盘子上。tā bǎ shuí guǒ bǎi zài pán zi shàng

She arranged the fruit on the plate.

Core concept

A shallow, flat vessel that carries food to the table and can also stand for the serving placed in it.

Common phrases

  • 洗盘子xǐ pán zi

    wash dishes

  • 干净的盘子gān jìng de pán zi

    clean plate

  • 一只盘子yì zhī pán zi

    one plate

Similar words

碟子dié zi: A small shallow dish for serving shared food or sauce.
碗wǎn: A deep table dish for soup, rice, and similar foods.
盘pán: An amount of food served as one portion.
杯子bēi zi: A cylindrical container used for drinking.

Definition in Chinese

用来盛放食物或摆放餐具的扁平器皿，常见于餐桌上，也可指一盘菜肴。yòng lái shèng fàng shí wù huò bǎi fàng cān jù de biǎn píng qì mǐn cháng jiàn yú cān zhuō shàng yě kě zhǐ yì pán cài yáo

Word origin

盘子 (pánzi, "plate") combines 盘 (pán, "tray or dish") with 子 (zi, "noun-forming suffix") to form the everyday noun for this tableware.

Usage tips

  • Chinese measure words help separate the two readings: 一只盘子 (yì zhī pánzi, "one plate") counts the object, while 一盘菜 (yì pán cài, "a serving of food") counts the food arranged on it.

Related words

  • 盘子架pán zi jiàplate racknoun

Word lists with this word